{"id":14004,"date":"2021-06-15T17:40:54","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T17:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?page_id=14004"},"modified":"2022-02-21T10:54:10","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T10:54:10","slug":"can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/","title":{"rendered":"Can COVID-19 Cause Conjunctivitis?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>The most common symptoms of COVID-19 include a fever, cough, and respiratory problems. <\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>However, in rare cases, the virus can also cause an eye infection called conjunctivitis, commonly known as pink eye.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Based on 2021 published data, doctors believe that up to 3% of people who test positive for COVID-19 will also get conjunctivitis.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/dry-eye\/conjunctivitis-and-eye-infections\/\">Conjunctivitis<\/a> can occur when a virus infects the conjunctiva tissue, which covers the white part of your eye and inside of your eyelids.<\/p>\n<p><b>Symptoms to look out for:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pain<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Redness<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Itchy eyes<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Watery eyes<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yellow or green discharge<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crust surrounding eyelid margins<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>How does COVID-19 spread to the eyes?\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>The coronavirus is primarily transmitted through infected droplets from a cough or sneeze. These particles most often enter the body through the nose or mouth, but can also enter through the eyes.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also possible to catch the virus by touching a countertop, doorknob, or any other contaminated surface, and then touching your face or rubbing your eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Whether you have tested positive for COVID-19 or are trying to protect yourself from catching the virus, the following advice will help you and others to stay safe:<\/p>\n<p><b>Avoid touching your face, especially your mouth, nose, and eyes at all times.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>If you are concerned you or your child requires emergency eye care, immediately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\"><strong>contact an eye doctor near you<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>SEE RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/how-does-covid19-impact-our-eyes\/\">How Does COVID-19 Impact Our Eyes<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t<div class=\"practice-search-widget\">\n\t\t<h3>Find an eye doctor near you<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t<form class=\"practice-search-form practice-search-form-widget\" action=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/results\/\" method=\"get\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page\" class=\"practice-search-page\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_latitude\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_longitude\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"address\" class=\"practice-search-address\" placeholder=\"City, Surburb or Address\" value=\"\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t<button type=\"submit\" class=\"practice-search-button\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M10.6796 0.130005C9.15708 0.130059 7.66615 0.5646 6.38198 1.38258C5.09781 2.20057 4.07373 3.36803 3.43004 4.74783C2.78634 6.12763 2.54976 7.66246 2.74808 9.17205C2.9464 10.6816 3.57139 12.1033 4.54964 13.27L0.729639 17.08C0.6364 17.1732 0.562439 17.2839 0.511979 17.4058C0.461519 17.5276 0.435547 17.6581 0.435547 17.79C0.435547 17.9219 0.461519 18.0524 0.511979 18.1743C0.562439 18.2961 0.6364 18.4068 0.729639 18.5C0.917942 18.6883 1.17334 18.7941 1.43964 18.7941C1.5715 18.7941 1.70207 18.7681 1.82389 18.7177C1.94571 18.6672 2.0564 18.5932 2.14964 18.5L5.99964 14.62C7.35406 15.6038 8.98566 16.1324 10.6596 16.13C12.7814 16.13 14.8162 15.2871 16.3165 13.7869C17.8168 12.2866 18.6596 10.2517 18.6596 8.13C18.6596 6.00827 17.8168 3.97344 16.3165 2.47315C14.8162 0.97286 12.7814 0.130005 10.6596 0.130005H10.6796ZM10.6796 14.13C9.49295 14.13 8.33291 13.7781 7.34622 13.1188C6.35952 12.4595 5.59049 11.5225 5.13636 10.4261C4.68224 9.32975 4.56342 8.12335 4.79493 6.95946C5.02644 5.79558 5.59788 4.72648 6.437 3.88736C7.27611 3.04825 8.34521 2.4768 9.5091 2.24529C10.673 2.01378 11.8794 2.1326 12.9757 2.58673C14.0721 3.04085 15.0092 3.80989 15.6685 4.79658C16.3277 5.78328 16.6796 6.94332 16.6796 8.13C16.6796 9.7213 16.0475 11.2474 14.9223 12.3726C13.7971 13.4979 12.2709 14.13 10.6796 14.13Z\" fill=\"#fff\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"practice-search-use-my-location\">\n\t\t\tSearch near me\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\n\t<\/form>\n\n\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<h2><b>When to see an eye doctor?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>If you have conjunctivitis, it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you have COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>If you are experiencing any eye pain or any of the other symptoms that may signal an eye infection, it is always recommended to seek medical care.<\/p>\n<p>If you receive regular eye injections or have a preexisting ocular condition such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/eye-conditions\/macular-degeneration-guide\/macular-degeneration\/\">macular degeneration<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/eye-conditions\/guide-to-diabetes-and-the-eyes\/diabetic-retinopathy\/\">diabetic retinopathy<\/a> and notice any of the following symptoms, contact your doctor immediately.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Loss of vision<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Flashes<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blank spots in your visual field<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Headaches<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nausea with or without vomiting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>LEARN MORE:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/\">Guide to Eye Health<\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you have a fever, cough, or shortness of breath and have tested positive for COVID-19, or have been in contact with someone who has COVID-19, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\">call your eye doctor&#8217;s office<\/a> to find out what you can do to treat your eye infection at this time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The most common symptoms of COVID-19 include a fever, cough, and respiratory problems. However, in rare cases, the virus can also cause an eye infection<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14005,"parent":20476,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-article.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14004","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Can COVID-19 Cause Conjunctivitis? - Optometrists.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can COVID-19 Cause Conjunctivitis? - Optometrists.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The most common symptoms of COVID-19 include a fever, cough, and respiratory problems. However, in rare cases, the virus can also cause an eye infection\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Optometrists.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-21T10:54:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/covid.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"765\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/\",\"name\":\"Can COVID-19 Cause Conjunctivitis? - Optometrists.org\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/covid.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-15T17:40:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-21T10:54:10+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/covid.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/covid.jpg\",\"width\":765,\"height\":1024},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Primary Eye Care\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"COVID-19\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Can COVID-19 Cause Conjunctivitis?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/\",\"name\":\"Optometrists.org\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can COVID-19 Cause Conjunctivitis? - Optometrists.org","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can COVID-19 Cause Conjunctivitis? - Optometrists.org","og_description":"The most common symptoms of COVID-19 include a fever, cough, and respiratory problems. However, in rare cases, the virus can also cause an eye infection","og_url":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/","og_site_name":"Optometrists.org","article_modified_time":"2022-02-21T10:54:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":765,"height":1024,"url":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/covid.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/","url":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/","name":"Can COVID-19 Cause Conjunctivitis? - Optometrists.org","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/covid.jpg","datePublished":"2021-06-15T17:40:54+00:00","dateModified":"2022-02-21T10:54:10+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/covid.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/covid.jpg","width":765,"height":1024},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/can-covid-19-cause-conjunctivitis\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Primary Eye Care","item":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"COVID-19","item":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/covid-19\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Can COVID-19 Cause Conjunctivitis?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/","name":"Optometrists.org","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14004"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20624,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14004\/revisions\/20624"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}