Originally published July 7 2005
According to British study, pinkeye unaffected by antibiotics
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A study conducted by Oxford researchers has found pinkeye (conjunctivitis) does not respond to antibiotics, and patients should let the condition clear up by itself.
The common childhood infection known as pinkeye does not respond to antibiotics, a new British study finds.
"Conjunctivitis is a mild and self-limiting condition and does not need specific treatment, therefore it is wrong to continue to medicalize it," said study author Dr. Peter Rose, a university lecturer in the department of primary health care at the University of Oxford.
"I don't think we should change our treatment parameters quite yet, but this is food for thought and further study," said Dr. Craig McKeown, a pediatric ophthalmologist at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami School of Medicine.
Dr. Eduardo Alfonso, director of the ocular microbiology lab at Bascom, took issue with some aspects of the study.
"I have a problem with the placebo they used in this study because it is an antiseptic.
Pinkeye is a common condition affecting about 5 million schoolchildren in the United States, or one in eight children annually.
Overprescribing contributes to the development of resistant bacteria, and many experts are trying to find ways to cut down on the unnecessary use of these drugs.
This trial was designed to compare the effectiveness of chloramphenicol eye drops -- the most commonly used prescription antibiotic for conjunctivitis in the United Kingdom -- with a placebo in children who had pinkeye.
"We would never think of treating a child with chloramphenicol," he said.
But that small gain, the authors argued, is not enough to balance the health-care costs involved, including 1 million visits to primary-care physicians each year in the United Kingdom.
Although the researchers suggested that parents initially treat children themselves without seeing a doctor, such a tactic may be difficult to implement among school-age children in the United States, one expert said.
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