Irritation of the eye: discharge, inflammation and other causes? What will help?

Irritation of the eye is not an isolated problem. It bothers children and adults. Sometimes it is caused by excessive strain on the eyes, windy weather with various impurities in the air.

However, inflammation affecting the eye or eyelid can also cause problems.

You often ask:
What causes irritation in the eye and its pain or soreness in the corner of the eye?
Can draughts cause it?
How to help yourself with inflammation and do herbs and home treatments help?

From time to time we feel irritation in the eye that lasts only a short while, affecting only one eye. In other cases, the trouble spreads to the other eye and lasts for a longer time.

Another example is that the irritation of the eyes is repeated every year, and at the same time - the season. In addition, a person is also bothered by other unpleasant manifestations.

Many people nowadays work behind displays, behind monitors, or in environments that are not very friendly to the human body.

Children playing outdoors, preferably in all weathers, are also at risk. Some diseases are spread through social groupings and collective play.

In addition to learning and playing in a group, the child is strengthened immunologically.

Question for you...

Do you know what examples we could name?

External factors as a basis

With a rapid onset but not a long course. A minor problem occurring as a result of an external environmental influence.

The eye can be irritated, for example, by draughts, wind (cold/hot air), but mainly by small to microscopic particles in our surroundings. Dust, smoke, cigarette smoke, sand and other flying dirt/dirt, but also too strong and intense light.

We can also harm ourselves with dirty hands if we carelessly touch our face and eyes. We should not touch our face and especially our eyes with our hands. We can bring unpleasant infections into our body.

Examples are influenza, the new coronavirus and other droplet infections (even viruses that cause colds and so on).

In any case, we should wash our hands regularly, especially after returning from the outside.

Allergies are also among the very common causes. Dust, dust mites, pet hair and others.

Do you know which allergy recurs every year and has a seasonal occurrence?

Yes, exactly.

Sneezing, dripping from the eyes and nose and various irritations in and around the area. More already in a separate article about hay fever.

An example from another section is tired and irritated eyes after too much exertion. We sit behind monitors, or watch TV and play computer games for long hours.

Of course, the eyes are for watching.

When we fix our eyes on these displays, we blink at a reduced frequency. And the less our eyelids move across the ocular surface, the more the tear film dries out.

And this is where the beginning of a problem called dry eye syndrome can occur. But of course, watching these devices isn't the only trigger.

Lower blinking frequency occurs when watching TV, a monitor, but also when reading a book and focusing the eyes during a certain activity. This is exactly the starter factor. And not the belief that watching TV spoils the eyes, as we used to be told...

There are more factors...

Factors such as:

• lack of blinking
• a disorder of the tear film - its formation or composition
• eyelid disorders
• epithelial disorder
• age
• hormones
• diseases of the eye
• eye injuries
• systemic and other diseases
• bathing in chlorine water
• dry and dusty environment
• air conditioning in the car, at home or at work
• and others

For more information, read the article:
Dry eye syndrome: Burning and tired eyes? Can dry eye drops cure dry eye?

It is difficult to influence the microclimate at work, where there may be drafts or improperly adjusted air conditioning. But where we can just a little, it is good to think about prevention.

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The opposite of cooling in summer is an overheated space during the heating season - in autumn and winter. Dry air dries the tear film faster.

Contact lenses can also be a problem, especially if they are used incorrectly and one forgets to maintain good hygiene. However, their use should be avoided, especially when the eye or conjunctiva is inflamed.

From the group of...

Such irritation of the eye may come on abruptly, but need not persist. It can usually subside without any intervention.

However, innocent-looking problems can develop into prolonged inflammation.

You know?

You know computer vision syndrome or digital eye fatigue?

The term digital eye fatigue encompasses a group of symptoms that have a common cause = excessive use of displays.

For more information, be sure to read this article:
Computer vision syndrome or office eye syndrome

Inflammation of the eye and eyelid as a cause?

In some cases, inflammation cannot be prevented. The cause can also be sought in the current disposition of the body and its defenses. Several external and internal factors are therefore co-caused.

One of the most common problems that commonly occur is conjunctivitis. It is one of the inflammatory diseases of the conjunctiva, the thin membrane that covers the inside of the eyelid and the front surface of the eye.

Conjunctivitis, as it is technically known, also accompanies the common cold, flu or other upper respiratory tract infections. And a large percentage of it is due to viral inflammation. It can be triggered by bacteria, chlamydia, parasites.

The infectious form of conjunctivitis is transmissible, especially in the children's group. Therefore, children with it should stay at home.

However, we also know the non-infectious form. It arises during allergies and also due to other than, for example, autoimmune and rheumatic diseases.

In addition to being an unpleasant disease, a person's eyes are visibly reddened.

Do you have pain in the corner, i.e. in the corner of your eye? Conjunctivitis is a possibility.

Among the symptoms are:

• redness of the conjunctiva
• tearing of the eye
• feeling of a foreign body, sand in the eye
• discomfort and discomfort
• pain, burning, itching, especially with allergies
• blurred vision
• light blindness, increased sensitivity to light (photophobia)
• discharge, yellow, white, purulent
• swelling of the eyelid
• and others

Conjunctivitis affects one eye and usually moves to the other eye within a few days. Read more in the separate article on conjunctivitis.

