Eye Pain Treatment

What Causes Eye Pain?

Eye pain is a typical symptom of an eye infection. If you’ve ever noticed pain, itching, swelling, and redness in your eye, you may have an eye infection.

You can get an eye infection from a microorganism like a virus, fungus, or bacteria. In addition, pink eye is the most common eye infection.

Viruses commonly cause eye infections, although bacterial infections can also be the culprit. These infections can affect a single eye or both eyes simultaneously. While many eye infections are not particularly serious, it is crucial to seek professional care for severe cases, as they can escalate into medical emergencies and potentially lead to vision loss.

Fortunately, you can recover from an eye infection if you receive proper and timely treatment from a healthcare provider. More importantly, you can quickly recover if you obtain treatment from an experienced and certified physician.

Eye Infection Symptoms

Here are a few signs and symptoms of an eye infection:

• Irritation or itching
• Red eyes
• Swelling
• Watery Eyes
• Eye pain

The above signs develop early in the infection; later symptoms include:

• Fever
• Blurred vision
• Light sensitivity
• Sticking together of eyelashes because of a discharge
• Yellow and sticky pus in the eye

Types of Eye Infections

Eye infections fall into three categories based on their cause: bacterial, viral, or fungi, each with unique symptoms and treatment.

Below are the common eye infections:

Conjunctivitis/Pink Eye

Pink eye is an inflammation of the transparent membrane between the eyeball and eyelid. The infected membrane is called conjunctiva. The infection starts to develop after the small blood vessels in the conjunctiva become swollen and irritated.

The expansion of the blood vessels causes the white part of the eye to appear reddish or pink, hence the name pink eye or conjunctivitis. A viral infection is the most common cause of pink eye; however, the illness can occur due to a bacteria or allergic reaction.

Other causes of pink eye include a chemical splash, a foreign object, or a blocked tear duct.

Here are the common symptoms of pink eye infection:

• Redness in both or one eye
• Tearing
• Light sensitivity
• Itchiness
• A discharge in one or both eyes that forms a crust at night may prevent the eyes from opening in the morning.

How to Prevent the Spread of Pink Eye

Good hygiene practices is an excellent strategy to control the spread of pink eye.

Here are a few tips to improve your hygiene:

• Change your pillowcases regularly
• Avoid touching your eyes with your hands
• Don’t share personal care items or eye cosmetics
• Don’t share wash clothes or towels
• Wash your hands frequently

Keratitis

Keratitis is an eye infection that occurs due to an inflammation of the cornea. The cornea is the eye’s outermost layer covering the pupil and the iris. Keratitis may occur due to an infection or non-infection.

An example of non-infection is when you sustain an injury by wearing contact lenses for too long. It can also occur when a foreign object enters your eye. Keratitis can trigger serious complications that may permanently damage your vision.

Symptoms of Keratitis include:

• Eye pain
• Eye redness
• Reduced vision
• Blurred vision
• Discharge from your eyes or excess tears
• Feeling like there’s an object in the eye
• Light sensitivity

Causes of Keratitis

• Viruses: The herpes virus may cause keratitis
• Bacteria: Some bacteria that cause Keratitis include pseudomonas, streptococcus, and Staphylococcus.
• Contaminated water, particularly in oceans, lakes, rivers, and hot tubs, contains bacteria, fungi, and parasites that can enter you while swimming and cause keratitis.

If untreated, keratitis can cause:

• Blindness
• Temporary or permanent reduction in your vision
• Chronic inflammation or scarring of the cornea
• Open sores in the cornea
• Recurring viral infections in the cornea

Blepharitis

Blepharitis is an eye infection that occurs due to an inflammation of the eyelids. It affects both eyes on the edges of the eyelids. Blepharitis eye infection occurs when the tiny oil gland at the base of the eyelashes becomes clogged, triggering irritation and redness.

Blepharitis doesn’t look good on your eyes and creates an uncomfortable feeling. Fortunately, it doesn’t cause permanent damage to your vision.

The infection causes the eyelids to become irritated and itchy. It also appears greasy and develops crusts and scales that stick to the eyelids. Individuals with blepharitis sometimes wake up with their eyelids stuck together.

In other instances, infected persons wake up with dried tears around their eyes and a feeling of sand in their eyes.

