Conjunctivitis causes

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

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Causes

Conjunctivitis is most commonly caused by viruses, often adenovirus, but many other factors can lead to its occurrence. Other causes include:

• Allergies (allergic conjunctivitis)
• Bacteria
• Certain diseases
• Chemical exposure
• Chlamydia
• Fungi
• Parasites (rarely)
• Use of contact lenses (especially extended-wear lenses)

Conjunctivitis is spread from person-to-person by:

• Direct contact with the infected person’s eye drainage or drainage from the person’s cough, sneeze, or runny nose.
• Indirect contact with objects that may have the infected person’s drainage on them (e.g. eye makeup applicators, towels, shared eye medications).
• Contact with the infected person’s fingers or hands which may contain the virus or bacteria.

Newborns can be infected by bacteria in the birth canal. This condition is called ophthalmia neonatorum, and it must be treated immediately to preserve eyesight. Additionally, neonatal conjunctivitis is a red eye in a newborn caused by irritation, a blocked tear duct, or infection.

Common Causes

• Allergic conjunctivitis
• Bacterial conjunctivitis
• Viral conjunctivitis

Causes by Organ System

Cardiovascular	Kawasaki disease , Wegener's granulomatosis
Chemical / poisoning	Acetaldehyde , Acetic acid , Acetic anhydride , Ammonia , Anisole , Arsenic, Arsenic trioxide, Beryllium , Calcium Sulfate , Caterpillar poisoning , Chlorine Dioxide , Cobra poisoning , Diethylene glycol monobutyl ether , Dimethylamine , Ether , Ethylene Oxide , Furfural , Green Lynx spider poisoning , Hydroquinone , Lewisite , Mayapple poisoning , Metaldehyde , Methylene Diisocyanate , Morpholine , Osmium , Phosgene oxime, Propylene glycol dinitrate , Quinone , Rapeseed oil , Sulfuric Acid , Sulfuryl Fluoride , Toluene Diisocyanate , Vanadium, Xylene , Chloroacetophenone, Hydrogen sulfide
Dermatologic	Kawasaki disease , Dyskeratosis congenita , Xeroderma pigmentosum, Leprosy, Reiter's syndrome , Rosacea, Erythema multiformae
Drug Side Effect	Cetuximab, Cytosine arabinose syndrome , Nitisinone, Acetylcarbromal, Clomethiazole, Dipivefrin, Etretinate, Melarsoprol, Pemetrexed, Rasagiline
Ear Nose Throat	No underlying causes
Endocrine	No underlying causes
Environmental	Aesculus pollen , Alder , Alternaria , American feverfew, Ash juniper tree , Ash tree , Aureobasidium, Beech tree , Bermuda grass , Birch tree , Box elder tree , Canary grass , Capeweed , Cocklebur , Cypress tree , Daisy , Dandelion, Dust mite , Elm tree , Epicoccum , Euphorbiaceae , European Ash tree , Goosefoot , Guayule , Helminthosporium , Hemp , Hickory tree , Hornbeam tree , Horse chestnut tree , Johnson grass , Kentucky bluegrass , Maple tree , Marshelder , Monteroy pine tree , Mountain cedar tree , Mugwort tree , Oak tree , Olea tree , Olive tree , Orache (Atriplex) , Orchard grass , Pecan trees , Pigweed , Plane tree , Poplar tree, Ragweed , Redtop grass , Rhizopus , Ryegrass , Smut , Sunflower , Sweet vernal grass , Tilia tree , Timothy grass , Tumble weed , Velvet grass , Wall pellitory , Walnut tree , White cedar tree , Willow tree
Gastroenterologic	No underlying causes
Genetic	Common Variable Immunodeficiency , Crouzon Syndrome , Dyskeratosis congenita , Familial hibernian fever , Job syndrome , Severe combined immunodeficiency, Tyrosinaemia, Xeroderma pigmentosum, X-linked agammaglobulinaemia , Familial cold urticaria
Hematologic	Dyskeratosis congenita
Iatrogenic	No underlying causes
Infectious Disease	Acanthamoeba, Adenovirus, Aspergillus, Bacterial conjunctivitis, Candida albicans , Cladosporium , Congenital chlamydia - maternal chlamydia causing conjunctivitis in newborns, Congenital gonorrhea - maternal gonorrhea causing conjunctivitis in newborns, Coxsackie virus, Enterovirus 70, Fusarium , Gonorrhea , Haemophilus influenzae, Helminth infections , Herpes simplex, Herpes virus 2, Koch-Weeks conjunctivitis, Leprosy, Leptospirosis , Listeria monocytogenes, Lyme disease , Measles , Mucor , Non-Specific Urethritis , Omsk hemorrhagic fever , Onchocerciasis, Ophthalmia neonatorum, Pasteurella multocida , Penicillium , Pfiesteria piscicida , Sabia virus , Staphylococcus aureus, Toxic-shock syndrome , Trachoma, Viral conjunctivitis, Lacrimal canaliculitis, Neisseria meningiditis
Musculoskeletal / Ortho	Crouzon Syndrome , Polychondritis , Leprosy
Neurologic	Facial nerve palsy
Nutritional / Metabolic	Tyrosinaemia, Pyridoxine deficiency
Obstetric/Gynecologic	No underlying causes
Oncologic	No underlying causes
Opthalmologic	Polychondritis , Angelucci's syndrome , Cicatricial pemphigoid, Dacryocystitis , Ectropion , Entropion, Giant papillary conjunctivitis, Lacrimal canaliculitis, Phlyctenular keratoconjunctivitis, Reiter's syndrome , Theodore's superior limbic keratoconjunctivitis, Ophthalmia neonatorum, Sjogren's syndrome , Dyskeratosis congenita , Crouzon Syndrome , Non-Specific Urethritis , Follicular conjunctivitis, Blepharitis
Overdose / Toxicity	No underlying causes
Psychiatric	No underlying causes
Pulmonary	No underlying causes
Renal / Electrolyte	No underlying causes
Rheum / Immune / Allergy	Allergic conjunctivitis, Hay fever , Hypersensitivity to pollen , Lepidopterism , Mold allergy , Sjogren's syndrome , Stevens johnsons syndrome , Sweet Syndrome , Vernal conjunctivitis, Job syndrome , Severe combined immunodeficiency, X-linked agammaglobulinaemia , Angelucci's syndrome , Familial cold urticaria, Erythema multiformae
Sexual	Dyskeratosis congenita
Trauma	No underlying causes
Urologic	Non-Specific Urethritis , Reiter's syndrome
Dental	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	Contact lens