Among the inflammations it is possible to mention:

• trachoma - chronic chlamydial conjunctivitis
• keratitis - inflammation of the cornea
• acute iritis - inflammation of the iris
• uveitis - inflammation of the central part of the eye, which contains blood vessels
• inflammation of the episclera (episcleritis) - the connective part
• scleritis - inflammation of the eye ball - the whites, sclera
• inflammation of the posterior segment, retina, ciliary body (intraocular inflammation)
• inflammation of the orbit - orbitocellulitis
• and others

Inflammations of the eye can be viral (even herpetic), bacterial, chlamydial, parasitic, fungal.

Nerve inflammation, technically neuritis, is also known. In this case, the pain and irritation may be due to inflammation of the optic nerve or trigeminal nerve.

In doing so, the origin of the trouble can be the aforementioned microorganisms, but also toxic, allergic agents and other systemic and autoimmune diseases.

The table lists some diseases of the eyelid

Read also.

And if the cause is not inflammation?

Refractive errors are one of the most common causes of eye irritation and fatigue.

Basically, it is an overexertion of the eye due to a lack of ability to focus. And this happens throughout the day, in everyday and working life.

The eyes pick up up to 80% of all stimuli from the external environment. When the eye cannot focus properly, it becomes more strained. In the long term, this is what results in irritation.

Examples of this are uncorrected, undercorrected and overcorrected myopia or hyperopia.

In children we can encounter dullness, in the elderly we can encounter hyperopia, but also astigmatism and others.

Read more interesting information.

In young children who cannot express their difficulties, it is possible to observe unusual behavior when watching TV and watching a book, reading, and this:

• tripping and frequent falling.
• bumping into the surroundings
• general clumsiness
• poor spatial orientation
• squinting of the eyes
• closing of one eye
• head tilt
• knitting letters and numbers

Another known cause of irritation and pain in the eye may be glaucoma. The disease itself does not hurt. However, a glaucoma attack occurs, which is painful. In addition, it may be accompanied by headaches and other discomforts.

In addition to a large number of diseases, we can also encounter eye and eyelid injuries. In the course of everyday life, we are in contact with many substances, even in the home environment - with cleaning products.

Irritants in our everyday environment can be:

• Household detergent fumes and other chemical vapours
• tobacco smoke
• chlorinated swimming pool water
• air in indoor swimming pools
• other chemicals that cause staining

Welding, mountain sun and excessive UV radiation (at the beach in summer or on snowy slopes in winter) also have negative effects.

Other ailments include:

• rosacea - rubella
• acne
• herpes
• eczema and atopic dermatitis
• rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases
• Lyme disease
• reactions to medications and their side effects (hormonal, pain or anti-depressant)
• multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis
• brain tumour near the eyes and optic nerve
• and a number of other causes

What can I feel?

Irritation of the eye will manifest itself in a variety of difficulties.

Manifestations of irritation are:

• redness
• pain, burning, cutting, stinging, itching
• feeling of a foreign body, sand in the eye
• feeling of dry eyes
• sensitivity to light - photophobia
• impaired vision, blurred, blurred and blurred vision
• excessive tearing
• purulent or whitish discharge
• gluing of eyelashes, especially in the morning after waking up with dried sleepy eyes
• swelling of the eyelid
• scarring
• enlarged corresponding lymph nodes
• in the event of an accident, in addition to the above
  • bloody wound, bruising, swelling
  • differently sized pupils
  • foreign object in the eye

How can we help ourselves?

No, there is no natural or granny smith and home treatment for everything. Relying on herbs, safflower, burdock (and other) hot or cold compresses is sometimes not enough.

In the case of bacterial inflammations, antibiotics must be used. Viral ones pass without specific treatment. Alternatively, local symptomatic therapy is used to relieve the discomfort.

In other cases, flushing of the eye is necessary when it is affected by an irritant.

Slicing onions or catching the eye after handling chilli and hot spices is a perfectly sufficient example.

Corrective devices can help. Glasses, contact lenses or, in the case of children, occluding one eye with an occluder can help to compensate for imperfect focus.

Sometimes, and optimally, they can be solved with a laser. And in more serious cases, with eye surgery or intraocular surgery.

The right drops, ointments, gels or solutions can be selected by a specialist in a pharmacy, an eye doctor (ophthalmologist) or a general practitioner for children, adolescents or adults.

If the difficulties are severe or preceded by a certain mechanism, persist, recur, do not hesitate to go to a specialist. The best thing to do is to have an examination.

Do not forget about prevention:

• sufficient drinking
• vitamins (especially A) and minerals (zinc), a varied and rational diet
• take breaks when watching TV, monitoring or reading, at least every 20 minutes, and turn your eyes away from the object you are watching at a greater distance
• humidify the air - especially during heating
• avoid smoky areas
• beware of irritants, ventilate
• sunglasses are useful to prevent UV strain
• be careful of proper ventilation, use air conditioning and fans, they should not blow directly on the body
• sufficient contact lens hygiene
• wearing spectacles if medical conditions require it
• moisten the eye with artificial tears, drops, ointments and gel (even before going to bed)
• try warm and moist compresses on the eye, some herbs can also help (but ask a pharmacy for advice on the choice, safflower, plantain, chamomile, burdock, angelica, depending on the problem)
• Gentle massaging of the eyelids during compresses - 30 seconds over 5 minutes - helps drain the glands
• beware of touching eyes with dirty hands, wash hands regularly with soap and water
• do not use foreign towels
• own eye drops and own make-up
• for allergy sufferers, limit allergens and intolerant foods
• protective equipment in hazardous jobs and activities
• sick and infected people (this also applies to children) should stay at home in isolation for the duration of the illness