Eye Pain: Causes, Treatment & Help

Eye pain – as multifaceted as it can be, so are the causes and associated therapeutic approaches to effectively address eye pain.

What is eye pain?

In most cases, the causes of eye pain lie within the eye. For example, the cornea and sclera are particularly sensitive to pain. Eye pain involves painful sensations that may be localized in, on, or around the eye. In this regard, the quality of pain in eye pain can differ:

For example, eye pain can be dull and pressing or sharp or burning. Pressing eye pain is sometimes difficult to distinguish from headache:

Occasionally, eye pain is associated with pain throughout the head, making it difficult to feel the pain trigger. The different types of eye pain are often accompanied by other symptoms, such as redness, increased lacrimation or visual disturbances (for example, high sensitivity to light or a supposed recognition of double images). Eye pain can also affect both eyes as well as just a single eye.

Causes

In most cases, the causes of eye pain lie within the eye. For example, the cornea and sclera are particularly sensitive to pain – inflammation such as scleritis or episcleritis can occur here. Visual defects such as nearsightedness or farsightedness or incorrectly fitted optical reading aids and contact lenses can also lead to eye pain. Furthermore, glaucoma, an inflammation of the optic nerve, can also be the cause of eye pain, as can external injuries to the eye caused by foreign bodies, insects or trauma. Structures that directly surround the eye can also be the cause of eye pain: these include, for example, tear ducts, the eyelids, but also areas of the eye sockets (caused, among other things, by painful impairment of the muscles there). Furthermore, eye pain can also hide diseases or impairments in the head area: for example, in the brain or upper jaw.

Diseases with this symptom

  • Corneal curvature
  • Stye
  • Corneal inflammation
  • Hailstone
  • Farsightedness
  • Sarcoidosis (Boeck’s disease)
  • Conjunctivitis
  • Glaucoma (glaucoma)
  • Wegener’s disease
  • Myopia
  • Animal hair allergy
  • Iritis

History

The course of eye pain depends on the cause underlying the pain in each case. While acute eye pain can often be alleviated in the fairly short term by adequate behavioral measures or treatment options, other eye pain occurs in the long term or chronically. Eye pain associated with various refractive errors, for example, can be positively influenced and also remedied by corrective measures (such as optical aids). Eye pain caused by acute inflammation also usually decreases as the underlying inflammation progressively subsides. Untreated visual disorders such as glaucoma can lead to long-term eye pain, the course of which can be positively influenced either by treatment of the underlying disease or by short-term analgesic medication.

Complications

A variety of complications can occur in association with ocular pain. These include:

However, complications can also occur far from the eyes. Thus, it is often complained of different types of short-lasting to long-lasting headache. Here, a distinction must still be made between a forehead headache and a temporal knock headache. Likewise, many sufferers report ear pain as well as pain in the area of the paranasal sinuses and the frontal sinus.Neck pain can occur in isolation, but also in combination with other symptoms. Eye pain can lead to fatigue, concentration problems and memory difficulties in those who spend the majority of their time sitting at a desk and/or working at a PC. Decline in performance, problems in coping with daily tasks at work and finally psychological problems can form a vicious circle. Diabetics can have very specific complications that can include impaired vision and even blindness. Specifically, these include:

  • The diabetic retinopathy
  • The non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy
  • The macular edema
  • A clouding of the lens due to the cataract (cataract)

When should you go to the doctor?

Eye pain is not always immediately clearly distinguishable from headache, because eye pain often radiates to the wider head. The suspicion that the supposed headache originates in the eye is obvious when symptoms such as redness and increased lacrimation are added. Visual disturbances such as sensitivity to light or double vision also point to eye pain instead of headache. Eye pain is always caused by the eye itself or the immediate area around the eye. Therefore, they belong in the treatment of an ophthalmologist, where a possibly initially visited family doctor will refer his patient. The causes of eye pain are manifold and can be comparatively harmless to dangerous. Incorrectly fitted glasses and contact lenses are a common cause of eye pain, as is nearsightedness or farsightedness that has not yet been corrected by vision aids. However, one should also think of glaucoma, a disease that can lead to blindness if left untreated. Since this illness runs first painlessly, eye pain means already alarm here. An inflamed optic nerve also requires immediate medical attention. In addition to these direct eye diseases, external influences such as foreign bodies or violence can cause eye pain. Impairments of the eyelids, tear ducts and eye sockets should also be mentioned. With his experience, the ophthalmologist consulted will find out the cause of eye pain and treat it accordingly.

