Virtually anyone can get pink eye, but some people are more likely than others to contract the condition. People who have asthma are more likely to suffer eye irritation due to allergies than the general public and this can lead to pink eye. Infectious pink eye is common among children and exposure to someone with the infectious form of the disease greatly increases risk of contracting it. This means that pink eye can spread quickly through an elementary school class, little league baseball team, or church youth group. A person with infectious pink eye may be contagious for 7 to 14 days after the first symptoms appear.