Eye Pain: Causes, Treatments, and Prevention

Surface pain is usually caused by irritation, infection, or trauma. Often, it is easily treated with eye drops or rest. Eye pain deeper in the eye may require more in-depth treatment. Any pain accompanied by vision loss is an emergency.

Eye pain is common, but it’s rarely a symptom of a serious condition. Most often, the pain resolves without medicine or treatment. Eye pain is also known as ophthalmalgia.

Depending on where you experience the discomfort, eye pain can fall into one of two categories: Ocular pain occurs on the eye’s surface, and orbital pain occurs within the eye.

Eye pain that occurs on the surface may be a scratching, burning, or itching sensation. Eye pain that occurs deeper within the eye may feel aching, gritty, stabbing, or throbbing.

Eye pain accompanied by vision loss may be a symptom of an emergency medical issue. Call your ophthalmologist immediately if you begin to lose your vision while experiencing eye pain.

The following may cause eye pain that originates on the surface of the eye:

Foreign object

The most common cause of eye pain is simply having something in your eye. Whether it’s an eyelash, a piece of dirt, or makeup, having a foreign object in the eye can cause irritation, redness, watery eyes, and pain.

Conjunctivitis

The conjunctiva is the tissue that lines the front of the eye and the underside of the eyelid. It can become infected and inflamed. Often, this is caused by an allergy or infection.

Though the pain is usually mild, the inflammation causes itchiness, redness, and discharge in the eye. Conjunctivitis is also called pink eye.

Contact lens irritation

People who wear contact lenses overnight or don’t disinfect their lenses properly are more susceptible to eye pain caused by irritation or infection.

Corneal abrasion

The cornea, the clear surface that covers the eye, is susceptible to injuries. When you have a corneal abrasion, you will feel as if you have something in your eye.

However, treatments that typically remove irritants from an eye, such as flushing with water, won’t ease the pain and discomfort if you have a corneal abrasion.

Injury

Chemical burns and flash burns to the eye can cause significant pain. These burns are often the result of exposure to irritants such as bleach or to intense light sources, such as the sun, tanning booths, or the materials used in arc welding.

Blepharitis

Blepharitis occurs when oil glands on the eyelid’s edge become infected or inflamed. This can cause pain.

Sty

A blepharitis infection can create a nodule or raised bump on the eyelid. This is called a sty or a chalazion. A sty can be very painful, and the area around the sty is usually very tender and sensitive to touch. A chalazion isn’t usually painful.

Eye pain felt within the eye itself may be caused by the following conditions:

Glaucoma

This condition occurs as intraocular pressure, or pressure inside the eye, rises. Additional symptoms caused by glaucoma include nausea, headache, and loss of vision.

A sudden rise in pressure, called acute angle closure glaucoma, is an emergency, and immediate treatment is needed to prevent permanent vision loss.

Optic neuritis

You may experience eye pain accompanied by a loss of vision if the nerve that connects the back of the eyeball to the brain, known as the optic nerve, becomes inflamed. An autoimmune disease or a bacterial or viral infection may cause the inflammation.

Sinusitis

An infection of the sinuses can cause pressure behind the eyes to build. As it does, it can create pain in one or both eyes.

Migraines

Eye pain is a common side effect of migraine attacks.

Injury

Penetrating injuries to the eye, which can occur when a person is hit with an object or is involved in an accident, can cause significant eye pain.

Iritis

While uncommon, inflammation in the iris can cause pain deep inside the eye.

If you begin experiencing vision loss in addition to eye pain, this may be a sign of an emergency situation. Other symptoms that need immediate medical attention include:

• severe eye pain
• eye pain caused by trauma or exposure to a chemical or light
• abdominal pain and vomiting that accompanies eye pain
• pain so severe it’s impossible to touch the eye
• sudden and dramatic vision changes

The treatment for eye pain depends on the cause of the pain. The most common treatments include:

Home care

The best way to treat many of the conditions that cause eye pain is to allow your eyes to rest. Staring at a computer screen or television can cause eyestrain, so your doctor may require you to rest with your eyes covered for a day or more.

Glasses

If you frequently wear contact lenses, give your corneas time to heal by wearing your glasses.

Warm compress

Doctors may instruct people with blepharitis or a sty to apply warm, moist towels to their eyes. This will help to clear the clogged oil gland or hair follicle.

Flushing

If a foreign body or chemical gets into your eye, flush your eye with water or a saline solution to wash the irritant out.

Antibiotics

Antibacterial drops and oral antibiotics may be used to treat infections of the eye that are causing pain, including conjunctivitis and corneal abrasions.

Antihistamines

Eye drops and oral medicines can help ease the pain associated with allergies in the eyes.

Eye drops

People with glaucoma may use medicated eye drops to reduce the pressure building in their eyes.

Corticosteroids

For more serious infections, such as optic neuritis and anterior uveitis (iritis), your doctor may give you corticosteroids.

Pain medications

If the pain is severe and causes an interruption to your day-to-day life, your doctor may prescribe a pain medicine to help ease the pain until the underlying condition is treated.

