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Business Insider

Eye doctors are warning that conjunctivitis, or pink eye, could be a symptom of Covid-19, the disease the coronavirus causes.
On March 31, the American Academy of Ophthalmology shared a notice that a mild case of pink eye could signal a person has Covid-19, after two recent studies and an anecdotal report suggested the condition was a symptom.
One study, published in the Journal of Virology, looked at 30 Covid-19 patients in China and found one patient had pink eye, while the other 29 had the coronavirus present in their eye secretions.
The other study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that 9 out of 1,099 patients who tested positive for Covid-19 in a lab had pink eye.


Eyes can be an entry point for the coronavirus to infect a person, as well as the nose and mouth, which is why the CDC has warned people against touching these areas without first washing their hands properly.
Additionally, some eye doctors are suggesting contact lens wearers switch to glasses for the time being to prevent unnecessary touching of the eyes.
The Academy also pointed to the case of a care home nurse in Washington, who, as CNN reported, saw that many of her elderly patients who were diagnosed with Covid-19 had a red eye as an early symptom.


As such, the Academy said, eye doctors should be looking out for Covid-19 symptoms, such as a cough, a fever, and shortness of breath, in patients who come to their offices with pink eye.
Doctors should also use proper medical gear to protect their eyes, nose, and mouth from coronavirus transmission when seeing patients for eye health appointments, and use bleach and alcohol disinfectants on surfaces and equipment between every patient, the Academy said.
These findings are preliminary, however, and the doctors who published the notice said pink eye is a rare symptom compared to other symptoms like a dry cough, fever, and shortness of breath.
Pink eye could be an overlooked symptom of COVID-19, eye health experts say


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Coronavirus pandemic

The eyes have it: conjunctivitis could be an overlooked Covid-19 symptom

A Spanish member of parliament touches his eye with his wrist. Photo: EPA

Coronavirus treatments and vaccine trials in the works

A scientist at a laboratory in Brazil works on a potential coronavirus vaccine, as researchers fast-track numerous possible treatments while the Covid-19 pandemic rapidly spreads. Photo: EPA-EFE

A researcher works on a vaccin against the new coronavirus COVID-19 at the Copenhagen's University research lab in Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 23, 2020. - At Copenhagen university, a team of about 10 researchers is working around the clock to develop a vaccine against Covid-19 that could apply for clinical trial before within nine months. The vaccine will be based on two components : the protein which is on the surface of the coronavirus, called the spike protein that researchers express in the lab and then attach it on the surface of a virus-like particle. (Photo by Thibault Savary / AFP)

A researcher works on virus replication in order to development a vaccine against the coronavirus Covid-19, in Belo Horizonte, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, on March 26, 2020. - The Ministry of Health convened The Technological Vaccine Center of the Federal University of Minas Gerais laboratory to conduct research on the coronavirus COVID-19 in order to diagnose, test and develop a vaccine. (Photo by Douglas MAGNO / AFP)

Coronavirus: should I make my own mask? How home-made ones may help stop Covid-19 spread

A man wears his home-made face mask in Harlem, New York, the US. Even a home-made mask is better than nothing, some experts say. Photo: AFP

Belgian Audrey Jacques, fashion designer and sewing teacher, sews homemade protective masks to be donated to relatives during the coronavirus lockdown, imposed by the Belgian government in an attempt to slow down the spread of COVID-19, in Brussels, Belgium March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

epa08329319 Pat Roth, pictured through her living room window, sews homemade face masks which she donates to George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC, USA, 28 March 2020. To help with the mask shortage, brought on by the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, Roth enlisted other retired seniors from her water aerobics group for her sewing and donation efforts. The eight women sewers scrounge materials they have at home, some ordering from Amazon, paying out of their own pockets for their supplies. EPA-EFE/JIM LO SCALZO

Adolfo Lettieri and his son Simone pose as they make homemade masks that are distributed free of charge to people queuing outside their small shop, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in the Tuscan city of Grosseto, Italy, March 17, 2020. Picture taken March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini

A volunteer with the Red Cross sorts homemade face masks meant to be sterilized and distributed among people in need in Prague, Czech Republic, March 27, 2020. In Czech Republic it is mandatory that all people must cover their mouths and noses in public to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus called COVID-19. Improvised methods such as a scarf or homemade mask are allowed. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Belgian Audrey Jacques, fashion designer and sewing teacher displays one of the homemade protective face masks during the coronavirus lockdown, imposed by the Belgian government in an attempt to slow down the spread of COVID-19, in Brussels, Belgium March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

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Eyes can be an entry point for the coronavirus to infect a person, as well as the nose and mouth
Cough, fever and shortness of breath are common symptoms



Eyes can be an entry point for the coronavirus to infect a person, as well as the nose and mouth, some experts say.


Coronavirus pandemic: All stories

Wellness

Disease

The eyes have it: conjunctivitis could be an overlooked Covid-19 symptom

Eyes can be an entry point for the coronavirus to infect a person, as well as the nose and mouth Cough, fever and shortness of breath are common symptoms

Eyes can be an entry point for the coronavirus to infect a person, as well as the nose and mouth

Cough, fever and shortness of breath are common symptoms