Brief overview
- Causes: e.g. overexertion or irritation of the eyes (e.g. due to too much computer work or drafts), foreign body in the eye, corneal injury, conjunctivitis, allergy, hailstone, stye, inflammation of the eyelids, sinusitis, headache
- When to see a doctor? If eye pain does not improve or accompanying symptoms occur (e.g., fever, muscle pain, nausea and vomiting, decreased visual acuity, protrusion of the eye from the orbit, severe redness).
- Treatment: Depending on the cause, e.g. with antibiotics, viral drugs, allergy medication (antihistamines), decongestant nasal spray, adjustment of visual aids, surgical intervention. In addition, symptomatic treatment with painkillers.
- You can do this yourself: e.g. remove foreign bodies, (temporarily) do without contact lenses, relaxation exercises for the eyes, cold compresses
How eye pain manifests itself
Doctors distinguish between three different types of eye pain:
- Pain in the eye or in the orbit, forehead or eyelids
- Pain during eye movement
The location of eye pain can vary as much as its nature: some sufferers report uncomfortable pain in the corner of the eye or a stabbing pain in the eye (“pricking” in the eye). Others complain of throbbing pain in the eye or pain above the eye.
Eye pain: accompanying symptoms
Eye pain often does not occur alone. For example, a stinging eye and headache may go together. Common accompanying symptoms include:
- Headache
- Jaw pain
- Light shyness
- visual disturbances such as seeing double images
- watery eyes
- burning eyes
- itchy eyes
- dry eyes
- red eyes
- swollen eyes
- feeling of pressure in the eye
- foreign body sensation in the eye
Eye pain: causes
When the eye stings or otherwise hurts, it is important to find the cause. The most common causes of eye pain are:
- Foreign body in the eye
However, various diseases can also cause pain in the eye (unilateral or bilateral), such as:
- Allergy (e.g. hay fever)
- Barleycorn
- Hailstone
- Inflammation of the eyelids (blepharitis)
- Eyelid abscess
- Conjunctivitis (inflammation of the conjunctiva)
- Corneal inflammation (keratitis), corneal ulcer (corneal ulcer)
- Inflammation of the middle eye skin (uveitis), which occurs in various forms (e.g. as inflammation of the iris)
- Inflammation of the sclera (scleritis)
- Inflammation of the tear duct (canaliculitis) or the lacrimal sac (dacryocystitis acuta)
- Optic neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerve)
- glaucoma, e.g. acute angle-closure glaucoma
- Eye infection (e.g. ocular herpes)
- sinusitis (inflammation of the paranasal sinuses)
- non-specific inflammation in the orbit (orbital pseudotumor)
- infection attacking the tissue in and around the orbit and behind the eye (orbital cellulitis)
- infectious inflammation of the interior of the eye (endophthalmitis)
- tumor diseases
It is not uncommon for eye pain to be due to eyestrain or irritation for the following reasons:
- incorrectly adjusted visual aid
- @ wearing contact lenses
- @ draught
- UV radiation
- long work at the screen
Eye pain: When to see a doctor?
If the eye pain persists for a long period of time without any noticeable improvement, you should see an ophthalmologist. The same applies if you have particularly severe eye pain, experience a sudden stinging sensation in the eye or a foreign body in the eye is causing the pain. Apart from that, you should see a doctor if you experience one or more of the following accompanying symptoms in addition to eye pain:
- Fever
- Chills
- Muscle pain
- nausea and vomiting
- decreased visual acuity
- Seeing halos around light sources
- bulging of the eyeball out of the eye socket (exophthalmos, “googly eye”)
- severe reddening of the eyes
- fatigue
Eye pain: examination and diagnosis
If you go to the doctor because of painful eyes or a prick in the eye, he or she will first take your medical history in a detailed discussion (anamnesis). This is followed by various examinations.
Medical history
During the anamnesis, the doctor will ask you about your symptoms and any previous illnesses. Possible questions are, for example:
- How long have you had the eye pain?
- Are both eyes affected?
- How would you describe the pain (for example: stinging in the eye, throbbing pain, pricking)?
- Where exactly is the pain located?
- Does the eye hurt when you move the eyeball?
- Are you sensitive to light?
- Do you have any additional symptoms, such as fever?
- Have you had these symptoms before?
- Could a foreign object be causing the pain?
- Has your vision changed?
- Do you suffer from any other medical conditions?
Examinations
Other examination methods that can help clarify painful eyes include:
- Eye test
- Visual field examination
- Slit lamp examination (to evaluate deeper sections of the eye)
- Allergy test (if suspected)
- Swab from the eye (if an infectious cause of the eye pain is suspected)
Imaging tests may also be helpful in getting to the bottom of eye pain:
- Computerized tomography (CT), for example, if sinusitis is suspected
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), e.g., if optic neuritis is suspected
Eye pain: treatment
Sometimes the doctor prescribes pupil-dilating eye drops for painful eyes, for example with the active ingredient cyclopentolate. They are indicated, for example, for various eye inflammations such as corneal inflammation or iris (a form of anterior uveitis). Here, the eye drops prevent involved tissue layers from sticking together.
In addition, eye pain is treated causally whenever possible. Thus, patients with a bacterial infection in the eye area (such as bacterial conjunctivitis) receive antibiotic-containing eye drops or ointments.
If the eye pain has a viral infection as its cause (such as herpes infection of the eyes), virus-inhibiting agents (antivirals) such as aciclovir can speed healing. They are usually applied as eye drops or ointment.
If a sinus infection (sinusitis) causes eye pain, the attending physician prescribes a decongestant nasal spray and mucolytics.
Some causes of eye pain require surgical intervention. This may be the case, for example, with glaucoma, when medication is not working sufficiently.
If eyeglasses with the wrong prescription are the cause of eye pain, you will need to have the vision aid readjusted. If wearing contact lenses is causing the eye pain, you should refrain from wearing the lenses for a few days and take it easy on your eyes.
Eye pain: What you can do yourself
You can also do something yourself in some cases of eye pain. For example, if a superficial foreign body in the eye is the cause of the pain in the eye, you can carefully wipe it out of the eye with a clean cloth. If toxins or chemicals are causing the pain, rinse the eye with clean water (unless it’s corrosive lime!). You can learn more about first aid measures in the article Foreign body in the eye.
Regardless of the cause of the pain, you should give your eyes rest and relaxation. Don’t put extra strain on your aching eyes by watching TV, reading or working on the computer. Instead, you can do eye relaxation exercises:
- Deliberately look closely at things at different distances (focus your eyes each time!).
- Every now and then, cover your eyes with your hands and let them rest that way for a few minutes.
- Place your thumbs on your temples and massage the upper edge of the eye socket (from the root of the nose outwards) with your index fingers.
- While working at a computer screen, close your eyes often for a few seconds. You can also try typing a few sentences “blind”.
Eye pain: home remedies
Instead of damp cotton cloths, you can also place a grain pillow (e.g. cherry pit pillow), which you have previously cooled in the freezer, on the eyes. Or you can use cold packs. However, do not place these directly on the red, painful eyes, but first wrap them in a cotton cloth.
The effect is the same in all cases: The coolness can dull the eye pain. However, remove the compress, grain pillow or cold pack immediately if the coolness becomes uncomfortable.
Home remedies have their limitations. If the discomfort persists for a long period of time, does not get better or even gets worse, you should always consult a doctor.
