Pain in the Corner of Your Eye: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment

Eye pain has a variety of causes, some of which are potentially serious. You can experience eye pain in several different areas of your eye.

Sometimes, pain may be felt close to the surface of your eye, causing sharp pain or a burning sensation. Other times, it may be experienced in the deeper parts of your eye and may be felt as an aching or throbbing pain.

It’s also possible that you may feel pain that’s localized to the corner of your eye. What could be causing this type of eye pain?

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the possible causes of pain in the corner of your eye, as well as the treatment options, and when you should get medical care.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the potential causes of eye pain that can develop near the corner of your eye.

Tears help to both lubricate and protect the surface of your eye. Once they’ve done their job, tears drain away into tiny holes at the inner corner of your eye. They eventually move into your tear ducts, after which they empty into your nose.

When one of your tear ducts becomes blocked, tears can’t drain properly. A tear duct blockage can occur due to:

• an infection
• age-related changes in older adults
• inflammation from conditions like conjunctivitis
• injury to your nose
• growths in your nose, such as nasal polyps or a tumor
• a congenital blockage, meaning a baby is born with a blocked tear duct

Sometimes, germs accumulate around a blocked tear duct. This can lead to an infection called dacryocystitis. Dacryocystitis is often caused by bacteria, typically Staphylococcus (staph) and Streptococcus (strep) species.

Some symptoms of dacryocystitis include:

• tenderness or pain around the inner corner of your eye
• inflammation and redness at the inner corner of your eye
• excessive tearing
• pus or mucus drainage from your eye
• crusting around your eyelids or eyelashes
• fever

Oral antibiotics can help treat the bacterial infection. You may also be instructed to apply a warm compress or gently massage the affected area. Surgery may be recommended if you have repeated infections.

Blepharitis is an inflammation of your eyelids. Angular blepharitis is a type of blepharitis that affects the corners of your eyelids. It’s often caused by a bacterial infection, typically with the Moraxella species.

Symptoms, which are often worse in the morning, may include:

• eye irritation, which can feel like:
  • grittiness
  • burning
  • stinging
  • something is in your eye
• eye redness
• eyelid swelling
• crusting around your eyelids or eyelashes
• eyelids that are stuck shut upon waking

Since angular blepharitis is often caused by a bacterial infection, your doctor will prescribe a topical or oral antibiotic to treat it. They may also recommend the following:

• applying a warm compress to the affected area several times a day
• gently massaging your eyelids with a clean finger or washcloth
• using artificial tears
• avoiding eye makeup until your symptoms have eased

Pinguecula and pterygium are two benign (noncancerous) types of growths that occur on your eye’s conjunctiva. The conjunctiva is the clear tissue that covers the white part of your eye.

It’s believed that these growths are caused by exposure to things like sunlight, wind, and dust or sand. They often start at the inner corner of your eye, closest to your nose. However, they can grow at the outer corner of your eye as well.

Pinguecula and pterygium each have different characteristics:

• Pinguecula. A pinguecula is yellowish in color. While often asymptomatic, a pinguecula can sometimes become inflamed and cause symptoms.
• Pterygium. A pterygium is made up of fleshy tissue and may also contain blood vessels. It often begins as a pinguecula. It can sometimes grow large enough to cover part of your cornea, which can affect your vision.

In addition to the characteristics described above, you may notice the following if you have a pinguecula or pterygium:

• discomfort in the affected area of your eye, which can include feelings of:
  • dryness
  • itching
  • burning
  • grittiness
  • something being stuck in your eye
• redness and swelling in the affected area
• blurry vision

Pinguecula and pterygium often don’t need treatment unless they cause significant discomfort or affect your vision. Some potential treatment options include:

• artificial tears
• steroid eye drops
• surgical removal of large pterygiums

A stye is a painful bump that affects your eyelid. It’s caused by a bacterial infection, typically by Staphylococcus (staph) species.

Styes can affect any part of your eyelid, including the area close to the corner of your eye. There are two different types of styes:

• External. An external stye happens on the exterior of your upper or lower eyelid. It’s localized at the base of your eyelashes and is often due to an infected hair follicle. It looks like a pimple or pustule.
• Internal. An internal stye occurs on the inside of your upper or lower eyelid. This type of stye can develop when bacteria infect oil-producing glands in this area.

Symptoms of a stye can include:

• a visible, painful red bump along the edge of your eyelid that often has a pus-filled center
• a feeling of burning or tenderness in the affected area
• swelling of the eyelid
• excess tearing
• a gritty sensation or feeling like something is in your eye
• light sensitivity

Styes often go away on their own after about a week. Your doctor will recommend that you apply a warm compress to the affected area several times a day to help with recovery.

Antibiotics may be prescribed if the infection begins to spread. Styes that are large or don’t go away with medications or home remedies may need to be surgically drained.

