LA CROSSE, Wis. (WXOW) – The Coulee Region has seen a slight uptick in a common viral infection.

Conjunctivitis also known as Pink Eye has been on the rise according to Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse. The cases have been seen in schools and daycare settings.

Dr. Sydney Anderson with Mayo Clinic Health System said they have seen a couple cases a day. She offers a few tips to mitigate the spread of Pink Eye.

“The best things to do is to practice good hand hygiene,” she said. “Making sure that you are washing those hands frequently. If you do have pink eye, it is hard and the best thing is to not touch the eye. If you do, make sure you are washing your hands right away. And then also making sure that you’re not sharing things with other people such as towels, bedding tissues and handkerchiefs things like that.”

Because Pink Eye is viral, she said antibiotics are not as helpful as they are in a bacterial eye infection.

“The biggest things is hitting on the prevention is key. As much as possible try to avoid touching your eyes and then washing your hands frequently are the best routes,” Dr. Anderson stated. “And then a lot of the cases are viral, not bacterial so antibiotics aren’t as helpful in those cases. It’s just letting it run its course if you have the option to stay home when you have these types of infections. That’s best but it is not always feasible for all people, so make sure you’re doing the proper hand hygiene.”

Dr. Anderson said Pink Eye is highly contagious along with being more common this time of year with the other viruses that go around.