Sore eyeballs can leave your whole face feeling irritated depending on its severity. There are different reasons why you could be having the sore feeling. Some lifestyle tendencies can cause soreness in the eyes. Allergens and eye conditions as are some other contributing factors. We explore what a sore eyeball is including one that is sensitive to touch, bruised or bloodshot as well as what causes sore eyeballs.
What is a Sore Eyeball?
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According to Eyeinstitute, sore eyes are highly associated with a condition called dry eye syndrome. Pain that results from sore eyes may disappear on its own, or might become persistent and point to a symptom of a more serious problem.
The general sore eyeball feeling is normally associated witch some gritty and itchy sensation in the eyes. At times, this infection comes with other associated discomforts affecting the eye including eyelids and the mucous membranes.
Causes of a sore eyeball and headache
There are various factors contributing to this condition. Some medications, cysts on the inside of eyelids, exposure to light may make your eyes to feel sore. The symptom may be accompanied with headaches or migraines. In addition to these causes, trauma or injuries to the eye can make the eyeball to feel sore.
1. Medication you are taking
Some drugs such as anti-depressants and diuretics can make the eyes feel dry. This will with time contribute to a feeling of soreness.
- Although these drugs do not harm the eyeballs in any way, one can have the dose of proton inhibitors reduced.
A lot of people take medication that causes them to have irritable eyes. This could be the reason for your sore eyeballs.
2. Allergies and itchy eyes
Allergic reactions are yet another contributor to soreness in the eyes. Where the reactions causes you to tear up a lot over a short time, temporary eye dryness may result. This can leave your eyes feeling sore.
The drug in some eye drops could as well be causing sore eyes. Other than the eyeballs, these could cause problems to the cornea. Others contain toxic preservatives that could cause soreness. When your eye feels sore to touch, it might end up itchy as well due to allergic reactions.
3. Computer use and sore eye ball sensitive to light, when moving
The use of computers reduces the blinking time. It could also cause soreness when the eyes become sensitive to light.
This discomfort may be most prevalent on the sore eyeball when moving the eyes from the screen.
- To deal with this, it is best to take breaks in between your working duration.
- Also ensure that you adjust your gadget’s light or brightness.
4. Trauma and sore eye ball pain with headache
Too much drinking can cause dehydration in the body. The same applies with smoking. When this happens, the eyes become dry, a factor that contributes irritation and soreness in the eyes.
When trauma is exerted on the eyes, some damage could occur. Depending on the severity, you could experience sore eyeball muscles. This is more so where the force used is excessive. Together with the muscles other internal structures may as well get hurt.
In severe cases, muscular ligaments could get trapped between the bones resulting in other ailments such as sinus pain and headaches. Medical attention is necessary to treat this.
Sore eyeball to touch and feels bruised
There are a number of reasons why you could be having a sore eyeball to touch. The soreness becomes most evident when something gets into contact with the eye. Some of the things that could lead to this include:
Abrasions: This occurs when a foreign body in the eye causes a scratch which could be on the eyeball. A small scratch can be very painful to touch but will heal itself with time. Where need be, some antibiotic treatment can help to hasten the healing process.
Corneal Ulcerations: These can also result in case there is an eyeball infection. At times there may be a feeling as if something is inside the eye. In severe cases, the soreness may develop into corneal ulcers. In such cases, you will need to see an eye doctor for treatment.
In other instances, the feeling of a sore eyeball to touch may not be as certain. At times when your eyeball feels sore, it could have nothing to do with it. A stye occurs when the eyelid gets infected close to the hair follicles. This results in some pain and soreness which could be mistaken to be coming from the eyeball. This though normally has nothing to do with the eyeballs since the condition is on the outer side of the eye.
Red sore eyeball, is bloodshot
In some instances, your sore eyeballs may be bloodshot. This mostly happens when there is some direct damage to this part of the eye. This could be as a result of a chemical burn which happens when the eye is exposed to alkaline products such as household cleaners and bleach. The eyes could also get flash burns during welding in case proper eye protection is not used. While using tanning beds, you could also get burns in sensitive parts of the eyes.
The use of contact lenses is also another reason why you could be having a red sore eyeball. They tend to be a contributing factor to abrasions and thus there is need for those wearing them to be very careful. Wash your hands before handling the contact lenses. Also avoid vigorously rubbing your eyes when you are wearing contact lenses.
Trauma on the eyes can cause injuries. It is a major contributing factor towards the swelling of eyes. Blunt trauma may cause the eyeball to get bruised. Where the trauma is excessive, damage could be done to internal structures surrounding eye.
What Causes Sore Eyeballs – after being hit, cold, pressure, in the morning
A sore eyeball can feel sandy, gritty and tired especially in the morning. This may be accompanied by dry eyes especially in people with diabetes and those who are older. Soreness in the eyeballs are mostly accompanied by a foreign sensation. They can also become itchy and red. With time, the eyes may feel worse especially where they are constantly in use over a computer or such and the blinking rate is reduced. The lashes could also crust up. There are many reasons why you could be experiencing this in your eyes.
- Dry sore eyeballs can be as a result of dry eye syndrome. Contrary to what may be expected, dry eyes can at times water more. They however occur because there are not enough tears in the eyes to keep them well lubricated. It could also be as a result of available tears failing to spread evenly over the eyes. The result is dryness accompanied by irritation.
- Red, itchy, sore eyes on the other hand could be as a result of excessive rubbing which can be caused by eye infections or allergic reactions. At times, irritation from contact lenses can as well make your eyes sore.
- In case your sore eyeballs come with dull eyes and pain, you may have strained your eyes. This should subside the moment you get enough rest. If this does not happen, it could be a sign of a more serious condition and you should get your eyes checked by a professional.
- Direct trauma or pressure on the eyes can leave your eyes hurt. It is therefore not a wonder to experience a sore sensation after being hit or bumping into a surface. This should die with time as the effect of the trauma wears off.
- At times, the condition may be as a result of some other ailment. The eyes can feel sore from cold and flu. A viral common cold can cause viral conjunctivitis which is a serious condition. If not checked, . It is therefore necessary to monitor the state of your eyes and have them checked in case they keep getting worse.