Your eye has natural defenses, like tears and eyelashes, that help keep foreign bodies out. However, it’s still possible that a foreign body may get into your eye.

This may happen due to natural environmental conditions, but can also occur due to workplace conditions or an accident. Some examples of foreign bodies include:

• eyelashes
• sand
• dust
• dirt
• metal
• glass

Foreign bodies can affect any part of your eye, including around the corner of your eye. If you have a foreign body in your eye, you may experience:

• pain or irritation of the affected area
• feeling like something is in your eye
• eye redness
• blurry vision
• sensitivity to light

You may be able to remove a small foreign body by flushing your eye with warm, clean water. However, foreign bodies that can’t be removed with irrigation, are large, or are embedded in the eye require immediate medical attention.

Make an appointment with your eye doctor if you have pain in the corner of your eye that doesn’t go away or gets worse after a few days of at-home care.

Some symptoms can indicate a more serious problem that requires prompt treatment. Seek emergency medical attention for pain in the corner of your eye that:

• is severe
• comes on after an injury, including after getting a foreign object or a chemical in your eye
• happens along with sensitivity to light
• occurs with eye drainage, such as pus or blood
• is accompanied by severe swelling in or around your eye
• happens with changes in vision, such as blurry vision or vision loss
• makes it difficult to open or move your eye

Pain that’s localized to the corner of your eye can have several potential causes. Possible causes can include tear duct infections, blepharitis, and styes.

Some of the conditions that affect the corner of your eye may be treated at home using warm compresses, gentle massage, or artificial tears. However, other conditions may need to be treated with antibiotics or steroid eye drops.

If the pain in the corner of your eye doesn’t go away after a few days of at-home care, visit your eye doctor to see what may be causing it. Seek prompt medical attention if you experience an eye injury, severe pain, or vision changes.

What Is Cellulitis? – American Academy of Ophthalmology

Cellulitis is an infection that can affect the skin and/or the eyes.

There are two types of cellulitis that affect the eyes:

• preseptal
• orbital

Preseptal cellulitis only affects eyelid tissue. This type of cellulitis usually happens in children, especially young children.

Orbital cellulitis affects the eye socket (called the orbit). This form of cellulitis can cause the eye or eyelid to swell, keeping the eye from moving properly.

Orbital cellulitis is a serious condition. It often needs to be treated more aggressively than preseptal cellulitis.

What causes cellulitis?

Cellulitis is often caused by an infection from bacteria. It can also be caused by a fungal infection.

Other problems that can lead to cellulitis include:

• insect bites
• a skin wound (especially on the face)
• dental surgery or other surgery of the head and neck
• sinus infection
• asthma

An infection can start in the sinuses, then spread to the orbit or eyelid. Because sinus infections are more common in cold weather, cellulitis occurs more in the winter.

It is important to clean any wounds carefully. You also need to follow your doctor or dentist’s instructions for caring for yourself after surgery.

Cellulitis is serious because the infection spreads quickly. That is why it must be treated right away.

If you think you or your child have cellulitis, call a doctor right away. If it is not treated immediately, cellulitis can cause vision loss or even spread throughout your body.

It appears that as more people are getting flu vaccinations, fewer people are getting cellulitis—especially pre-septal cellulitis.

What are the symptoms of cellulitis?

Cellulitis symptoms include:

• bulging eye
• swelling of the eyelid or tissue around the eye
• red eyelids
• problems moving your eye
• blurry vision or double vision
• fever
• feeling as if you do not have much energy
• problems seeing well

Diagnosis

To see if you have cellulitis, your doctor will ask if you have had any recent surgery or dental work. They will also ask if you have had recent face or skin wounds, and chest, lung or sinus infections.

Eye Exam

Your doctor will also examine your eyes.

To diagnose the type of infection you have, your doctor will probably do some tests. If they think you might have preseptal cellulitis, they may test tissue from your nose or eye. If they suspect orbital cellulitis, they may do a blood test.

In some cases, your doctor may also have you get a scan of the affected area. These images will help your doctor see where the infection is within the orbit.

Treatment

In most cases, your doctor will have you take an antibiotic medicine to treat your cellulitis.

With pre-septal cellulitis, you should start to notice the infection getting better in about a day or two while taking antibiotics.

Because it is more serious, orbital cellulitis may not improve with (oral) antibiotics. If that happens, you may need to stay in the hospital to be treated. They will give you special antibiotics continuously through a vein in your body.

In some cases, your doctor may need to drain fluid from the infected area. Sometimes this can be performed in your doctor’s office. Other times, it may mean having surgery in a hospital or outpatient clinic.

Your doctor will explain the cellulitis treatment chosen for you. If you have any questions, be sure to ask. Your ophthalmologist is committed to protecting your sight.

Why and why do the eyes hurt?

