Cindy Graves from Louisville, Ky., couldn't believe it when she, and not one of her two children, was the first in the family to be diagnosed with pink eye. "I hadn't been around anyone who had it, so I don't know how I got it," says Graves.

Thinking that pink eye, which is known medically as conjunctivitis, can be spread only from someone else who has it is just one of the many myths about the condition, says Dr. Cindy Ferrell, pediatrician and associate professor of pediatrics at Oregon Health Sciences University. In fact, Graves may have gotten conjunctivitis from someone suffering from a different virus. According to Dr. Ferrell, a virus can affect each person differently, causing conjunctivitis in one person and a respiratory infection in another.

What Is Pink Eye?
"But the biggest myths surrounding the condition are just what causes it and how it should be treated," says Dr. Ferrell. Conjunctivitis, in which the lining of the eyelid gets inflamed, can be caused by anything that inflames the tissues – irritants, like chemicals, getting into the eye, allergies or a bacterial infection. In the case of irritants or allergies, the discharge from the eye is usually clear and watery and comes from both eyes. With a bacterial infection, which is the most common cause of conjunctivitis, a gooey, yellow or green discharge pours from the eye, the area is often crusty and generally only one eye is affected.

In older children, pink eye is often caused by allergies, while younger children usually get it from a viral infection, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Regardless of what caused the condition, though, there's little that can be done to treat it. "You can use saline or natural tear solutions to treat the symptoms, but other than that there's really nothing you can do," says Dr. Ferrell. "It doesn't respond to antibiotics. You basically have to wait it out – just like with a cold."

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