Most eye infections clear up within 7 to 14 days, though the exact timeline depends on what’s causing them. A straightforward case of viral pink eye typically resolves on its own in one to two weeks. Bacterial infections often improve faster with treatment, while fungal infections can require months of care. Here’s what to expect for each type.
Viral Pink Eye: 1 to 3 Weeks
Viral conjunctivitis is the most common eye infection, and it’s also the one you mostly just have to wait out. It usually clears up in 7 to 14 days without treatment and without lasting consequences. In some cases, though, it can linger for two to three weeks or even longer. There are no antibiotic drops that speed up a viral infection. Cool compresses and artificial tears can help manage the discomfort while your immune system does the work.
The infection is highly contagious for as long as your eye is red and producing discharge. You can spread it through direct contact, shared towels, or touching surfaces after rubbing your eye. Most workplaces and schools will want you to stay home while you have symptoms, particularly if you can’t avoid close contact with others.
Bacterial Pink Eye: 5 to 10 Days
Bacterial conjunctivitis often improves within five to ten days, even without treatment. Antibiotic eye drops or ointment can shorten that window and reduce the risk of spreading it to others. You’ll typically notice improvement within a day or two of starting antibiotics, though you should finish the full course your provider prescribes.
The hallmark of bacterial pink eye is thick, yellow or green discharge that may crust your eyelids shut overnight. Like the viral form, it’s very contagious. Once you’ve started antibiotic treatment and your symptoms are clearly improving, most people are considered safe to return to work or school with their clinician’s approval.
Styes: 1 to 2 Weeks
A stye is a small, painful bump on the eyelid caused by a bacterial infection in an oil gland or hair follicle. Styes usually last one to two weeks and go away on their own. Warm compresses applied for 10 to 15 minutes several times a day can help the stye drain faster and ease the discomfort.
Resist the urge to squeeze or pop a stye. If it doesn’t improve after two weeks, grows significantly, or starts affecting your vision, it may have developed into a chalazion, a harder, painless lump that forms when the blocked gland doesn’t fully drain. Chalazia can take a month or longer to resolve and sometimes need minor in-office treatment.
Fungal Eye Infections: Weeks to Months
Fungal keratitis is far less common than pink eye, but it’s considerably more serious and slower to heal. It typically occurs after an eye injury involving plant material, contaminated water, or improper contact lens care. Treatment generally needs to be maintained for about 12 weeks, with regular follow-up exams throughout. Unlike bacterial infections, fungal infections don’t respond to standard antibiotic drops, and using the wrong drops can actually make things worse.
If you wear contact lenses and develop increasing eye pain, light sensitivity, and blurred vision, especially after sleeping in your lenses or rinsing them with tap water, get evaluated promptly. Fungal infections that go untreated can cause permanent vision damage.
Allergic Conjunctivitis: Days to Weeks
Not every red, irritated eye is an infection. Allergic conjunctivitis looks similar to pink eye but behaves differently. The biggest clue is itching, which tends to be more intense with allergies than with infections. Both eyes are usually affected, and you’ll often have other allergy symptoms like sneezing or a runny nose.
Allergic eye symptoms often improve quickly once you remove or limit exposure to the trigger. But during spring and fall allergy seasons, symptoms can linger for many weeks as pollen counts rise and fall. Over-the-counter antihistamine eye drops help mild cases. More persistent inflammation sometimes requires a short course of prescription steroid drops to break the cycle of itching and swelling. Allergic conjunctivitis is not contagious.
Blepharitis: A Chronic Condition
Blepharitis is inflammation along the edges of the eyelids, often caused by bacteria that naturally live on your skin or by clogged oil glands. Individual flare-ups may settle down within a few weeks with proper lid hygiene, but the condition rarely disappears completely. Even with successful treatment, blepharitis frequently requires ongoing daily attention, particularly regular eyelid cleaning with warm compresses and gentle scrubs.
If your eyes feel gritty, your eyelids are persistently red or flaky, and the problem keeps coming back, blepharitis is a likely explanation. It’s more of a maintenance condition than something that fully resolves.
Signs Your Eye Infection Needs Attention
Most mild eye infections are manageable at home. But certain symptoms signal something more serious. Any sudden change in vision, intense pain that doesn’t ease with over-the-counter drops, sensitivity to light, or a feeling that something is stuck in your eye warrants prompt evaluation. The same goes for swelling that spreads beyond the eyelid to the surrounding face, or an infection that isn’t improving after a week of home care.
Contact lens wearers should be especially cautious. Remove your lenses at the first sign of redness or pain, and don’t put them back in until the infection has fully cleared. Infections that develop under a contact lens have a higher risk of affecting the cornea, which can threaten your vision if left untreated.