What bacteria gives you pink eye?!
Question:
What bacteria gives you pink eye?
is the bacteria in fecal matter what gives you bacterial conjunctivitis? if not, what bacteria is the cause?
Answers:
The bacteria that most commonly cause infectious pink eye are staphylococci (found on the skin normally), pneumococci (a common cause for pneumonias), and streptococci (same type of bacteria that causes strep throat).
This is just the short list. Basically any type of aerobic (air) bacteria, if given the opportunity can cause a conjunctival infection. These are just the most common.
I just name the bacteria to link to other commonly known infections they cause...bacteria can cause problems anywhere in the body, but the most common bacterial conjunctivits cases that we see and culture in our office are the above.
Many viruses (way too many to name), fungi, and other one-celled organisms can also infiltrate the eye. These can only be definitively diagnosed with an eye exam and in some cases of hard to treat conjunctivitis, a culture.