Both bacterial and viral eye infections are contagious (usually from person to person). The only way to tell the difference between bacterial and viral eye infections is an eye exam from an ophthalmologist.
Most eye infections are viral, and are very infectious.
Bacterial eye infections are less common and are treated with antibiotic drops and pills, and treatment of the underlying cause, such as chronic blepharitis or lid infection.
Viral eye infections are treated with artificial tears, mild steroid drops, and drops to prevent redness and itching. Special care is necessary to avoid giving the infection to others, including careful hand washing, throwing away eye make-up and contaminated contact lenses, and trying not to rub the eyes.
Be careful of "persistent" or "chronic" eye infections — they may be something else entirely, such as chronic inflammation from blepharitis or dry eye.
Don't stay on steroid drops for more than a few weeks. I just saw a patient who had been treated with steroid eye drops for a chronic lid infection from his primary care doctor. The patient wasn't getting better, so he kept re-filling the prescription, and after six weeks of (ineffective) treatment, he had steroid induced glaucoma in both eyes (and a stye which wouldn't go away)
Being overweight may not be as unhealthy as it was 40 years ago," BBC News reports. New research has found a body mass index (BMI) of 27 is linked to the lowest rate of death – but someone with a BMI of 27 is currently classed as being overweight. BMI is a score calculated by dividing your weight (usually in kilograms) by the square of your height (usually in metres and centimetres). Currently, a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is classified as being overweight. Researchers looked at 120,528 people from Copenhagen, recruited from 1976 to 2013, and separately compared those recruited during the 1970s, 1990s and 2000s. They were followed up until they died, emigrated, or the study finished. The BMI linked to the lowest risk of having died from any cause was 23.7 in the 1970s group, 24.6 in the 1990s group, and had further risen to 27 in the 2003-13 group. It may be the case that the suggested upward shift in optimal BMI is the result of improvements in preventative treatments for weight-rela...