In ophthalmology clinics, patients often come to the clinic because of "eye pain". This kind of complaint is often similar, some are caused by some "triggers" such as excessive use of eyes, staying up late, reading in the dark room, etc., causing eye pain, dryness, foreign body sensation, soreness, etc., and some patients will feel that there is no obvious cause of sudden onset of eye pain.
So, what are the factors that cause the most common "eye pain" in ophthalmology clinics?Which condition prompts us to seek medical attention promptly?Here's a look at the most common causes of "eye pain" and how to deal with them.
Eye strain
Eye strain caused by overuse of the eyes is a common cause of eye pain in life. Excessive eye use can easily lead to fatigue of the nerves and tissues in the eye, and when using electronic products for a long time, our blink frequency will decrease, which makes it easier for the eyes to feel dry and painful.
countermeasures
If you need to work or study for a long time in your life, you should relax your eyes properly every once in a while, you can look into the distance, you can also close your eyes or do eye exercises to adjust your eye muscles, and properly relax your eyes can effectively alleviate the problem of overuse of eyes.
Ocular shingles
Herpes zoster is an acute infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus. Ocular herpes zoster is often manifested as burning sensation or neuralgia in the ** area of the eyelid innervated by the trigeminal nerve, which can be accompanied by eye symptoms such as eye redness, photophobia, and tearing, as well as systemic symptoms such as mild fatigue and low-grade fever, and regional lymph nodes may be swollen and tender. As the disease progresses, clusters of vesicular rashes may be seen in the affected**, but confined to one side and not across the midline. It is contagious to people with low immunity.
countermeasures
Topical and systemic antiviral drugs** are the mainstay, supplemented with analgesics to relieve pain, and nutritional neurological drugs can be added to avoid posterior nerve pain. In addition, exercising, balancing nutrition, and improving the body's immunity will help prevent the occurrence of shingles.
Dry eyes
With the popularity of mobile phones, TVs, air conditioners and other products in life, more and more people are suffering from dry eye syndrome, and the disease is becoming younger and younger. Lack of moisture on the surface of the eye can cause soreness, tingling, or a foreign body sensation in the eye area, and may cause tearing, photophobia, and blurred vision, which are more likely to be triggered outdoors in low temperatures or strong winds.
countermeasures
In daily life, supplement more vegetables and fruits;When blowing the air conditioner indoors, you can use a humidifier to increase the ambient humidity;When using electronic screens, try to control the time within 40 minutes. For those with severe dry eye symptoms, artificial tears can be used appropriately to relieve symptoms. In addition, warm eye compresses are also beneficial in relieving symptoms related to dry eyes.
Conjunctivitis
Conjunctivitis is inflammation of the conjunctiva of the eye caused by infection or irritation, and the pathogen can be bacteria, viruses or fungi. Eye pain caused by conjunctivitis is usually accompanied by symptoms such as redness, watery eyes, increased discharge, and itchy eyes.
countermeasures
Some conjunctivitis resolves on its own without need, but most cases requires medication or eye drops. In addition, bacterial or viral conjunctivitis is contagious, so you should pay attention to avoid rubbing your eyes with your hands, wash your hands frequently, and separate items that will touch your eyes such as towels from family members or friends who live together to avoid cross-infection.
Stye
A stye is a small red lump that grows on the eyelid or conjunctiva and is an inflammatory lesion that causes significant redness and swelling around the eye, in addition to causing painful symptoms.
countermeasures
The stye should be spotted with anti-inflammatory eye drops and ointments, and surgery may be required if the redness is enlarged or persistent.
A foreign body damages the eye
There are abundant nerves on the cornea, and when a foreign body enters the eye, it may irritate the corneal nerves, causing eye pain and even inflammation.
countermeasures
If a foreign object such as makeup, dust or other irritating substances splashes into the eyes, rinse immediately with water and avoid wiping with toilet paper or rubbing the eyes with your hands, which may cause eye damage to the area. If there is no obvious improvement after rinsing with water, you should seek medical attention in time to remove the foreign body.
If the eye is directly injured externally, such as a boxing injury, a bump, etc., in addition to causing eye pain, sometimes accompanied by blurred vision, double vision and other manifestations, you should seek medical attention in time to assess the degree of eye damage to decide on further ** plan.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is caused by an impaired circulation and drainage of aqueous humor in the eyeball, which causes pain in the eyeball, resulting in increased pressure in the eyeball. When the intraocular pressure rises sharply, patients will experience significant eye pain, which may also be accompanied by vision loss, headache, nausea, vomiting, etc.
countermeasures
In this case, you should see an ophthalmologist immediately to check the intraocular pressure and the presence of glaucoma-related changes in the eye. Intraocular pressure lowering eye drops, mannitol infusion, or anterior chamber puncture are used to lower intraocular pressure as quickly as possible to avoid permanent damage to the eye caused by high intraocular pressure.
Optic neuritis
Optic neuritis, as the name suggests, is inflammation of the optic nerve. The optic nerve is an important pathway in our eyeballs that converts light signals collected from the outside world into visual electrical signals and transmits them to the brain. Therefore, when optic neuritis occurs, in addition to eye pain, patients usually have visual dysfunction such as vision loss, visual field defects, or color vision changes, and eye pain may occur or worsen when the eye is turned.
countermeasures
At this time, you should see an ophthalmologist or neurology department to investigate the cause of optic nerve inflammation and control the development of inflammation.
Supraorbital neuralgia
Supraorbital neuralgia refers to persistent or paroxysmal pain within the distribution of the supraorbital nerve, i.e., at the superior orbital border. Generally, the onset is acute, can occur unilaterally or bilaterally, and there is obvious tenderness at the supraorbital incision, which is usually related to factors such as wind and cold, overwork, cold, trauma, and sinus inflammation.
countermeasures
Hot compresses, anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving drugs, acupuncture, physiotherapy, acupressure and other traditional Chinese medicine can be usedIf this persists, local closure** or nerve block** may be an option to relieve pain. Of course, a correct lifestyle is an effective way to prevent supraorbital neuralgia, avoiding cold stimulation of the head and face, paying attention to rest, combining work and rest, healthy diet, strengthening exercise, and enhancing physical fitness can all help to avoid the occurrence of supraorbital neuralgia.
Knock on the blackboard
Don't bear eye pain, seek medical attention when you should see a doctor
In most cases, these eye pains can be relieved by eye massage or resting with your eyes closed. However, in some cases, eye pain does not subside on its own, and even gradually worsens, accompanied by blurred vision and other manifestations, which seriously affect our lives.
Eye pain is sometimes not a trivial matter of "understatement", don't think it's okay to put up with it. If there is irreversible damage to vision due to neglect of eye pain, it will have a great impact on life. I hope you don't ignore these signs of pain, it is likely that the eyes are sending you a "help" signal!
*: People's Daily Health WeChat***
Disclaimer: We respect originality. Some of the articles on this platform** may be adapted from the Internet and other public platforms, and the main purpose is to share information. If there is any infringement of your rights or copyrights, please inform us in time, and we will delete it as soon as possible.
**：fsqwjw
E-mail: wjwxczx@163com
I'm waiting for you here!