INDIANAPOLIS – Students at Butler University in Indianapolis are battling an outbreak of pink eye.

WISH-TV reports as many as 11 students a day have been visiting the University’s Health Services with symptoms related to conjunctivitis.

The virus is highly contagious and spreads quickly among people living in close proximity to one another. It’s caused by the same virus that triggers the common cold.

Health services Dr. Maria Fletcher says students often wake up to find their eyelashes stuck together or their eyes extremely red.

The symptoms are treated with eye drops and generally clear up in three to five days.

Doctors are urging students to wash their hands often to avoid contracting the virus.