• Why is there pain on the surface of the eye?
• It hurts behind the eyes
• Pain around the eyes
• What to do for eye pain

When a person complains of pain in the eyes, most often he feels discomfort either inside the eye itself, behind the eye or in the area around the eye. The right and left eyes may hurt separately, or both at once. Sometimes the cause of pain is quite easy to find, for example, when the eye is injured, but sometimes the cause of the pain is not so obvious.

Severe pain does not necessarily indicate that the cause of the pain is serious. For example, in the case of a corneal scratch, the pain will be hellish, and the very cause of the pain is not at all dangerous. And at the same time, you can experience minimal discomfort, however, this will indicate serious problems in the body. Such dangerous conditions include retinal detachment, the occurrence of cataracts, and macular degeneration. At the same time, the eyes may not hurt at all, however, all these conditions can lead to terrible consequences, up to blindness.

Pain in the eye can cause a variety of sensations, the symptoms are quite variable. It is important for an ophthalmologist to know everything that you feel in order to diagnose the disease and choose medications and other ways to treat the disease.

Here is a list of the most common symptoms associated with eye pain. There may be one or more symptoms:

• eye redness
• sharp stabbing pain in the eye
• dull pain
• burning, stinging
• foreign body sensation in the eye
• picture loss
• light intolerance

1. Why there is pain on the surface of the eye

If you feel unpleasant symptoms on the shell of the eye itself, then there can be many reasons for this:

• foreign body hit

Sometimes it seems to us that something has got into the eye, and it would be logical to conclude that this is a speck. But not everything is so simple. Doctors refer to all contaminants that can get into the eye as “foreign bodies.”

This could be:

• dirt
• sawdust
• sand
• fine stone dust
• metal shavings
• other fine particles and debris

Discomfort may be mild or severe. In any case, the sensations are rather unpleasant and you are trying to “blink”. Sometimes you may feel that you do not see as clearly as before, and your eyes become afraid of light.

The trouble with harmless motes in the eye is that they can cause infection of the eye and lead to serious illness. It is for this reason that the most important rule when carrying out a variety of work is to protect the eyes first of all. Safety goggles are a must have if your work involves the risk of eye injury. And if you complain of pain in the eye or irritation after getting something in the eye, you should definitely contact a medical facility. You should not be afraid, ophthalmologists will help to remove a foreign body from the surface of the cornea without any extra effort.

Corneal abrasion

Sometimes there are abrasions or scratches on the cornea. Usually they do not carry serious consequences, but still cause discomfort – the eye becomes very sensitive and tears constantly flow. If the scratch is shallow, then it heals on its own in a day. However, if the damage is deep, then the risk of a serious infection increases. If such a scratch is left untreated, it can lead to a corneal ulcer.
Very often it is difficult to determine why the eye hurts – whether it is a shallow scratch, or a deep one, or whether it is a foreign body – it is difficult, therefore it is very important to see a doctor. Make an appointment with an optometrist if the discomfort in your eyes does not go away during the day.

Dry eye

The surface of the eye should always be damp and slippery. If there are few tears and the eye is not sufficiently moistened, then the risk of discomfort is very high. Unpleasant sensations increase gradually, and do not appear immediately, this is in contrast to getting a foreign body into the eye or corneal abrasion. Excessive dryness of the eyes can even cause corneal abrasion.

Sometimes as little as putting lubricating eye drops into your eyes can greatly reduce discomfort and pain.

Dry eyes are not usually considered serious problems and do not require immediate medical attention. And yet, do not underestimate the importance of going to the doctor if the problem is persistent: the optometrist will conduct special tests to determine how deplorable things are and recommend the necessary treatment.

Other causes of eye pain

Among the rarest causes of sore eyes:

• conjunctivitis
• infections of various origins – fungal, acanthamoeba keratitis
• iritis – inflammation of the iris of the eye
• contact lens discomfort
• endophthalmitis – inflammation of the tissues of the eye

Endophthalmitis is a very serious disease caused by a bacterial infection resulting from trauma to the eye. Rarely, endophthalmitis becomes a complication after cataract surgery or other eye surgery. Along with painful sensations in the eyes, other symptoms of endophthalmitis include redness, swelling, blurred vision, and other vision problems. Contact your optometrist immediately if you experience these symptoms after eye surgery.

2. It hurts behind the eyes

If you experience pain behind your eyes, migraines and sinus infections may be the cause.
Pain behind one eye is usually evidence of a migraine, with pain also appearing elsewhere on the same side of the head.
The pain from a migraine is quite noticeable, with a sinus infection the pain is less pronounced and in this case you feel pain behind both eyes.
Migraines or sinus infections are not considered an emergency. But if there are new sensations or pain is recurring, then it is better to contact a medical clinic.

