Pink eye is a common eye issue that people can develop at any age. A noticeable change in the color of your eye is the easiest way to tell that you're likely dealing with this condition. While having pink eye is unpleasant, it's not necessarily serious. It's common for this issue to go away on its own, which means that many people who develop pink eye don't need medical care. There are situations, however, in which you'll want to seek help. Rather than waiting to visit your family doctor, you can drop into a local urgent care clinic—such as Western WI Health. Doing so is worthwhile if you're facing these issues.
Not Improving
It's fairly normal for a person's pink eye to slowly improve over a series of days. Commonly, you'll be aware of the severity of this condition on a given day, but notice that the symptoms aren't quite as bad the following day. On subsequent days, you should continue to see improvement that suggests you'll soon be over your case of pink eye. It's a concern, however, when your pink eye isn't improving. Day after day, you might be acutely aware that your symptoms are either getting worse or have plateaued. This is a good time to seek medical help at an urgent care center.
Significant Discomfort
Pink eye typically causes mild irritation and itchiness in and around the affected eye. In some severe cases, however, it's possible to experience a significant degree of discomfort. You might feel a highly unpleasant burning sensation in your eye that is dramatically affecting your quality of life during the day, for example. You don't need to suffer through this pain without seeking help. A medical professional at your nearest urgent care center will check your eye to confirm that nothing else is wrong, and then likely prescribe antibiotics.
Noticeable Discharge
You should also plan to visit a local urgent care center if your eye has begun to produce discharge. While a small amount of discharge can commonly occur when you have pink eye, it's more of a concern if the discharge is particularly heavy or has a darker color. Discharge can indicate that your case of pink eye is on the more severe side, which means that you'll want to seek antibiotics to help clear up the symptoms as promptly as possible. Visiting an urgent care center when you have this condition will help you to feel that your issue will be resolved soon.