What Can Cause Eye Irritation?

Common and irritating health problems can be difficult to deal with and annoying to fix. A sore throat, runny nose, plugged up ears, and eye irritations can all put a damper on your daily life. While almost always these common but persistent ailments are not severe, they do, however, make us take your normal health for granted.

It always seems to be that when we’re healthy without issues, we don’t think anything of it, but as soon as a cold or allergies come along, we realize just how much something so small can set us back. When it comes to your vision and eye health, it doesn’t take much to throw everything out-of-whack. We’ll take a look at some of the most common causes of eye irritations and infections, and what to do for eye irritation, so that you can get back to having healthy eyes.

Common Causes of Eye Irritation

Allergies are one of the most common causes of eye irritation because the list is nearly endless as to what can cause a reaction. The most persistent and common allergens include:

• Seasonal – these types of allergies often occur in the spring and fall, when new plant growth is coming to life for the summer or coming to an end before winter comes. Grass, pollen, and certain plants are all major culprits when it comes to wreaking havoc on people’s allergies.
• Dust – this tends to be a year-round allergy because dust is always present, both inside and outside. The tiny particles infiltrate eyes and noses to cause reactions and irritation with people who are sensitive to dust.
• Pets – pet hair and dander can be extremely irritating for those who are allergic. The good news is that there are hypoallergenic breeds of pets, or shots available for owners to control the allergy.
• Mold – also a common allergy that can be present year round and really cause trouble, because it is hard to determine if mold is the true allergen causing the symptoms.

These allergens can often cause itchy, scratchy and red eyes, excessive watering, burning, and even swelling and puffiness. These are all indications of allergic conjunctivitis, which is inflammation of the outer membrane of your eyes. Over the counter antihistamine eye drops are a great place to start if you first notice irritation from these types of allergens.

Sometimes the eyes can react to nasal allergy symptoms, as well, and then it might be necessary to take allergy pills that counteract nasal and eye symptoms.

Smoke (cigarettes, cigars or fires), chlorinated pools, and the air around indoor pools, salt water, paint fumes, and other irritants can cause the eyes to react by being itchy, red, puffy, and even burning sensations.

Foreign objects can do real damage, and cause severe irritation due to the sensitivity of the tissues in your eyes. Sand, dirt, sawdust, contact lenses, makeup, and even a stray eyelash can cause painful irritation and even damage/scratch the cornea.

Things To Avoid Doing

Avoid rubbing or scratching your eyes if you feel something in your eye. Try flushing your eye with water or contact solution to wash away the foreign object. If that does not help, try to see your eye doctor as soon as possible. Because your eyes are so sensitive, it truly does not take much to cause irritating, uncomfortable or even damaging symptoms. As always, it is best to see your eye doctor for immediate and severe situations.

We believe that part of enjoying life is being able to see as clearly as possible. At Diamond Vision, we strive to lead the way in providing the latest technology and procedures to our patients, to improve and correct a variety of vision and eye-related conditions.

To learn more about all the great procedures our award-winning staff of surgeons performs throughout the Tri-State area, give us a call, today, at (888)678-4341 for a free consultation or visit our Atlanta GA Eye Health Center.