Got pink eye? Researchers say it could be a sign of COVID. What to know about the symptom

Jared Gendron, Mary Ramsey
·4 min read
20

Depending on who you ask, America is still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that plunged the world into a health emergency. Some people still choose to mask, swab their noses with at-home tests and work from home out of caution.

After more than three years of living amid a once-in-a-century health crisis, the World Health Organization announced Friday that it’s ending the COVID-19 global health emergency. Services in the U.S. and Washington state are beginning to phase out public resources targeted at COVID-19, such as Washington’s Say Yes! COVID Test website and the federal government’s free at-home test program.

In Washington, 71% of the population is fully vaccinated against the virus, and the small amount of active cases that still occur has only continued to decrease week by week in 2023, according to the Washington State Department of Health.

But COVID will continue to plague society much like the common cold, according to experts. Recently, some researchers claim you can spot a coronavirus illness masquerading as another type of infection: pink eye.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology reported in April that conjunctivitis, the medical name for pink eye, could be a symptom of coronavirus infection. To be more specific, the symptoms of pink eye are associated with a new strain of the omicron COVID-19 variant – XBB.1.16, also known as “Arcturus.”

“One new feature of cases caused by this variant is that it seems to be causing conjunctivitis, or red and itchy eyes, in young patients,” states Matthew Binnicker, director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic in an online release. “This is not something that we’ve seen with prior strains of the virus.”

Here’s what to know about the connection between pink eye and COVID, what symptoms to watch for and when to seek treatment.

Pink eye as a COVID symptom

The American Academy of Ophthalmology says that “COVID conjunctivitis,” or pink eye, “is one of the ocular manifestations of the coronavirus” and that it’s a form of viral conjunctivitis.

“There are reports in which conjunctivitis was the only sign of COVID-19,” the group says. “Other reports showed that the patients of COVID-19 developed conjunctivitis later in their course of disease after hospitalization.”

Conversations about how COVID could possibly cause pink eye-related symptoms began even as far back as 2020. But recently, research has shown that the COVID-19 virus can be “found in the eye’s tear film,” triggering pink eye symptoms, according to the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Truhlsen Eye Institute. The Nebraska scientists note that pink eye is rarely the sole symptom associated with a positive coronavirus infection. They add that the symptom may occur in severe cases of COVID-19.

Symptoms of pink eye

John Hopkins Medicine states these are the most common symptoms of pink eye:

  • Pink or red discoloration in one or both eyes

  • A “gritty feeling” and/or itching, irritation or burning in one or both eyes

  • Clear, thin drainage of liquid and increased shedding of tears and/or stringy and/or thick, white or green discharge from the eyes

  • Eyelid swelling and/or eyelids matted together in the morning

  • Blurred vision

Seeking medical treatment for pink eye

If someone has multiple symptoms associated with pink eye, they should seek medical attention from a doctor, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises. The center recommends this especially for people who are experiencing worsening symptoms or if their condition doesn’t improve after 24 hours of being on antibiotics.

More vulnerable groups of people experiencing symptoms of pink eye should seek treatment, including those already experiencing the following medical complications:

  • Weakened immune system

  • HIV infection

  • Seeking cancer treatment

For those who want to wait out a case of pink eye, the good news is that the infection usually begins to see signs of improvement after two to five days, and it clears up after a week to two weeks for those who don’t seek medical care, the CDC states.

Antibiotics to treat pink eye are usually prescribed as a topical treatment, such as eye drops or ointment.