Surgery

Surgery is sometimes needed to repair damage done by a foreign body or burn. However, this is rare. Individuals with glaucoma may need to have a laser treatment to improve drainage in the eye.

Most eye pain will fade with no or mild treatment. Eye pain and the underlying conditions that cause it rarely lead to permanent damage to the eye.

However, that’s not always the case. Some conditions that cause eye pain may also cause problems that are more serious if they aren’t treated.

For example, the pain and symptoms caused by glaucoma are a sign of an impending problem. If not diagnosed and treated, glaucoma can cause vision problems and eventually total blindness.

Your vision is nothing to gamble on. If you begin to experience eye pain that isn’t caused by something like an eyelash in the eye, make an appointment to see your eye doctor as soon as possible.

Eye pain prevention starts with eye protection. The following are ways you can prevent eye pain:

Wear protective eyewear

Prevent many causes of eye pain, such as scratches and burns, by wearing goggles or safety glasses when playing sports, exercising, mowing the lawn, or working with hand tools.

Construction workers, welders, and people who work around flying objects, chemicals, or welding gear should always wear protective eye gear.

Handle chemicals with caution

Direct chemicals and potent agents such as household cleaners, detergents, and pest control. Spray away from your body when using them.

Exercise caution with children’s toys

Avoid giving your child a toy that can injure their eyes. Toys with spring-loaded components, toys that shoot, and toy swords, guns, and bouncing balls can all injure a child’s eye.

Contact lens hygiene

Clean your contacts thoroughly and routinely. Wear your glasses on occasion to allow your eyes time to rest. Don’t wear contacts longer than they are intended to be worn or used.

Eye pain Information | Mount Sinai

Ophthalmalgia; Pain – eye

Pain in the eye may be described as a burning, throbbing, aching, or stabbing sensation in or around the eye. It may also feel like you have a foreign object in your eye.

This article discusses eye pain that is not caused by injury or surgery.

Considerations

Pain in the eye can be an important symptom of a health problem. Make sure you tell your health care provider if you have eye pain that does not go away.

Tired eyes or some eye discomfort (eyestrain) is most often a minor problem and it will often go away with rest. These problems may be caused by the wrong eyeglass or contact lens prescription. Sometimes they are due to a problem with the eye muscles.

Causes

Many things can cause pain in or around the eye. If the pain is severe, does not go away, or causes vision loss, seek medical attention immediately.

Some things that can cause eye pain are:

• Infections
• Inflammation
• Contact lens problems
• Dry eye
• Acute glaucoma
• Sinus problems
• Neuropathy
• Eyestrain
• Headache
• Flu

Home Care

Resting your eyes can often relieve discomfort due to eye strain.

If you wear contacts, try using glasses for a few days to see if the pain goes away.

When to Contact a Medical Professional

Contact your provider if:

• The pain is severe (call immediately), or it continues for more than 2 days
• You have decreased vision along with the eye pain
• You have chronic diseases like arthritis or autoimmune problems
• You have pain along with redness, swelling, discharge, or pressure in the eyes

What to Expect at Your Office Visit

Your provider will check your vision, eye movements, and the back of your eye. If there is a major concern, you should see an ophthalmologist. This is a doctor who specializes in eye problems.

To help find the source of the problem, your provider may ask:

• Do you have pain in both eyes?
• Is the pain in the eye or around the eye?
• Does it feel like something is in your eye now?
• Does your eye burn or throb?
• Did the pain begin suddenly?
• Is the pain worse when you move your eyes?
• Are you light sensitive?
• What other symptoms do you have?

The following eye tests may be done:

• Slit-lamp examination
• Fluorescein examination
• Eye pressure check if glaucoma is suspected
• Pupillary response to light

If the pain seems to come from the surface of the eye, such as with a foreign body, the provider may put anesthetic drops in your eyes. If the pain goes away, that will often confirm the surface as the source of the pain.

Cioffi GA, LIebmann JM. Diseases of the visual system. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 26th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 395.

Dupre AA, Wightman JM. Red and painful eye. In: Walls RM, Hockberger RS, Gausche-Hill M, eds. Rosen’s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2018:chap 19.

Pane A, Millooer NR, Burdon M. Unexplained eye pain, orbital pain or headache. In: Pane A, Miller NR, Burdon M, eds. The Neuro-ophthalmology Survival Guide. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2018:chap 12.

Swartz MH, Hirshaut V. The eye. In: Swartz MH, ed. Textbook of Physical Diagnosis: History and Examination. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 10.

Last reviewed on: 12/9/2021

Reviewed by: Franklin W. Lusby, MD, Ophthalmologist, Lusby Vision Institute, La Jolla, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A. M. Editorial team.

Temples and eyes hurt, temples hurt and press on eyes

According to medical statistics, about 70% of people in developed countries suffer from pain in the temples and eyes of varying intensity. In most cases, discomfort is caused by overwork. Another common cause is migraine. This condition, in which the temples and eyes hurt, is included in the top 20 causes of temporary disability. It is important that such symptoms accompany more than 40 diseases. This is a common SARS, and a disease of the brain.

