Can you go blind from pinkeye?

"pink eye" is the name we apply in America to an infection casued by the Hemophilus aegyptius bacterium that attacks the conjuctiva -- the mucous membrane that covers the eye and the inside of the eyelid. As with any infection, tissue damage can occur. And if tissue damage can occur, so can scarring. While not a common result, various degrees of blindness can indeed result. This particular infection is super-contagious, so it's critcally important you (a) treat it and (b) make certain you don't transfer it to others. This means lots and lots of thorough hand washing, not sharing pillows, etc. This one you can't fix at home. There are a few reasons for this. First, bacterial pink-eye is treated with an antibiotic cream or ointment (often Cipro-based, but others work too), which you can't get without a prescription. Another reason is, while I've described Pink Eye, Allergies are sometimes diagnosed as Pink-Eye, and the treatment for them (anti-inflamatories and possibly steroids) may actually exacerbate or make worse a bacterial infection.