The infections responsible for pink eye are highly infectious. To prevent spreading them to others (or even reinfecting yourself in the case of bacterial conjunctivitis), you should take several preventative measures. Most importantly, wash your hands regularly with warm, soapy water. You can also keep alcohol-based sanitizers around for your hands when soap isn’t available. Use a hand sanitizer that is at least a 60 percent alcohol solution. Though your eyes may itch or feel gritty while you have pink eye, do your best not to touch or rub them. This transfers the virus/bacteria to your hands and everything else you touch after. Even if you don’t have pink eye, touching your eyes vastly increases your risk of accidentally introducing the infection to your eyes. When you do have to touch your eyes, such as when cleaning away the discharge from pink eye, thoroughly wash your hands both before and after you do and always use a clean washcloth if possible. You should wash any item that touches your face while you’re sick—towels, washcloths, sheets, pillowcases, etc.—in hot water and detergent. This will ensure that you kill any of the virus/bacteria present and prevent it from spreading to others and/or reinfecting yourself. You should also avoid sharing these items — or other shareable items such as eye makeup, make-up brushes, etc. — with anyone who is sick and/or while you are sick. Contact lenses are a very inviting environment for the types of bacteria that can cause pink eye. Make sure that you consistently wash and store your contacts as directed by your eye-care professional. These steps are specifically designed to help avoid eye infections. You should also throw away any disposable lenses you used while you had pink eye, as well as the lens case you used. For extended-wear lenses, clean them as directed.
اغسل يديك بشكل منتظم. لا تلمس أو تفرك عينيك. اغسل المنشفات والأشياء الأخرى بماء ساخن. نظّف وخزّن عدساتك اللاصقة بشكل صحيح.