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‘Something is in my eye’; you might have heard this most often in your surroundings. We all have faced eye problems at some point in our life. Most frequently, the eye pain settles without medication or treatment. Ophthalmalgia is the other term for eye pain.
Eye pain can be broadly categorized into two categories. The first is ocular pain that happens on the eye’s surface, and the second one is orbital pain which occurs inside the eye.
The surface-level eye pain is caused mainly by poking, contamination, or injury. Individuals experience irritation, infection, or tingling sensation if they are facing ocular or sharp pain in eye pain. So, this kind of eye pain is effortlessly treated with eye drops or proper rest.
When the eye feels hurting, dirty, stabbing, or pulsating, then it comes under orbital pain. This sort of eye torment might require dedicated treatment.
Also, the eye specialists will determine what’s wrong with your eyes and offer you the proper treatment.
What Causes Eye Pain?
There are several conditions and reasons that can cause eye pain. Some of them are:
- Viral and bacterial infection is the top reason for pain in right eye.
- Your hand acts as the infecting organism carrier, and it gets transferred to the eyes by rubbing eyes with such hands.
- Sometimes viral infections spread because of an infection such as sinus and one’s own body infection.
- Improperly fitted contact lense and dirty lenses also affect the health of the eye and cause pain.
- Air pollution, chlorinated swimming pools, cigarette smoke, and other harmful toxic elements are behind the eye’s pain.
- Swelling in the eyes or inflammation is also responsible for pain in the eyes.
- When your eyes experience pressure, the fluid does not remain in a balanced condition, and pain occurs.
What Are Common Eye Problems?
1. Blepharitis
This is the medical term for inflammation of eyelids. It occurs because of bacterial infection and skin conditions like rosacea and dandruff. The symptoms of blepharitis are as follows:
- Crusting Of Eyelids
- Dry Eyes
- Itchy Eyelids
- Red, Swollen Eyes
- Flaky Skin On Eyelid
- Tear Production In Excess Level
When conditions become severe, then
- Losing Eyelashes
- Blurred Vision
- Inflammation Of Cornea
Treatment
The blepharitis treatment is related to cleaning eyelids and keeping them free from crusts. A warm compress over the eyes is done following gentle cleansing of eyelids with an eye-friendly cleaning product or baby shampoo. If this problem has occurred because of a bacterial infection, then your doctor will prescribe you antibiotics.
2. Chalazion Or Stye
These come among the most common eye problems. A stye is a small bump that appears on the border of the eyelid. It is somewhat similar to acne pimples in appearance. So the main reason behind its occurrence is the blocking and clogging of oil glands that cause small infections. It causes pain when touched.
A chalazion is an inflammatory lump in the eyelid’s tear gland that appears like a red bump on the eyelid. Eyelid cyst or meibomian cyst is another name of chalazion. Meibomian, the oil gland gets blocked and forms chalazion. In the beginning phases, it remains painful, but with passing time, it does not hurt.
Treatment
Styes don’t require any particular treatment. It gets recovered on its own. You can offer a warm compress to the affected area to speed up the healing process. If it gets very large, then antibiotic treatment will be suggested. Also, a chalazion can also get clear with a warm compress. If it gets large, then the eye doctor will advise you to remove it surgically.
3. Dry Eyes
There is the production of tears by healthy eyes that helps in lubrication of the eye. Also, tears remove dust and other irritating elements from the eye. So, dry eyes do not produce that many tears and will become itchy and prone to infection.
Symptoms
- A feeling of grit in the eye
- Redness and soreness
- Watery eyes
- Itchiness
- Blurred eyesight
- Sensitiveness to light
Treatment
It is not a very major concern. It can be managed using artificial tears. If it remains for a long time, then you should discuss this issue with your doctor.
4. Allergies
Eye allergy occurs when some allergic reaction happens to the eyes. It affects both eyes. Things that can cause allergy to the eye are
- Dander
- Pollen
- Dust mites
- Mold spores
- Skincare products and other cosmetics
Symptoms
- The eye allergy symptoms include:
- Sensitivity towards light
- Red and swollen eyelids
- Grittiness or itchiness of the eyes
- Watery eyes
Treatment
The treatment of eye allergy is decided on the basis of the type of allergy. After that, you should avoid such allergens that cause such allergies. Individuals also use eye drops to overcome eye allergies.
5. Conjunctivitis
It is a collective name of eye redness, inflammation, and swelling. The eye has conjunctiva, which is the thin and transparent tissue that protects or covers the white part of the eye. In conjunctivitis, the individual’s eyes get red or pink. Thus people also refer to this situation as pink eye. Chemicals, air pollution, fungi, etc., cause most cases of conjunctivitis.