Symptoms of blepharitis include:

• Red eyes
• Watery eyes
• Itchy eyelids
• Light sensitivity
• Eyelids that stick
• Peeling of skin around the eye
• A greasy appearance on the eyelids
• A burning or stinging sensation in the eyes
• Abnormal blinking
• A blurred vision that improves with blinking

Causes of Blepharitis

There isn’t an apparent cause of blepharitis; however, it may be associated with one of the following:

• An allergic reaction to eye medication, eye make-up, or contact lens solution
• A blocked or infected oil gland in the eyelid
• An infection
• Rosacea, a skin condition that causes facial redness
• Eyelash mites
• Dry eyes

Uveitis

Uveitis is an eye infection that causes inflammation in the middle of the eye(uveitis). Signs of uveitis come up suddenly, with the condition worsening quickly.

There are different types of uveitis depending on the infected part of the eye:

• Anterior uveitis infection occurs in the inside part of the eye—between the cornea and iris. It is the most common type of uveitis, also called iritis.
• Posterior Uveitis: It affects the retina or choroid inside the back of the eye.
• Panuveitis: The infection occurs when all layers of the eye are inflamed from the front to the back of the eye.

Uveitis can develop into a severe infection likely to cause permanent vision loss. Early treatment and diagnosis can prevent complications and preserve your vision.

Here are the common symptoms of uveitis:

• Reduced vision
• Eye pain
• Light sensitivity
• Dark but floating spots in your field of vision
• Blurred vision
• Eye redness

If left untreated, uveitis can cause many complications, including permanent vision loss, retinal swelling, cataracts, optic nerve damage, retinal detachment, and permanent vision loss.

Other eye infections include:

• Sty
• Cellulitis
• Ocular herpes
• Endophthalmitis

Diagnosis and Tests

A healthcare professional can tell if you have an eye infection by examining the eye. They may also ask you about your symptoms and recent health history.

Although rare, a healthcare professional can request to take the liquid that drains from the eye for lab analysis or culture. A healthcare provider requests a culture test if they suspect a high-risk cause or when displaying severe symptoms.

Management and Treatment

The treatment of an eye infection depends on its cause. For instance, if bacteria has caused the virus, the healthcare provider may prescribe the medication in various forms, including ointments, eyedrops, or tablets.

Antibacterial medications work within 24-48 hours, with a severe infection taking more days to heal.

If an allergic reaction triggers the eye infection, the healthcare provider may prescribe an eye drop medication to calm the eye. Medicines that control allergic reactions include antihistamines and mast cell stabilizers.

Alternatively, physicians may prescribe steroids, anti-inflammatory drops, or steroids to control inflammation.

You can also calm down irritating eye infection symptoms using the following home remedies:

• Avoiding allergies that triggered the eye infection
• Applying a compress to your eyes— soak a clean, lint-free cloth and squeeze it before gently applying it to your closed eyelids. Consider using cool water compress to make you feel better; however, you can use warm water if it works best for you.
• Use artificial tears, also called lubricating eye drops.
• Try over-the-counter pain relievers.

How to Prevent Eye Infections?

You can take the following steps to reduce the risk of eye infections:

• Ensure you follow the doctor’s instructions on how to use contact lenses, how long to wear them, and how to clean them
• Avoiding contact with infected persons
• Avoid allergy triggers that cause infection and take medication to calm down the reaction
• Wearing protective eye gear while participating in sports
• Avoid sharing towels and eye make-up that touch your eyes
• Once you get infected, throw away cosmetics to avoid re-infection
• Practicing good hygiene

When to Visit an Urgent Care Center About an Eye Infection

People who have an ongoing allergy problem may become used to eye irritation. However, seeking a doctor’s advice for an eye condition causing pain or discomfort is helpful.

If it is an injury, you need immediate medical help. More importantly, early diagnosis and timely treatment are effective strategies to avoid complications that may lead to vision loss. If your symptoms don’t improve within 12-24 hours, book another appointment with your doctor to rule out the possibility of a complication.

Visit Newport Urgent Care Center to Overcome Eye Pain

Eye infections cause troubling symptoms, including eye pain, redness, sticky eyelids, and inflammation. Although there’s a fair chance for recovery, eye infections cause complications or vision loss if left untreated.

With that in mind, consider seeking timely and quality treatment from an experienced physician for a better health outcome.

Newport Urgent Care Center has a team of highly qualified and board-certified physicians ready to treat you.

Contact us online or call us at 949.752.6300 to book an appointment.