When to the eye doctor? This is how you distinguish between harmless symptoms and those that require quick treatment

Right to the eyeballs

1. Red eye hurts.
2. Vision becomes impaired or blurred.
3. You wear contact lenses, the eye is red and feels like garbage.
4. The eye is photosensitive and reddened. The redness of the eye has continued for more than a week and moistening drops have been tried, but they have not helped.
5. The redness of the eye worsens. general symptoms such as fever appear.
6. Only one eye blinks strongly. For example, chlamydial infection in the eye is often bilateral.
7. If the size of the blackhead changes.
8. If there is a strong feeling of debris in the eye and redness.

Often harmless

Dust, finishing work, cigarette smoke, monitoring… Certainly many things irritate the eyes. Even contact lenses can chafe, especially if you wear the same lenses for too long.

Redness occurs when the small surface blood vessels of the conjunctiva of the eye expand. In eye accidents, for example a blow to the eye, the blood vessel may also break, causing blood to leak under the conjunctiva.

– People are often frightened by eye hemorrhages because they look bad. However, they are completely harmless and the redness will disappear in its own time. Of course, if they occur repeatedly, it’s worth finding out the reason. Sometimes, for example, high blood pressure can expose you to them, says the specialist in ophthalmology Timo Hellstedt From the health house.

Dryness should be treated persistently

Sometimes the redness of the eyes is caused by an eye disease, such as an eye infection or dry eyes. Dry eyes is a familiar problem to many, which can even make the eyes red. Then the production of tear fluid is too high or it evaporates too much. For example, mechanical air conditioning, windy weather and cigarette smoke can dry the eyes.

– The symptoms are at their worst in the morning, because when sleeping, the eyelids may be slightly open and you won’t blink in your sleep. The blink reflex causes the lacrimal gland to produce tear fluid, says Hellstedt.

The symptoms of dry eyes are relieved by moisturizing eye drops, which must be used regularly.

Preservatives in some moisturizing eye drops can make your eyes red and watery. That’s why you should prefer preservative-free disposable pipettes.

– If you use a lot of different eye drops, for example moisturizing, antibiotic and redness-reducing drops, a so-called toxic reaction may occur. Often, when the redness intensifies, more drops are applied, which further worsens the redness, says Hellstedt

If moisturizing drops do not help, it is worth checking that the edge of the mole is not inflamed. Lubricating mucin is secreted from the eyelid margin into the tear fluid, but if the gland openings are blocked, it cannot get there.

– Sea buckthorn oil can also be helpful for dry eyes. The oil capsules contain sea buckthorn seed oil and omega-3 fatty acids, Hellstedt advises.

Blinking and resting your eyes should become a regular habit, because treating dry eyes requires a bit of the same persistence as treating dry skin.

General diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, hypothyroidism and Sjögren’s syndrome can also cause the surface of the eye to become dry and red.

There are a couple of hundred medicines that dry the eyes. The most common of them are beta-blockers used in the treatment of arrhythmias and heart failure, as well as diuretics.

Dangerous infections from contact lenses

There are different types of eye infections and in different parts of the eye, including the eyelids. The most common is conjunctivitis, causing the eye to itch, sting, watery and red.

– It can be caused by bacteria and viruses, but also fungi. Some conjunctivitis are allergic.

Itchy eyes are a typical allergy symptom. Antihistamines used for allergic conjunctivitis dry the eyes, so moisturizing drops are needed with them. Mild conjunctivitis can heal on its own, but if it doesn’t, a bacterial sample is taken from the conjunctiva to find the most effective medicine.

In conjunctivitis, the colored part of the eye, for example the part that appears green in green-eyed people, becomes inflamed. Then the eye is red, painful and sensitive to light, and even the ability to see can be impaired. Some autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, predispose to it. The inflammation is treated with cortisone-based eye drops.

Corneal inflammation can be the result of careless use of contact lenses. The eye is painful, red and watery and it is difficult to keep it open. Inflammation requires immediate action, as there is even a risk of blindness. The eye is treated with drops and creams, but sometimes internal antibiotics, antifungals or cortisone are also needed. The effectiveness of the treatment is monitored daily at the ophthalmologist’s office.

Wash the detergent from the eye immediately

When cleaning, detergents may splash into the eyes. The most destructive are strongly alkaline chemicals that corrode tissues, such as dishwasher detergents, laundry detergents, chlorite and strong detergents intended for opening drains and cleaning toilets.

In the worst case, vision may deteriorate or even be lost. The bottles have safety caps so that they don’t end up in children’s hands, for example.

– If the detergent gets into the eye, it must be immediately rinsed with running water for at least half an hour, Helllstedt reminds.

If irrigation is started immediately, the eye recovers well and is rarely permanently damaged. When going to the emergency room, you should take a can of detergent with you, because it gives the doctor important information.

In the emergency room, a flushing dropper is put into the eye and the inner surfaces of the eyelid are cleaned with cotton swabs.

Garbage cuts like glass

An eyelash that rubs the eye or an eyelid edge that has rolled in or out can also make the eye red. Garbage or an insect flying into the eye does the same. Debris often drifts under the upper lid. Smaller tears may wash away on their own with the tear fluid, but not always. Even if the debris in the eye is itchy, you must not rub the eyelid to avoid damaging the cornea. Flushing the eye is important.

– Even a very small piece of debris, even a millimeter in size, can cause major symptoms. The eye is painful and watery. The doctor turns the eyelid and stains the surface of the eye, allowing the debris to be located. Sometimes even a general practitioner can remove a foreign object from the eye, but a microscopic examination by an ophthalmologist is required to find a small piece of debris, a piece of glass or a metal chip. Before the examinations, the eye is numbed with drops.

Expert Timo Hellstedt ophthalmology specialist, Terveystalo.

This article has appeared in Hyvä tervey magazine. As a subscriber, you can read all issues free of charge from the digilehdet.fi service.