Symptoms
- Discharge from the eyes
- Itching, irritation
- Feeling as if there is something in eyes
- Sensing the urge to rub the eyes
- Swollen eyelids
- Increased tear production
- Crusting of eyelids or eyelashes
- Discomfort feeling while wearing contact lenses
Treatment
The treatment of conjunctivitis is based on the type of conjunctivitis. If it is viral conjunctivitis, then it will recover within 7 to 14 days on its own. But if it remains more than these days, then the doctor will advise antiviral medications for bacterial conjunctivitis, eye specialists suggest antibiotics for recovery. Also, allergic conjunctivitis needs protection and avoidance from allergens that have caused this allergy. Topical antihistamines and eye drops are prescribed by a doctor in case of severe infection.
6. Eye Injury
Sometimes physical injury occurs to the eye, and that causes pain, swelling, and excess tear production. Situations that can cause physical eye injury are:
- Stacking of a foreign object in the eye
- Being poked in the eye
- Acquiring a blow to the eye
Treatment
Eye injury treatment is decided on some factors. Have a look at them.
- Type of injury
- The complexity of damage to the eye
- Does surrounding tissues are damaged
- Infection is still present
If eyes have been poked or experienced a blow, the doctor will prescribe the following.
- Keep eyes clean and clear
- For reducing swelling, apply a cool compress
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug for reducing the inflammation and pain
7. Glaucoma
The condition in which the eye’s optic nerve gets damaged is termed glaucoma. So, the healthy optic nerve is responsible for good vision. Such damage occurs because of sudden high-pressure creation in the eyes. It is the most common reason for blindness for people of age group 60.
Symptoms
Certain possible indications will let you know about glaucoma conditions.
- Pressure behind eyes
- Eye pain
- Blurred vision
- The appearance of rainbow or halos
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Headaches
- Redness in eye
Treatment
Glaucoma damages can’t be reversed, but you can control the situation from worsening with proper checkups and prevention. Also, the first thing eye specialists will prescribe is to use eye drops to reduce the pressure level in the eye. If the situation does not get better, then the doctor will advise surgery or another treatment to recover the fluid drainage in the eye.
8. Cluster Headache
When pain arises on one side of the head and in a sudden manner, then it is called cluster headache. In extreme conditions, individuals experience pain near their eyes. This type of headache causes severe pain and can last between 15 minutes to 3 hours.
Symptoms
- Red and watering eyes
- Smaller pupil in one of eye
- Runny nostril
- Facial flushing
- Facial sweating
- Drooping of eyelid
Treatment
The individual suffering from cluster headache should contact the doctor for the right and proper treatment. The eye doctor will prescribe the best treatment to overcome such pain. Some of them are:
- Sumatriptan injections
- Sumatriptan or zolmitriptan nasal spray
- Oxygen therapy
9. Cancer
Occasional eye pain can cause or show the symptoms of eye cancer. Sometimes skin cancer can also lead to eye cancer, starting from the eyelid and then covering the surrounding skin.
Symptoms
When a tumor grows extensively, then it causes some pain in the eyes. However, some of the symptoms of eye cancer are as follows.
- Blurred vision
- Dark spot near iris of the eye
- Eyeball position changed
- Change in the movement of the eyeball
- Bulging of the eye
- Partial or complete loss of vision
- Change in size or shape of the pupil
Treatment
The treatment of eye cancer is dependent on the location and size of cancer and also on the probability of saving the eye vision. There are certain possible treatments available for eye cancer:
- Surgery for removing the tumor
- Laser therapy
- Radiation therapy
- Chemotherapy
How To Treat Eye Pain?
What is the cause of pain decides the treatment of eye pain. There are several sore eyes remedies. However, the most commons medication or therapy includes:
Homely Way
The first and foremost thing you should do in case of pain is to allow proper rest to the eyes. This is because your eyes get strained with continuous staring at the computer screen or any digital device. In this case, your doctor will ask you to cover your eyes for at least one day and offer rest to your eyes.
Do Warm Compress
Individuals suffering from blepharitis get instruction from doctors to apply warm and moist towels to their eyes. This application also helps in clearing a clogged oil gland.
Wear Glasses
If you use glasses for better visibility, then wear them so that your corneas can heal properly.
Use Antibiotics
To heal the infection of the eyes, you can use anti-bacterial drops to relax your eyes. Also, you can take oral antibiotics to get relief from eye pain. Using antibiotics in conjunctivitis corneal abrasions will heal the pain.
Use Eye Drops
You can use medicated eye drops to get relief from pressure becoming in your eyes.
Corticosteroids
It is a steroid which is a type of anti-inflammatory drug. Corticosteroids are used for serious infection cases like optic neuritis and anterior uveitis.
