Conjunctivitis in a 2 year old. Will it go away by itself?

[TubbyCustard11]

My 2 year old had a virus and now that's left, conjunctivitis has made its way in. It started with one eye and looks like it's moving to the other.
Pharmacist gave eyedrops but LO just doesn't let me put them in. Even with DH holding her down.
I've been cleaning with warm water as best as I can.
Will it go by itself?

If it’s viral it will clear up in 5 days without doing anything. If it’s bacterial he may benifit from antibiotic drops. GP would usually prescribe them after 5 days. What are in the drops?

It can take ages to shift without the drops. And even when the crust and gunk goes, their eyes will be red, watery and blood shot and likely very itchy. You don't want your child rubbing their eyes too much it can cause damage.

It's one of those horrible things that you just have to do. Pin them down and get them in. Rubbing their eyes with cotton wool dipped in cooled down camomile tea can also be beneficial

My daughter get’s conjunctivitis really badly when she’s had a bad cold, it takes two of us to wrap her in a blanket so her arms are pinned and wrestle her by keeping her head still and prising her eye open. It’s horrid but you’ve just got to do it.
I started asking my toddler to be brave and said its just ‘drop drop done’ and she started repeating it and it helped her I think to know it would be quick and simple? It worked for her anyway

I've got 5, and they all got it from time to time in one eye, despite being avidly contagious, never got it in the other, nor passed to each other. We found that cooled boiled water (that was still fairly warmish if you know what I mean) with a cotton wool pad like make up remover one (not cotton wool, that just sticks to it) wiped gently over the area (repeat repeat) seemed to work. We got the drops and the creme (greasy) but actually this didn't seem to do much and was more traumatic to apply, and time and bathing seemed to do better. They hated the wetness, but a warm dry soft towel seemed to sort that. I also got off what I could in the sessions (the crustiness can really cling) but as more repeating and time went on, no real bother. Probably did it 3-5 times a day with the worst affected, and a day or two on, all fine. I'm all for medicines etc. but I'm not sure they ever worked any better than our warm sterile water method. x