Infective conjunctivitis
The best way to stop infective conjunctivitis spreading is to thoroughly wash your hands after touching or treating your infected eyes.
If you do not have the infection but someone close to you does, wash your hands every time you come into contact with them. Avoid sharing towels, pillows and flannels to prevent the infection from spreading.
Should I keep my child home from school?
The Health Protection Agency advises that you do not need to keep your child off school if they have conjunctivitis, unless they are feeling particularly unwell.
If there are a number of cases of conjunctivitis at one school or nursery, you may be advised to keep your child away from school until their infection has cleared up. However, this is not usually necessary.
Allergic conjunctivitis
You can try to prevent allergic conjunctivitis by avoiding the the substance that you are allergic to. For example, if you know that a particular type of make-up causes allergic conjunctivitis, find an alternative. Avoiding the allergen is not always possible, but the advice below may help.
Read more about living with allergies.
Avoiding pollen
If you have seasonal or perennial allergic conjunctivitis that is caused by pollen, you can reduce your exposure to pollen by:
- keeping doors and windows closed when the pollen count is high
- avoiding going out at certain times of the day when the pollen count is at its highest, such as in the mornings and evenings
- wearing wraparound sunglasses when you are outside
- fitting a pollen filter to your car
Learn about preventing hay fever and get tips for avoiding pollen.
Indoor allergies
In most cases, your medication should help relieve an indoor allergy such as an allergy to dust mites.
If you are still affected by allergic conjunctivitis and allergy testing has confirmed that it is caused by house dust mites, some medical experts recommend the following measures:
- Fit mattresses with covers that house dust mites cannot get through.
- Use synthetic (man-made) pillows and duvets.
- Keep soft toys off the bed.
- Wash all bedding and soft toys at least once a week.
- Choose wooden or hard floor surfaces instead of carpets.
- Choose blinds that can be wiped clean instead of curtains.
- Wipe surfaces regularly with a clean, damp cloth.
Another common indoor allergy is an allergy to pets (specifically, the flakes of dead animal skin or the animals’ urine and saliva.)
Giving up your pet is the most effective way to prevent exposure to this type of allergen. This can obviously be a difficult decision for many people to make.
You may find the following advice useful.
- Keep pets outside as much as possible, or limit them to one room, preferably one without carpet.
- Don't allow pets in bedrooms, because their skin flakes can remain in the air for a long time.
- Wash pets at least once a fortnight (ideally, twice a week).
Read more about preventing common indoor allergies such as an allergy to dust mites or pets
