The following symptoms and complaints may occur along with “acute eye redness”:
Leading symptom
- Eye redness
Associated symptoms
- Pain
- Tear flow
- Visual disturbances
- Corneal opacity
Notes
- Bilateral acute eye redness is usually due to conjunctivitis (inflammation of the conjunctiva).
- If there is any doubt about the diagnosis, an ophthalmological clarification should be made.
Caveat.
- If there is a foreign body in the eye, it must be determined whether it has entered the eye at high speed (Cave! intraocular (“inside the eye”) foreign body?!).
- Do not use a mydriatic (pupil dilating (mydriasis) drug) to avoid triggering a glaucoma attack!
- Do not use corticosteroid eye drops until a herpetic ulcer (ulcer due to herpes infection) has been safely ruled out.
Warning signs (red flags)
- Extremely hard eyeball + sudden loss of vision (seeing fog; seeing haze), usually unilateral + severe headache (forehead headache) + seeing color rings (halos) + gastrointestinal symptoms/gastrointestinal distress (vomiting, nausea) → think of: Glaucoma attack (ophthalmological emergency!).