Pain Medications
If eye pain becomes severe and affects your day-to-day work life, then your doctor will advise you on medicine to get relief from pain.
What Occurs If Eye Pain Isn’t Medicated?
Most eye pain can recover with mild or no treatment. Pain in the eyes rarely causes any large-scale damage or permanent damage. However, in some cases, negligence can worsen the situation and cause serious problems.
For instance, you can take the example of glaucoma. The pain and symptoms of this problem lead to an imminent problem. If it is not diagnosed and treated at the right time, it will lead to vision loss problems. Therefore, you should take your eye pain as a priority and should not gamble with it. In the event, you start to encounter eye pain that isn’t brought about by something like an eyelash in the eye, plan to see your eye specialist as soon as possible.
How Can You Prevent Eye Pain?
Eye protection is the foremost thing to prevent your eyes from pain. So here we are describing some of the ways that will help you in preventing your eyes pain.
Wear Protective Eyewear
You can protect your eyes by wearing safety glasses or goggles. It will prevent scratches and burns that cause eye pain. You can also wear protective eyewear while playing, exercising, gardening, and using any handy tool. If you belong to the construction department or face any flying objects or chemicals during your work, then you should definitely wear protective eyewear. On the other hand, if your eye condition further aggravates your disabilities, you may check with an NDIS plan management team to know appropriate eye protections that your insurance may cover.
Maintain The Hygiene Of Contact Lens
You should clean your eye contact properly and on a regular basis. You should wear it only occasionally so that your eyes get time to rest. Never wear contacts longer than the set time.
Hold Chemicals With Caution
During pest control, using detergents, household cleaners, or any chemical, you should keep your body far away. During spraying chemicals, you should protect your eyes.
Practice Caution With Kids’ Toys
You should ensure that your kids do not injure their eyes with toys while playing. Spring-loaded components, guns, bouncing balls, and other such things can injure the child’s eyes.
When To Visit A Doctor?
Continuous eye pain is the indication of an underlying medical condition. Also, you should treat any eye pain on priority. You should also visit your doctor if your eye pain or symptoms remain more than 48 hours or you do not experience relief from home remedies. Uveitis, angle-closure glaucoma, scleritis, etc., are severe conditions that can affect eye vision and demand eye specialists’ treatment.
- Blurred Vision
- Bulging or Sore Eyeballs
- Inflammation Of Eyelid Or Eyelash Follicles
- Feeling Of Pain When Exposed To Light
- Puffiness Or Tenderness Around Eyes
- Undesired Pressure In Eyes
- Pain While Moving Eyes
- Pain That Arises Headaches And Other Issues.
What Tests are Done to Diagnose Eye Pain?
Eye specialists near you will use a variety of tools to diagnose the health of your eyes.
Slit-lamp exam: The eye doctor uses bright light to check and diagnose whether your eye structure is in good condition or not.
Dilating drops: Doctors use dilating drops to examine the inside of the eye. This will make the pupil large. It will help him to see clearly and deep into the eyes.
Tonometer: This is used to measure the pressure inside the eyes. Doctors use this to diagnose the glaucoma condition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dry eyes are the most common reason behind eye pain or irritation in the morning. A dry eye situation occurs when your eye is not able to produce enough tears, or else if it produces, then it evaporates quickly. You should also meet your eye doctor as early as possible to overcome this problem.
Eye pain is common, but you should not ignore it or take it lightly. However, there are several ways by which you can also relax your eyes from the pain. Warm compress, flushing, taking antibiotics, eye drops, wearing glasses, and following some home care will help you to heal the eye pain.
The most common reason behind this is eye strain. It hurts when eyes get strained while moving around or looking at the side. Along with this, a sinus infection or injury is also responsible for this.
Aloe vera gel is the most common product that comes with anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. You can take 1 teaspoon of gel along with 2 tablespoons of water and apply it gently with cotton on your eyes for about 10 minutes. It is an effective and also a practical way to control and eliminate eye inflammation.
It is a type of strain that occurs when you use any digital device like a phone, computer, tablet, etc., for quite a long period of time. A person who also uses digital technology on a regular basis for long hours of time must have experienced this type of effect.
Eyestrain, headaches, blurred vision, dry eyes, neck and shoulder pain are some of the common symptoms of CVS. To overcome these, you should use all electronic devices in proper lighting and with frequent breaks so that eyes get time to rest.
Eyes sore come under the significant ocular symptom of COVID-19. Individuals who have suffered from coronavirus 2019 have also experienced sore eyes problems.
If you suffer from any vision-related condition and do not pay attention to it, it will get worse. Therefore, you should treat your eye problem on priority and get it treated medically immediately. However, the normal eye strain lasts within one hour from the last time you interacted with the screen. Therefore, you should also rest your eyes properly and adjust screen settings and usage time.