Treatment and therapy

And also appropriate treatment of eye pain depends primarily on the cause of eye pain. For example, if eye pain is caused by a foreign body that has penetrated the eye, it can be removed by an ophthalmologist – depending on the extent of the foreign body penetration, this can be done with the help of local anesthesia. If eye pain is caused by a superficial and slight injury, for example, it is possible that this wound will close on its own – cooling compresses, eye drops or eye ointments can have a pain-relieving effect. However, if such an injury and the associated eye pain persist for a longer period of time, it may be necessary to have the affected area of the cornea planed or lasered by a physician using special equipment. If the eye pain is caused by inflammatory, bacterial processes – for example in the conjunctiva – these can be treated with antibiotic ointments or drops. If the corresponding inflammation is caused by viruses, eye drops containing cortisone can be administered in some cases to combat them and the eye pain. These eye drops help to reduce swelling of the inflammation.

Outlook and prognosis

Eye pain should always be kept by a doctor. The eye is a very sensitive organ, which can be seriously injured even with only minor damage. Eye pain may be accompanied by visual disturbances or itching if no treatment occurs. In most cases, eye pain is caused by too much strain on the eyes. The eyes need to be rested, which happens mainly during sleep. Most of the time, the eye pain goes away when the eyes are rested. If the eye pain lasts longer and the eye is not relaxed, visual disturbances often occur because the muscle has to work hard. It is not uncommon for eye pain to be mistaken for headaches. These often occur during stress and a heavy workload. If the eye pain occurs after an accident, a doctor must be consulted urgently.In most cases, no treatment is necessary. However, healing can be supported with eye drops and usually leads to success. Inflammations occur relatively rarely in the eye, but can also lead to eye pain. Treatment should be carried out immediately to avoid late effects. In the worst case, the patient may lose vision without treatment.

Prevention

To prevent eye pain, it is important to prevent the diseases or injuries that underlie it. For example, one way is not to ignore existing vision problems associated with eye pain, but to take appropriate countermeasures. For example, to avoid eye pain due to eye injuries, it is recommended to wear protective eyewear during critical endeavors.

What you can do yourself

Aside from serious underlying diseases or the dangerous glaucoma attack, simple behavioral changes in everyday life can noticeably dampen problems with painful eyes. Faulty vision strains the eyes in certain situations. This can cause slowly intensifying eye pain. But the wrong choice of vision correction also leads to this phenomenon. Glasses and contact lenses must be perfectly adapted to the visual defect in order to avoid complications. A physical irritation and thus conceivable source of inflammation by contact lenses is also given. The change of the wearing times and regular disinfection according to defaults often already improvement sets itself in these cases. Excessively long work up to the late evening hour at screens is likewise considered problematic. The often unhealthy LED light with a high blue light content influences the biorhythm and makes those affected sleep less well. In addition, a reduced eyelid blink frequency leads to dry eyes. Conscious breaks and a reduction of such occupations often have a healing effect on such ailments. Sensitive, exposed teeth and unhealthy posture while sitting or sleeping also have negative consequences on the condition of the eyes. As an aid, neck pillows can prevent tension during sleep. Thorough dental care with rinses and flossing while avoiding foods with too much sugar can prevent pain attacks. It is also advisable to check for foreign bodies or fallen eyelashes and remove them behind the eyelids. To relieve existing pain, cold or warm compresses sometimes prove useful. In case of migraine or severe headache, withdrawal to a darkened room is advisable. Common eye drops also support tear flow and hygiene of the eye.