Does pink eye cause blindness?

Pink eye is a "cold": No, pink eye is a viral infection of the conjunctiva that will run a typical course in about a week, just like the common cold. There can be temporary vision disturbances in some cases but there is no risk of permanent vision loss or blindness.

No but...: The bacterial eye infection called trachoma, which is not seen much in the usa, can start initially as a conjunctivitis and slowly progress to blindness.