Pain in the corner of the eye

Introduction

Pain in the corner of the eye can have a variety of causes. In addition to inflammatory processes in or around the eye, a skin that tends to be very dry can also lead to painful corners of the eye. Above all, the accompanying symptoms such as redness or swelling can provide an important clue to finding the cause.

Causes

Among the causes that can lead to pain in the corner of the eye are

  • Eyelid inflammation
  • Conjunctivitis
  • Barley grain and hailstone
  • Glaucoma (glaucoma)
  • Dry, cracked skin

Inflammation of the eyelid margin includes all inflammation in the area of the eyelids and can be accompanied by pain in the corners of the eye. It can be caused, among other things, by an infection with bacteria or viruses. It can also be caused by an allergic reaction to lotions, creams or other substances.

Inflammation of the edge of the eyelid can also occur as part of various skin diseases. Bacteria of the skin can migrate into the area of the conjunctiva and lead to an inflammation. Conjunctivitis is usually localized and manifests itself by reddening in the area of the otherwise white-colored conjunctiva.

In some cases, conjunctivitis may also spread, which is manifested by a co-involvement of the corner of the eye. Much more frequently, so-called hailstones or barley grains cause pain in the area of the eyelid margins. Barley grains are bacteria that migrate into sweat or sebaceous glands at the skin level.

This area is then infected and becomes inflamed. With the beginning of an immune reaction, the body tries to fend off this inflammation and smuggles white blood cells and other inflammatory substances into the skin area. The bacteria are attacked by scavenger cells and isolated from the surrounding structure.

A pressure-painful, coarse nodule forms, which can be present both inside and outside the eyelid margins. Further causes of pain in the area of the eyelid margin can be pressure increases of the eye, in this case it is called glaucoma. This is rather a rare cause and usually the whole eye is affected by the pain.