Eye Infection: Causes, Treatments, and What You Need to Know

When your eye feels scratchy, red, or sticky, it’s often an eye infection, an inflammation of the eye caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi that can spread easily and worsen without proper care. Also known as conjunctivitis, it’s one of the most common reasons people visit a doctor or pharmacist—especially in kids, contact lens wearers, and during allergy season. But not all eye infections are the same. Some clear up on their own in a few days. Others need antibiotics or antiviral drops, and ignoring them can lead to serious damage—even vision loss.

Bacterial eye infection, a type of eye infection caused by germs like staph or strep that produce thick yellow or green discharge usually needs prescription eye drops. Viral eye infection, often linked to colds or the flu, causes watery eyes, light sensitivity, and spreads easily doesn’t respond to antibiotics. It runs its course, but you can ease symptoms with cold compresses and avoiding touching your eyes. Then there’s fungal eye infection, a rare but dangerous type that can follow eye injuries, especially in people who work with soil or plants. These need strong antifungal meds and can take weeks to heal.

Many people reach for over-the-counter redness drops when their eyes bother them, but those can make things worse if the real problem is an infection. Rubbing your eyes? That’s a quick way to spread germs from one eye to the other—or to someone else. Sharing towels, pillowcases, or makeup? Same risk. Contact lens users need to be extra careful: sleeping in lenses, using tap water to rinse them, or skipping cleaning steps can turn a minor irritation into a full-blown infection.

What you’ll find in the posts below isn’t a generic list of remedies. It’s real, practical advice from people who’ve been there—how to tell if your eye infection is serious enough to see a doctor, which antibiotic drops actually work (and which ones are overprescribed), why some home remedies backfire, and how to prevent reinfection after you think you’re better. There’s no fluff, no hype. Just what you need to know to protect your vision and avoid unnecessary trips to the pharmacy.