If you experience red eyes, there are many culprits, including trauma, scratches by foreign objects, infections and allergies. The main thing is to address the symptoms; some of these ailments have serious consequences for your eye health.
Here are a few of the conditions you should keep an eye on:
Conjunctivitis or Pink Eye
Conjunctivitis, also known as the dreaded pink eye, is an inflammation of the conjunctiva, the clear membrane lining the eyelid and covering the white part of the eyeball. The cause of the redness in the eye is inflammation of the small blood vessels.
Signs of conjunctivitis include: redness; swelling of eyelids or around eyes; watery eyes; itchiness; sandy or gritty feeling when you blink, and eyelids crusted over in the morning by overnight discharge.
Contact wearers should stop wearing their contacts, especially extended-wear types. If your symptoms don’t improve after 12 to 24 hours, see a doctor to confirm that the infection is not associated with contact use.
Pink eye can be caused by exposure to the sun, a virus, dry air, bleeding problems, coughing, rapid increase in eyeball pressure resulting in pain, allergies, dust, bacteria, or a foreign object in the eye.
Viral and bacterial conjunctivitis can affect one or both eyes. Viral infections typically have a watery discharge along with other signs. Bacterial infections tend to produce thicker, yellow-green discharge. Both are highly contagious for up to two weeks after the first symptoms become apparent. Good hygiene is recommended as both viral and bacterial conjunctivitis are spread through direct or indirect contact with the eye secretions of the infected person.
Allergies
Eye allergies harass one out of five Americans; some are seasonal, and some are year round. The conjunctiva comes in contact with irritants. The immune system mistakenly senses the irritants as full-on threats. Our bodies manufacture antibodies which then release histamines and other substances. Eyes get red, itchy and watery. The most salient symptom of eye allergies is itching or burning of the eyes.
With seasonal allergies, the more common of the two, the sufferer is affected during certain times of the year, like spring through summer to autumn. These are seasons where pollen from trees and grasses and mold and spores are blooming.
With perennial, or year-round allergies, the triggers are a bit different. Causes could be dust mites, animal dander, feathers, perfumes, air pollution, chlorine, or smoke.
So how do you treat eye allergies? Well first and foremost, change your behavior around high allergic trigger times. Use mite-proof bedding, keep windows closed, wear glasses or sunglasses to keep irritants out of your eyes and wash your hands after handling animals.
Some advice: use artificial tears or decongestant eye drops. Remember, oral antihistamines can cause dry eye so keep those eyes lubricated.
Uveitis
This is inflammation of the uvea which is comprised of three parts: The iris, the colored ring in your eye, and pupil, the dark hole in the center of the iris; ciliary body, and the choroid, which is located behind the iris. Depending on the involved eye structure or structures, there are specific terms for the type of uveitis.
Inflammation of the iris is called, “iritis.” Inflammation of the ciliary body is called “intermediate uveitis” or “cyclitis.” “Choroiditis” is inflammation of the choroid and “panuveitis" is the inflammation of all three areas.
Causes could involve autoimmune disorders such as lupus, and multiple sclerosis; infections such as bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic, and trauma. In some cases, the cause is unknown. Body infections affecting eyes include TB, herpes zoster, Lyme disease, and syphilis.
But all types of uveitis have a commonality: there’s an overabundance of inflammatory white blood cells leaking from the uvea’s inside blood vessels to areas outside of them. Treatment usually addresses inflammation and typically steroids are prescribed. If the cause is infectious, the medication will probably be antibiotic, antiviral or antifungal in nature.
Broken Blood Vessels in the Eye
Subconjunctival is a term used to describe the space just below the conjunctiva – the clear surface of your eye. A hemorrhage develops because of incidents such as blunt force trauma. This condition is typically not painful, but may be accompanied by scratchy or itchy feelings on the surface of the eye.
Events that can cause breakage of delicate blood vessels in conjunctiva are: coughing; straining; crying; rubbing eyes; poorly controlled eyeball pressure; vomiting, blunt trauma, an increase in intracranial or intraocular pressure; sneezing, and blood thinners can make it easier for hemorrhages to occur. Rarely, there is blood vessel breakage due to conjunctivitis and increased blood pressure.
“Hyphema” is blood in the front chamber of the eye between the iris and the cornea. This is a more serious condition. See a health care provider if you have broken blood vessels in your eye. Your doctor will be able to rule out other causes.
Burning Eyes
This may be a symptom of another ailment such as chronic dry eyes, or pink eye or allergies. In many cases, this burning is caused by a foreign body in the eye. Symptoms include redness, eye pain, watery eyes, discharge and itching.
Conditions that could cause burning eyes include smog, dust, sun exposure, airborne chemical irritants, hair spray, and windy days. For allergy sufferers avoid dust, pet dander, molds, incense or perfumes and pollen.
Age may be another cause of burning eyes. As we age, our bodies produce less oils. This lessening of oils in our tears means that the moisture that is available is evaporated off, leaving dry spots on the eyeball. These dry spots could cause a burning sensation. Artificial tears should be used four to six times a day to help alleviate this possibly damaging eye dryness.
These are some of the more common causes of red eyes and morning encrusted eyelids. When in doubt about any eye condition, see your eye doctor for further analysis of your condition. Your vision may depend on it.