“Will conjunctivitis go away by itself?”

There are many kinds of conjunctivitis so without knowing which one you have it is not possible to answer your question. 1. Allergic conjunctivitis - usually seasonal and characterized by itchy eyes. There are OTC drops available for it. 2. Viral conjunctivitis - this is the one that most people associate with the word "conjunctivitis". It is usually fairly severe but self-limited and goes away without treatment in adults. Often it will be treated in children to prevent more serious infection. 3. Bacterial conjunctivitis - this is caused by bacteria, is more severe than viral conjunctivitis, and needs to be treated with antibiotics (drops and possibly oral). This could result in loss of vision if not properly treated. 4. There are other rarer caused of conjunctivitis which we can't cover in this forum If you are not sure what you have, it is advisable to seek medical attention for it.

If it is viral usually there are some bacteria that get better with out treatment and some strains can cause problems and need treatment.

Conjunctivitis is usually self limited but will abate sooner with the correct treatment,

Great Question! Depending on the type of conjunctivitis, bacterial or viral it can worsen before it improves; and without treatment can spread to others in your home, work, and if you work out, your gym. Generally it's considered contagious but without treatment most of the time will eventually resolve itself after 2 or 3 weeks. It can last longer if you keep touching things in your house and reinfecting your eyes - so really, it's best to get to an eye doctor MD or OD, or if you are insured, you probably have a feature like TeleDoc and they can call you in an RX for the infection.

Viral does , bacterial doesn’t