eye irritation

Eye Pain When Blinking: 12 Causes You Need To Be Aware Of

Pain Topics

Eye pain when blinking could be due to several reasons. It’s a common eye condition that does not always pose serious eye health problems. In most cases, the pain goes away on its own over time. But severe cases might need medical treatments. Ask the advice of Dr. Anton, an experienced eye specialist in Melbourne, if you are experiencing pain when blinking. It’s also important to know proper eye care, this will ensure that your vision will stay reliable for a longer period of time.

 

 

Causes of Eye Pain When Blinking

The common reasons you feel pain in your eyes are conjunctivitis (pink eye), stye, or dry eyes. Serious eye problems that cause pain include optic neuritis, corneal ulcers, and infections in the cornea. These conditions need medical attention to prevent loss of vision.

Here are the reasons why your eye hurt from time to time:

eye rednessPink eye. Pink eye is also known as conjunctivitis. This is a bacterial infection that causes the outer eye membrane to get swollen. When the membrane is swollen, it becomes irritated, giving the eye a pink color, hence the term pink eye.

Allergic conjunctivitis. This is when your eyes get exposed to allergens such as dirt and dust. When pollen or mold spores get in touch with your eyes, it might result in inflammation and eye irritation. In addition to eye pain, you will also experience eye redness and itchiness. Conjunctivitis can be painful.

Astigmatism. Astigmatism happens when the shape of your eyeballs is defective. Eye pain, blurry vision, and double vision are the common causes of astigmatism. It could also cause dizziness and headaches.

Blepharitis. Blepharitis is the inflammation of the eyelid due to oil gland clogging in the hair follicles of the eyelashes. This causes eye redness along with eye itch, pain, and burns.

Chemical burns. You may also experience eye hurt if you are working around harmful chemicals all the time.

Headaches. Unfortunately, cluster headaches may also cause eye pain accompanied by swelling eyelids and red eyes.

Corneal scratches. The cornea is the transparent layer in front of the eye that covers the iris and pupil. When it gets scratched, it could cause pain in the eyes accompanied by a burning sensation.

Corneal ulcer. Eye ulcers happen when the cornea is inflamed. This may be due to an infection or an abrasion.

Dry eye syndrome. One of the great things about our eyes is that it produces tear to make blinking, seeing, and moving easy for us. But for some reason, some people’s eyes do not produce enough tears, causing dry eyes. Dry eye syndrome could carry eye pain when blinking. However, you can treat this with eye drops.

Foreign objects. The most common cause of pain in the eye is debris that gets in the eyes. This can cause corneal irritation and inner eyelid pain. Most of the time, fallen eyelashes are the culprits to blame.

Eye stye. A stye takes place when the oil glands or hair follicles of the eyelashes develop infections. Apart from the painful sensation when you blink, it will also come with inflammation and swelling.

Keratitis. Keratitis can be associated with a bacterial infection. This happens when the cornea is inflamed. Some of its symptoms are red eyes, photophobia, pain, and clouding.

 

 

Consulting your Doctor

Sometimes it is hard to determine if it’s time for you to consult a health professional or not. You should call your doctor if your eye hurts severely. Your doctor will determine if you need immediate medical attention if the eye pain is severe and is more than a minor infection.

Pain in the eye is usually just a sign of an underlying problem. Sometimes, other symptoms will eventually follow. If the pain comes without any probable cause such as injury or damage, your doctor will help determine the root cause by discussing the symptoms to you, such as:

  • pain when moving the eyes
  • eye pressure
  • sensitivity to light
  • eyelid inflammation
  • tender eyes

 

Need for Medical Emergency

The following symptoms may require medical emergency immediately:

  • intolerable pain
  • pain when touching the eye
  • blurry vision
  • impaired vision
  • abdominal pain
  • halos
  • bulging eyes
  • difficulty closing eyes

These symptoms might indicate a serious eye health condition that requires immediate treatment.

 

 

Possible Complications

The good news is, not all eye pain is an indicator of serious problems. Indeed, irritation is somewhat hard to deal with, but it isn’t always something to be worried about. Yet, that does not mean that you should ignore the signs and let them be.

If you don’t get the proper treatment you need for infection, inflammation, and injuries, you might suffer from more complications which include the following:

 

 

Treatments

eye doctor and patientAfter examining the health of your eyes, your doctor will decide on the best possible treatment for you. Once the doctor determined the cause and symptoms, he will most likely recommend a medication to prevent the pain from worsening.

The treatment for eye pain comes in three different categories; over-the-counter medications, prescription, and home remedies.

 

Prescribed Medication

Your eye doctor might prescribe some of the following medicines to manage your symptoms:

  • Antibiotics. These are used to treat underlying eye infections.
  • Medicated eye drops. This product works by eliminating the bacteria that has entered the eye. Diclofenac (Voltaren) and ketorolac (Acular) are some of the most used eye drops for pain.
  • Painkillers. Painkillers include anti-inflammatory medicines like ibuprofen.
  • Medications for Allergy. If your eye pain is due to an allergy, your eye doctor will manage the symptoms by focusing on the allergy.
  • Steroids. For severely inflamed eyes, your doctor might recommend prednisolone eye drops.

 

Eye Care Tips

Here are the things that you can do to keep your eyes healthy:

  • eat a healthy diet
  • stay physically active
  • wear eye protection when needed
  • avoid smoking
  • be aware of your family’s eye health history
  • be sure to rest your eyes
  • maintain a healthy weight
  • do not wear eye contacts for too long

 

 

 

 

 

Reference:

Eye Pain When Blinking: Causes, Treatments, and More (https://www.healthline.com/health/eye-health/eye-hurts-when-i-blink#causes)

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