The information in this section should not be used for self-diagnosis or self-treatment. In case of pain or other exacerbation of the disease, only the attending physician should prescribe diagnostic tests. For diagnosis and proper treatment, you should contact a specialist.

Sore temples and pressure on the eyes

You can specify a number of conditions in which symptoms are a sign of dangerous pathologies. If whiskey hurts and presses on the eyes, then:

• The patient may have increased intracranial pressure.
• Possible concussion.
• There is a suspicion of a pre-stroke condition, cerebral ischemia.
• There is a risk of developing a brain tumor
• Spread of infectious process possible.

However, quite often the head hurts in the temples, presses on the eyes due to prolonged overwork. This condition is also called tension headache. Symptoms do not pose a threat to life, but seriously reduce its quality. You can go through self-diagnosis on our website, which in a few minutes will give an approximate answer regarding the cause of the pain and help you decide which doctor to contact. When the temple hurts and radiates to the eye, the patient cannot accurately determine the cause of the problem without the help of a specialist. It can be both intoxication and manifestations of cerebral atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension. In young people, such symptoms often indicate vegetovascular dystonia.

Why do my temples and eyes hurt?

If the patient is under stress, working at the computer every day, then he may suffer from a compressive headache on both sides. Why do whiskey and eyes hurt? This is primarily due to a spasm of blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the muscles of the face, neck and shoulder girdle. Due to spasm, normal blood supply is disturbed, histamines begin to accumulate in the tissues. Usually these substances are formed during inflammation. If the patient encounters a similar condition frequently, then it can lead to:

• depression;
• neuroses;
• depression.

When the right temple and eye hurt, the patient is most likely suffering from migraine (with or without aura). The same applies to the other side. Until now, the pathophysiology of this neurological disease has not been fully elucidated. Immediately before a migraine attack appears:

• tingling of the extremities;
• photophobia;
• hypersensitivity to sounds.

Diagnostics

If your head and eyes hurt more than 2-3 times a week, you should not save on time and money – make an appointment with a therapist. He will assess the condition, conduct an examination and refer you to a specialist. Self-medication in this case is dangerous not only by side effects, but also by accelerating the development of the disease. Diagnostic methods:

Specialists of medical centers can determine the factors that provoke pain with high accuracy. All diagnostic methods used to assess the patient’s condition are prescribed if indicated.

Which doctor treats pain in the temples and eyes?

In case of pain in the temples and eyes, you should consult a doctor of the following specialty:

Our specialists
Gastroenterologist
Pulmonologist

83%

satisfied with the result of treatment

m. Street 1905 Goda

Makarchuk Natalya Alexandrovna

Cardiologist
Therapist

98%

Satisfied with the result of treatment

Metro Prospekt Mira

Vlasova Svetlana Sergeevna

Therapist
Gastroenterologist
Nutritionist

98%

Satisfied with the result of treatment

m.
Therapist

98%

Satisfied with the result of treatment

m. 0002 Satisfied with the result of treatment

m. Street 1905 years

Torozova Olga Aleksandrovna

Therapist
Gastroenterologist

98%

Satisfied with the result of treatment

m. Some diseases are difficult to diagnose as they say “by eye”. Therefore, you need to trust the doctor when prescribing research. After all the tests, the doctor will be able to draw up the correct course of treatment. Remember: accurate diagnosis and correct diagnosis are already 50% of success in treatment!

My temple and eye hurt, what should I do?

My temple and eyes hurt because of migraine, overwork, what should I do? If there are prescribed drugs belonging to the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, then you need to take them according to the recommendations. In the case when the patient is not sure about the origin of the pain, the condition can be somewhat alleviated:

• taking a cool shower;
• putting a wet towel on the forehead;
• relaxing in a dark room.

Pain in the right side of the back of the head

Everyone has experienced a headache, and this is quite normal. But what to do if the right side of the back of the head constantly hurts? Rather see a doctor! The fact is that for recovery it is important not only to determine why the right back of the head hurts, but also to eliminate the cause of the disease.

Features of pain

Seizures can be both permanent and periodic. Quite often, patients note that during physical activity or bright light, the back of the head hurts more.

Other unpleasant symptoms are possible on the right:

• Tremor and spasms of the fingers.
• Impairment of hearing and vision.
• Vertigo.
• Nausea.

You should not endure if the right side of the back of the head hurts and the above manifestations are observed. After all, a similar symptomatic picture is recorded in many diseases.

In the Center for Progressive Medicine “Doctor Vertebrae” a general practitioner, vertebrologist, and neurologists are seen daily, and the latest medical equipment is used to conduct a comprehensive diagnosis.

Why the right back of the head hurts

Pain always indicates a deterioration in blood supply or nerve conduction.

The cause is focal pinching of nerves and blood vessels due to displacement of the vertebrae and a decrease in the height of the intervertebral discs. At the same time, a long-term pathological condition provokes a number of serious diseases:

• Hypertension.
• Increased intracranial pressure.
• Osteochondrosis of the cervical region.

To prevent such conditions, the correct position of the structures of the spinal column and the tone of the muscle frame are restored.