Causes in Alphabetical Order

Acanthamoeba Acetaldehyde Acetic acid Acetic anhydride Acetylcarbromal Adenovirus Aesculus pollen Alder Allergic conjunctivitis Alternaria American feverfew Ammonia Angelucci's syndrome Anisole Arsenic Arsenic trioxide Ash juniper tree Ash tree Aspergillus Aureobasidium Bacterial conjunctivitis Beech tree Bermuda grass Beryllium Birch tree Blepharitis Box elder tree Calcium Sulfate Canary grass Candida albicans Capeweed Caterpillar poisoning Cetuximab Chlorine Dioxide Chloroacetophenone Cicatricial pemphigoid Cladosporium Clomethiazole Cobra poisoning Cocklebur Common Variable Immunodeficiency Congenital chlamydia - maternal chlamydia causing conjunctivitis in newborns Congenital gonorrhea - maternal gonorrhea causing conjunctivitis in newborns Contact lens Coxsackie virus Crouzon Syndrome Cypress tree Cytosine arabinose syndrome Dacryocystitis Daisy Dandelion Diethylene glycol monobutyl ether Dimethylamine Dipivefrin Dust mite Dyskeratosis congenita Ectropion Elm tree Enterovirus 70 Entropion Epicoccum

Erythema multiformae Ether Ethylene Oxide Etretinate Euphorbiaceae European Ash tree Facial nerve palsy Familial cold urticaria Familial hibernian fever Follicular conjunctivitis Furfural Fusarium Giant papillary conjunctivitis Gonorrhea Goosefoot Green Lynx spider poisoning Guayule Haemophilus influenzae Hay fever Helminth infections Helminthosporium Hemp Herpes simplex Herpes virus 2 Hickory tree Hornbeam tree Horse chestnut tree Hydroquinone Hypersensitivity to pollen Job syndrome Johnson grass Kawasaki disease Kentucky bluegrass Koch-Weeks conjunctivitis Lacrimal canaliculitis Lepidopterism Leprosy Leptospirosis Lewisite Listeria monocytogenes Lyme disease Maple tree Marshelder Mayapple poisoning Measles Melarsoprol Metaldehyde Methylene Diisocyanate Mold allergy Monteroy pine tree Morpholine Mountain cedar tree Mucor Mugwort tree Neisseria meningiditis Nitisinone Non-Specific Urethritis Oak tree Olea tree Olive tree Omsk hemorrhagic fever Onchocerciasis

Ophthalmia neonatorum Orache (Atriplex) Orchard grass Osmium Pasteurella multocida Pecan trees Pemetrexed Penicillium Pfiesteria piscicida Phlyctenular keratoconjunctivitis Phosgene oxime Pigweed Plane tree Polychondritis Poplar tree Propylene glycol dinitrate Pyridoxine deficiency Quinone Ragweed Rapeseed oil Rasagiline Redtop grass Reiter's syndrome Rhizopus Rosacea Ryegrass Sabia virus Severe combined immunodeficiency Sjogren's syndrome Smut Staphylococcus aureus Stevens johnsons syndrome Sulfuric Acid Sulfuryl Fluoride Sunflower Sweet Syndrome Sweet vernal grass Theodore's superior limbic keratoconjunctivitis Tilia tree Timothy grass Toluene Diisocyanate Toxic-shock syndrome Trachoma Tumble weed Tyrosinaemia Vanadium Velvet grass Vernal conjunctivitis Viral conjunctivitis Wall pellitory Walnut tree Wegener's granulomatosis White cedar tree Willow tree Xeroderma pigmentosum X-linked agammaglobulinaemia Xylene