Particularly around exam time when all-nighters become too common, it is not unlikely for students to have red, bloodshot eyes. Bloodshot eyes, however, can be more serious than a sleepless night's result. Eye redness is also a symptom of conjunctivitis, more commonly known as pink eye.
Pink eye is an inflammation of a blood vessel located in the thin membrane that covers the sclera, or white part of the eye, Student Health physician Joe Chance said.
Symptoms of a pink eye infection include eye redness, drainage, itchiness and crusting of the eyelashes in the morning.
"The worst part was waking up and not being able to open my eye," said first-year College student Jack Allan, who experienced pink eye. "It had all this stuff in it."
Pink eye travels much like the common cold or an upper respiratory infection.
"The old name for pink eye is 'a cold in your eye,'" Chance said. "You might say that your eye is as pink as your throat."
Conjunctivitis can spread through direct contact with the infection, as well as through the air by coughing, Chance said.
Although it may yield similar symptoms, not all pink eye is the same. There are three different types of pink eye: viral, allergic and bacterial.
Viral, the most common type, typically occurs as part of a cold or virus, hence its name. Most people who have an upper respiratory infection along with pink eye have the viral type, Chance said. In other words, the same infection that causes a runny nose and coughing causes viral pink eye.
"You may just get a cold, or you could get a cold and pink eye," Chance said.
He noted that the most important precaution to take with viral pink eye is to avoid wearing contacts. Third-year College student Kelsey Smith can relate to this necessary inconvenience.\n"I couldn't wear my contacts for like a week, just to be on the safe side," she said.
If one continues to wear contacts, pink eye "can multiply under them and drill holes in the cornea," resulting in permanent vision loss, Chance warned. Perpetual contact wearing during pink eye, however, is the only thing that can cause permanent visual loss.
The second type of pink eye is allergic. Allergic pink eye mainly appears during spring allergy season and is characterized by eye itchiness.
The third and rarest type of pink eye is bacterial.
"Bacterial pink eye is present without accompanying symptoms of upper respiratory infection or allergy," Chance said. "The drainage is more yellow-green and looks like pus."
Symptoms' durations depend on the type of pink eye. For viral pink eye, the disease tends to run its course in about seven to 10 days.
"Allergic can last as long as allergy season," Chance said. "Bacterial can last about two to three days with antibiotics, but this is very rare."
Although Student Health treats several hundred cases each year, Chance still classified pink eye as an epidemic.
"It's prevalent, but it comes in waves," Chance said. "A certain virus won't cause it and we won't see it for a few weeks. Then a virus will cause it and we'll see 30 to 40 people per day for a week or so."
Chance recommended several preventative measures, such as washing hands, avoiding eating or drinking after someone with a cold and trying to stay about 6 feet away from them because it is difficult to cough that far.
"It's especially easy to get if you have contacts," Chance warned. He recommended keeping a pair of backup glasses on hand, "in case you or someone you know gets pink eye."
Although most pink eye cases are of the viral variety, it is nevertheless important to consult a doctor or Student Health official if one experiences any eye redness.
"Since it involves your eye, you should be seen," Chance said. "We will look at your eye and give you symptomatic eye drops to make you look and feel better. We will give antibiotics if we must, but we try not to do that"
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