Conjunctivitis not clearing!!?

Hey, I'm really worried. I wear contact lenses and lost my gles earlier this year. I haven't got round to buying a new pair because gles are so expensive. Now I have conjunctivitis. I should have noticed earlier because about three weeks ago I was getting a mild pain when i put in my contact lenses yet would quickly fade. Only last week did my eye start to get worse. I've stopped wearing my contact lenses and am on both steroid drops and chloromycetin which my doctor prescribed however these are not working after three days of treatment. The steroid drops help to reduce the redness however when i wake up in the morning it just reappears, making me feel like these drops are only hiding the symptoms not actually helping! I'm kicking myself because usually when I feel any pain slight irritation from contact lenses I would have just worn my gles but of course I didn't have any. I've had conjunctivitis before yet have never had a red eye and it's always gone away in about 24hrs. I really need for my eye to get better, in 5 days I have a formal event, with tail dress and everything and I've been looking forward to it all year. I'm scared my eye will not be better however! I do not have many bad symptoms of conjunctivits, just a red eye, no itcchiness no dryness, etc. So I don't understand why it isn't getting better. Has anyone had a similar problem to mine? If so how long did it take for you to get over it? I'm planning on seeing an eye doctor but I was just wanting to hear some of your thoughts! Also, I will be buying gles sometime soon!