Patients often ask, “Doctor, do I have pinkeye? How did I get pink eye? In this season of red eye epidemic, let’s understand what is “red eye”? From a medical point of view, pink eye is actually a collective term for “acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis, acute catarrhal conjunctivitis, epidemic keratoconjunctivitis,” of which “acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis” is the most common. Among them, “acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis” is a national statutory ophthalmic infectious disease; it is also commonly known as the “one look and you’re infected” red eye. Is it true that red eye is “seen”? The answer is obviously no. In fact, every summer and autumn is the high season of red eye, often leading to large-scale outbreaks of epidemics. It is mainly through direct contact with the patient’s eye secretions, or through stained fingers, clothing and other objects, such as contact with the patient’s used washing utensils, faucets, door handles, swimming pool water, common toys, etc., including sharing eye make-up or topical ophthalmic drugs with others. Therefore, it is often widely spread in families, schools, hospitals, factories, and communities. Because of the rapid onset of the disease, both eyes usually develop simultaneously or successively within 48 hours after contact with the source of infection, so it is easy to give people the illusion of “being infected just by looking at it”. What are the symptoms of pink eye? Patients with red eye have heavy eye irritation after the onset of the disease, and can quickly develop foreign body sensation, eye grinding pain, photophobia, tearing, and increased aqueous discharge; eyelid edema, highly congested conjunctiva, and common subconjunctival hemorrhage are typical signs of the disease; a few patients may have generalized fever, malaise, sore throat, and muscle aches. Occasionally, lower limb motor paralysis is seen after conjunctivitis. How should red eye be treated? Because pink eye is a viral infection of the eye, there is no specific treatment available. Treatment is based on local spot antiviral eye solution (such as ganciclovir eye solution, interferon eye solution, hydroxybenzole eye solution, etc.), which can be supplemented with antibacterial eye solution (such as chloramphenicol eye solution, ofloxacin eye solution, tobramycin eye solution, etc.) and traditional Chinese medicine or Chinese patent medicine (such as fishy grass, Qing Kai Ling, Xia Sang Ju, etc.), supplemented with ice compresses and eye wash will be more effective. After treatment, it can be cured within 7-10 days, but some patients need 2~3 weeks to heal, of course, some patients can heal by themselves. Because the immunity triggered by the infection is very short, it is easy to re-infection, so when the inflammation is controlled, you still need to order eye drops for about 1 week in order to prevent recurrence. So how do we prevent it? Usually, we start from 3 aspects: controlling the source of infection, cutting off the route of infection, and protecting susceptible people. Patients with pink eye should avoid going out, including going to work and school, until they are cured; avoid going to crowded public places, and try not to visit patients; wash hands, face and eyes with hands or sleeves; keep indoor air circulation and proper air disinfection (UV light, air spray disinfection, etc.); strengthen the disinfection of utensils, eating utensils and surfaces; wash and dry clothes and bedding, and do not mix personal items; etc. In addition, it is not advisable to use collective eye drops to prevent pink eye; for the weak, attention should be paid to a balanced diet, strengthening nutrition, moderate exercise, ensuring sufficient rest, and strengthening resistance. In addition, vaccinations should not be given while the red eye is not healed.