Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Eye Infections
Your eyes can get infections from bacteria, fungi, or viruses. Eye infections can occur in different parts of the eye and can affect just one eye or both. Two common eye infections are:
- Conjunctivitis - also known as pink eye. Conjunctivitis is often due to an infection. Children frequently get it, and it is very contagious.
- Stye - a bump on the eyelid that happens when bacteria from your skin get into the hair follicle of an eyelash.
Symptoms of eye infections may include redness, itching, swelling, discharge, pain, or problems with vision. Treatment depends on the cause of the infection and may include compresses, eye drops, creams, or antibiotics.
It sits within Eyes and Vision.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Eye Institute.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Eye Infections
707 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole vs. Clindamycin for the Treatment of Children With Invasive MRSA InfectionsIndiana University
- Metagenomics for Ocular InflammationMoorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Study of Chediak-Higashi SyndromeNational Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
- Expanding Access to Preventive Chemotherapy Among Mobile and Migrant PopulationsUwemedimo Friday Ekpo
- Treatment of Inflammatory Myelitis and Optic Neuritis With Early vs Rescue Plasma Exchange (TIMELY-PLEX)Mayo Clinic
- Emerging Indications for Hyperbaric Oxygen TreatmentJay C. Buckey Jr.
Research already completed
- Phacovitrectomy Versus Pars Plana Vitrectomy Alone for Post-Intravitreal Injection EndophthalmitisBenha University
- Flexible Bronchoscopy in Resistant Pneumonia in PICUMansour Gomaa Mohammed Saleh
- TBTC Study 30: Safety and Tolerability of Low Dose Linezolid in MDR TBCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Ocular Pathogen and Transcriptome Investigation Using Comprehensive SequencingUniversity of California, San Francisco
- Retrospective Chart Review of Patients With Acanthamoeba Keratitis Who Have Received 0.8 mg/mL Polihexanide as Part of the "Medicines in Special Situations" (Medicamentos en Situaciones Especiales) Program in Spain.SIFI SpA
- Sanitation, Water, and Instruction in Face-washing for Trachoma I/IIUniversity of California, San Francisco
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Common Types of Eye InfectionsAmerican Academy of Ophthalmology
- Eye Problems: Symptom Checker FlowchartAmerican Academy of Family Physicians
- Fungal Eye Infections BasicsCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Symptoms
- Eye SymptomsAmerican Academy of Ophthalmology
Diagnosis and Tests
- Dilating Eye DropsAmerican Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
Treatments and Therapies
- How to Use Eye DropsAmerican Society of Health-System Pharmacists
- How to Use Eye Ointments and Gels ProperlyAmerican Society of Health-System Pharmacists
Related Issues
- Eye Infections from Contact LensesAmerican Academy of Ophthalmology
- Inflammation of the OrbitMerck & Co., Inc.
- TrichiasisMerck & Co., Inc.
Statistics and Research
- Eye Health Data and StatisticsNational Eye Institute
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Eye InfectionsNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Eye Infections. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Eye Infections, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.