How Come My Eyes Are Itchy?

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Blog

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EyeQue Team

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March 22, 2019

A girl rubbing her itchy eyes.

As we shift from winter into spring, you may assume your eyes are itchy because of seasonal allergies. But what if there’s something more serious going on? Here are three common reasons for itchy eyes:

Dry Eye

Young woman putting in eye drops.
Eye drops can help with itchy eyes associated with dry eye.

 

If your eyes do not produce enough tears, or produce the wrong type of tears or tear film, you may suffer from dry eye. With this condition, you may feel like your eyes are itchy, burning, or scratchy. You may also experience these other symptoms:

  • Mucus around the eyes
  • Red, irritated, or watery eyes
  • Pain when wearing contact lenses

Dry eye may be treated with artificial tears, plugs for your tear ducts, medicated eye drops or ointment, or an eyelid cleaner. Check out our blog on ways to get rid of dry eyes.

Conjunctivitis, otherwise known as “pink eye”

If your eyes are itchy, red, and swollen, you may have a form of conjunctivitis. There are three primary types of conjunctivitis:

  • Viral conjunctivitis — The most common type of pink eye, and highly contagious. Viral conjunctivitis usually causes a burning sensation and watery discharge.
  • Bacterial conjunctivitis — Also very contagious. It causes your eyes to feel sore and is usually accompanied by a sticky discharge of pus.
  • Allergic conjunctivitis — Stems from an allergic reaction, so it is not contagious to others. If you have allergic conjunctivitis, your eyes may be itchy, watery, and puffy.

Usually, pink eye will clear up on its own, but your ophthalmologist may be able to recommend eye drops to help heal bacterial or allergic conjunctivitis.

 

Blepharitis

A woman with a swollen eyelid condition known as blepharitis.
Blepharitis can cause itchy, swollen, and red eyelids.

 

If you wake up with bacteria and oily flakes at the base of your eyelashes, you may have blepharitis. Other symptoms include a burning sensation and red, swollen eyelids. This condition is caused by the buildup of bacteria at the base of the eyelashes. There isn’t a cure for blepharitis, but your ophthalmologist may recommend:

  • Warm compresses or scrubbing your eyes
  • Antibiotic drops, ointment, or medicine
  • Washing eyelashes with baby shampoo
  • Using antibacterial shampoo on your hair and eyebrows
  • Antiseptic spray for your skin

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