What Causes Pain When You Move Eyes?

Foreign Object in the Eyes

Human eyes can be sensitive. Anything that goes inside your eyes, also referred to as foreign objects, could cause pain. This s because these foreign objects that could range from dust particles to something more solid like metal shards don’t naturally belong in your eyes. This could affect your cornea, which covers the front surface of the eyes, or conjunctiva, a thin mucus membrane that covers the white area of your eyes.

In this condition, try your best to avoid rubbing your eyes. You can immerse the affected eye area in water or use an eyecup to remove the object.

Dry Eyes

Eye pain can be stabbing, throbbing, intermittent, or constant. If it is not accompanied with redness, blurred vision, or the pain is not constant, then pain might be due to dry eyes. Dry eyes, also known as dry eye syndrome, happens when either your eyes are not able to make enough tears or even if your eyes produce poor quality tears. Hot or windy climate, hormonal changes, and wearing contact lenses are some factors that contribute to dry eyes, which eventually lead to pain when moving eyes.

The good news is dry eyes can be treated with over-the-counter or prescription medications to lubricate your eyes. This could minimize any inflammation as well as the pain.

Uveitis

This condition refers to the inflammation of the uvea or the middle layer of your eyes, which consists of choroid, iris, and ciliary body. This happens due to presence of inflammatory disease or eye injury. Exposure to toxic chemicals could also cause uveitis; hence the pain.

Similar to dry eyes, you can treat this condition with eye drops. Make sure you treat this as soon as possible to avoid further complications such as clouding of cornea or retinal detachment.

Iritis

This is a form of uveitis, which affects the middle layer of your eye. Also known as anterior uveitis, iritis is the most common type of uveitis that could lead to vision loss if left untreated. It comes with painful eyes, blurred vision, and sensitivity to light among many symptoms.

It is unclear as to the exact cause of iritis, but many experts attribute that to genes or underlying systemic condition. The good news is you can treat iritis to provide relief against eye pain. You can either go for steroid eye drops to reduce inflammation or dilating eye drops to help dilate your pupil and reduce the pain that comes with this type of condition.

Corneal Abrasion

Also known as scratched eye, corneal abrasion is one of the most common causes of eye pain. This could happen as a result of loss or disruption of cells on your corneal epithelium or the top layer of your cornea. There are various reasons why this happens. Keep in mind that your eyes are exposed to all the possible dangers – makeup brushes, finger, your pet, exposure to dust, and the list goes on.

Treatments for corneal abrasion depend on the cause and severity of the wound. Lubricating drops can help moisten your eye area while antibiotic eye drops could help prevent possible infection. Steroids can also be used in case corneal abrasion lasts for days and help relieve pain.

Sinusitis or Sinus Infection

You might think that sinus conditions only affect your breathing and nasal packages. Believe it or not, it could affect your eyesight too and one of the reasons why you experience pain when you move your eyes. This is because the inflammation of your sinuses affects the air-filled chambers in your skull and then causes pain. Aside from your cheeks, the pain could likewise affect your eyes; hence the pain when moving eyes.

Keep yourself hydrated to reduce mucus congestion. You can also try nasal drops, over-the-counter decongestants, or surround yourself with steam to help you breathe. Pain medications are also helpful, but if all else fails, try antibiotics.

Pink Eye

Known as conjunctivitis, this condition is the swelling or infection of your eyeball’s outer membranes, resulting to pink or red color of your eyes. Allergies, virus, bacteria, and exposure to chemicals are the reasons why conjunctivitis happens.

Eye drops are helpful in treating this condition since it mimics human tears. This helps treat conjunctivitis caused by bacteria as well. Antihistamine may be prescribed in case of allergic conjunctivitis. If this condition is caused by viral infection, warm compress could provide relief against pain and itching.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a type of eye disease that damages your optic nerves, a crucial component in supplying visual information from your eyes to your brain. Apart from the severe eye pain, this condition also comes with sudden blurred vision, redness, vomiting, or seeing colored rings around lights. Chronic eye inflammation, history in the family, and ethnicity are some of the factors that could lead to glaucoma.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for glaucoma. The best way to address this condition is to minimize or slow down vision loss. You can do so through medications, which are either eye drops or pills. Surgery is another option to destroy the tissues that increases fluid in your optic nerves. Otherwise, loss of vision can be a possibility.

Regardless of the causes of pain when moving eyes, one thing is for sure: consult your doctor as soon as possible. It doesn’t matter if it’s not alarming – after all. It is better to be safe than sorry.