Just..no.

[Apathy]

Point taken: pinkeye is not fatal.

However, I'm to understand that it's relatively easy to get, and is, at the very least, unpleasant. I'd rather be safe and get that kid out of there rather than get pinkeye.

[Dreamstalker]

In my freshman dorm, there was a pinkeye explosion that lasted about a month. Why did it last so long? The silly little girls ignored what the nurse told them and kept sharing eye makeup (and in all likelihood never washed their hands either). Myself and the RA were the only two in the hall who were pinkeye-free...that didn't stop The Twit from trying to put her mascara on me At least three of said girls were told by their profs to not return to class until they were better...were given all the opportunities in the world to catch up.

Yeah, not lethal, but can spread like wildfire and stick around forever in the right (wrong?) conditions.

[Nyx]

Yeah not fatal, but I'd rather not get it all the same...

[RecoveringKinkoid]

It was awful. Uncomfortable, gross, nasty. I'd wake up in the morning and have to unglue my eyelashes just so I could open my eyes, no lie. NASTY. Eyes all inflamed, felt like they were filled with grit. Yuck.

[Andara Bledin]

Viral pinkeye is often caused by an adenovirus, which is a common respiratory virus that can also cause a sore throat or upper respiratory infection.

As someone who suffers chronic upper respiratory issues, that's not something I'd wish on anyone.

Keep your pink eye, lice, ringworm, and whatever other highly-communicable irritants away from me and mine, thankyewverymuch.

^-.-^

[Bramblerose]

pinkeye is usually viral-and goes away on it's own-why does everyone get all panicky

1) because it costs me contact lenses. and the last two times I got the blasted stuff I was at the top of a pair. It would have cost even more when I was a teen and it meant replacing a long-term lens (es, actually, it always jumps to both eyes for me), not just a two-week.

2) because I am stuck in my glasses for the week while it's being treated. I cannot function without some kind of vision correction, even though I am not legally blind

3) I like dripping out the eyes even less than I like dripping out the nose or hacking up a lung. The burning makes me really unhappy, too.

4) I work with children, so that puts me out of a job until I am at least uninfectious if not cured. Just how put-out would you be if your child came home from whichever with pink-eye s/he caught from one of the adults? Maybe you would be calm, but there's a type of Irate Mother that I would hold up to the suckiest of customer.

and it doesn't help at all that the pink-eye before last was at camp (no place to be in glasses) and my ungrateful glasses *broke* and it took all day before anyone could get to the store to replace the eyeglass repair kit that was mysteriously missing (i have no vehicle at camp, and with broken glasses I can't drive anyway). I had to appoint a seeing-eye child every period to help me.

[BlaqueKatt]

again should I stay home due to my allergic-non-contageous pinkeye(that can last all summer) because it makes people squicky?

should I carry a doctor's note with me to prove I'm not contageous?

what if i get it from chlorine in a pool-or smoke?


I had a job try to send me home 3 times in one day because of paranoid co-workers(one actually quit because they wouldn't-she actually called the health dept)-I had a DRs note explaining it was from allergies, wasn't catching, and wouldn't go away until the pollen count went down. They attempted to cut my paycheck because of ignorance-they wouldn't/couldn't believe something that "looked icky" wasn't catching.

[aniwahya]

Not to be rude or offend, i just thought i'd mention that there are some people who for various reasons cannot fight off "common" colds and end up hospitalized for things that other people consider "no big deal" because it's "not like anyone dies from a common cold".

Again, i'm not trying to be snarky (tone is so hard to express on the 'net ><) I just want to point out a different point of view since I believe being a responsible human being is taking into account how are actions directly and indirectly affect others, and you can't do that without knowledge.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

If your pinkeye is indeed not contagious, you'd damn well better be right about that. Because I will not be a happy camper if I do end up catching it.

Yeah, I know it's not fatal. However it's about as fun as amateur brain surgery sans anesthetic. The one and only time I had it, I panicked when I found I couldn't open my eyes; they were basically glued shut. And the burning and itching weren't fun either. I shouldn't be made to feel like I'm being paranoid because a co-worker is coming to work with a possibly contagious condition.

again should I stay home due to my allergic-non-contageous pinkeye(that can last all summer) because it makes people squicky?

Not necessarily, but if you're coming to work with it I need to know for sure it will not be contagious. This isn't about people being "squicky", it's about people not wanting to catch something that they don't know isn't contagious and could put them in traction for a while.

I did not know pinkeye existed in a noncontagious form until you mentioned it. I don't think you can expect others to know that either.

[RetailWorkhorse]

Y'all are gonna hate my guts.

I've never EVER had pink-eye.

[KnitShoni]

^^^Neither have I.

I have, however, had several friends/friends' children who have. Fatal or not, it isn't fun, and if my child catches it because you (general you) sent your child to the pool with it, I will be highly pissed. I am the one who will have to deal with the discomfort of my child, cost of medicines, and time off work.

[Tireana Dorcha]

AND you will probably give it to the hard working instructor who cannot take a sick day because there is NO ONE ELSE TO TEACH!!
Or that may just be my city...

Oh I think this is everywhere...my pool always had issues with having enough staff available for all the lessons/shifts.

[Fenrus]

My, this sure is getting a little heated, isn't it?

I'll just say this. If it's a known contagion, and infectious, then Yes, you should stay away from the general populous.

If it's caused by Allergies like Blaquekatt's, then go on with your life, don't dwell on it. If anyone asks and gets sucky, just tell them it's an allergic reaction, and the nice ones will go away.

[tollbaby]

Seraphim has succinctly hit the nail on the head here. If you're infectious, stay the hell home. If you're not, then don't worry about it.

Now my aunt the nurse has a few words she would like me to pass along. While allergies can produce reactions similar to the appearance of pinkeye, they do NOT produce "non-contagious pinkeye". Such a beast does not exist. It basically just means that BlaqueKatt's tear ducts are very histamine-reactive (as mine are) and any uppage in histamine will make her eyes run and gunk up (as mine do). It's NOT pinkeye. Trust me, pinkeye is a completely different beast. My son has had both, and there's a big difference, trust me. (warning, graphic - with pinkeye, his eyes were running green gunk all the way down his cheeks, he couldn't see without blurring, and the whites of his eyes were candy pink. If you get that with allergies, you desperately need to find yourself a better allergist).

I love the parents who knowingly send their kids to school and daycare with headlice. DAMN those things are hard to get rid of. My daughter ended up spending two weeks home from school and having them FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES because one little girl at daycare's mom refused to treat her precious because the shampoo burned her scalp. DUH it burns, get it over with, and we can all go back to our happy little lives. I PANICKED yesterday because I thought I saw a couple of eggs in my daughter's hair, kept her home from school, called in sick to work, took her to the doctor to check... it was dandruff *sigh* Still, better safe than sorry, and I ain't gonna be the cause of a new outbreak.