The main benefit of taking antibiotics for pink eye is that if the pink eye was the result of a bacterial infection, the antibiotics will likely get rid of the pink eye in a relatively short period of time. Antibiotics are able to effectively kill off any bacteria that cause infections, including pink eye. Sometimes antibiotics are over-prescribed, meaning that doctors occasionally prescribe them when they aren't actually needed. Using antibiotics for pink eye when the infection isn't bacterial in nature will likely do no more than kill off the good bacteria in a person's body, which is there to help fight off bad bacteria. If the good bacteria isn't there to fight away the bad bacteria, a person is often much more susceptible to other types of infections.
Another possible disadvantage of taking antibiotics for pink eye is that the antibiotics must be given in either eye drop or ointment form. Many people, particularly children, have a hard time using eye drops or any other type of topical eye medication because their eyes reflexively close when anything comes near them, which can severely limit the amount of medicine that actually manages to reach the eyes. For this reason, treating pink eye with antibiotics might be difficult and may take a long time to actually start working. Taking antibiotics orally for pink eye is often not recommended because in spite of the difficulty of getting the topical medicine into the eye, the chances of eliminating the pink eye are usually still greater with this method.
In order for a doctor to determine whether or not antibiotics for pink eye are needed, he will have to determine if the pink eye is a result of bacteria, allergies, or some sort of viral infection. Pink eye infections that are bacterial often cause lots of greenish-yellow discharge to form in and around the eyes. This discharge might stick together, making it difficult on occasion for people to open their eyes. When pink eye is viral, there may still be discharge coming from the eyes, but this discharge is often clear. People who have pink eye as a result of allergies will often display other allergy symptoms, such as itchy, watery eyes and runny noses.
Even though doctors normally do what they can to avoid prescribing antibiotics for pink eye when they are not needed, they still occasionally make mistakes. In most cases, a person should go ahead and take whatever medicine her doctor prescribes. If antibiotics are prescribed and the pink eye doesn't seem to respond to them, another doctor's visit may be necessary so symptoms can be reevaluated.