3. Pain around the eyes

The following diseases and situations commonly cause eye pain:

• The most common cause is barley. This is a fairly simple disease and can be cured on its own. Simply apply a warm compress to the affected eyelid several times a day for several days.
• Blepharitis. From it, the eyelids swell and discomfort is felt around the eyes.
• Digital eye strain. Now we look at screens a lot, which affects our eyes. Doctors even gave a name to the discomfort from constant work with the screen – computer vision syndrome. This condition does not require urgent treatment, you just need to follow a few simple rules to reduce eye strain when working on a computer.
• Pain around the eyes is also felt in optic neuritis – a rare and very serious disease that can even lead to blindness. In addition to pain, visual acuity decreases and color vision deteriorates. One of the hallmark symptoms of this condition is that the pain is aggravated by moving the eyes. If you notice all these symptoms in yourself, you should immediately seek help from a doctor, it is very likely that you will be referred to a neuro-ophthalmologist.

4. What to do for eye pain

If you suffer from eye pain, the best solution is to see a doctor. It is the ophthalmologist who will find the cause of the pain and prescribe the optimal solution. Remember that untimely access to a doctor is fraught with serious consequences.
Seek immediate medical attention if:

• Your eye hurts after doing certain types of work: grinding metal, sawing wood, or doing other activities that can get small particles into the eye. They may scratch or irritate the eyes. For this reason, it is important to wear safety glasses.
• You injured your eye and it hurts.
• The pain is severe, vision becomes blurry and/or light sensitive.
• You have recently had eye surgery such as LASIK or cataract surgery.
• Eyes reddened and discharge appeared.
• The pain is severe, comes on suddenly, and you have a history of glaucoma. This may be a sign of angle-closure glaucoma, which can cause rapid loss of vision and is a medical emergency.

If you feel pain in your eyes, then you should not hesitate. It is better to immediately contact a specialist and get qualified help. The doctor will identify the exact cause of the pain and select the necessary treatment.

Source: What Causes Eye Pain
https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/eye-pain.htm
By Optometrist Gary Heiting and Adam Debrowski

Eye pain

Pain in the eyes – the causes of occurrence, in which diseases it occurs, diagnosis and methods of treatment.

The human organ of vision has a very complex structure.

Damage to any of the parts can cause pain.

Varieties of pain

When describing eye pain, various conditions are mentioned, ranging from discomfort to unbearable pain.

In some cases, a person feels dryness in the eyes, burning, “feeling of sand”, in others – pain, which can be so severe that it causes nausea, dizziness, vomiting, migraine. Sometimes eye pain is accompanied by itching, watery eyes, or purulent discharge.

Possible causes

The most common causes of eye pain include traumatic damage to the structures of the eye (cornea, sclera, vitreous body, lens, retina) and ancillary apparatus (eyelids, conjunctiva).

First of all, foreign bodies can damage the eye (chips in the production of metal processing, sand, small insects). At the same time, in addition to pain, there is a feeling of pain, lacrimation, photophobia, redness of the conjunctiva.

Almost half of the cases of eye injuries are burns from steam, flame, chemicals (mainly acids and alkalis). These injuries are accompanied by the same symptoms as when a foreign body enters. Sometimes there is a narrowing of the pupil and blurred vision. There are frequent cases of damage (scratches) to the cornea with sharp objects (pencil, animal claws). Such an injury is accompanied by severe pain, reflex compression of the eyelids, narrowing of the palpebral fissure, redness. If an infection occurs, a corneal ulcer may develop.

One of the significant causes of pain in the eyes are infectious diseases. The causative agents are more often viruses (herpes virus, adeno- and picornaviruses), but infection with bacteria (in particular, chlamydia) is possible, which leads to conjunctivitis (inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eye) and blepharitis (inflammation of the edges of the eyelids). Viral and allergic conjunctivitis is accompanied by intense itching, redness, swelling of the eyelids, and clear discharge from the eyes. With bacterial conjunctivitis, the discharge becomes purulent. Blepharitis gives a similar picture, but eye discharge accumulates in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe eyelashes.

In recent years, the proportion of allergic diseases has increased significantly, the first sign of which is lacrimation, pain and pain in the eyes (allergic conjunctivitis). An autoimmune disease, pemphigoid, or pemphigus, leads to severe complications, which is accompanied by scarring of the conjunctiva, and in severe cases, clouding of the cornea and possible blindness.

Pain in the eyes also occurs when the inflammatory process spreads to the auxiliary apparatus of the organ of vision – the lacrimal sac (dacryocystitis), the lacrimal gland (dacryoadenitis) or the eyelids (blepharitis, chalazion, barley). If the inflammatory process affects the eyeball and its surrounding tissue, scleritis or episcleritis develops. This inflammation can be caused by an autoimmune disease or an infection. With the progression of the inflammatory process, the cornea is affected, which is accompanied by the growth of blood vessels in it and a violation of its transparency (sclerokeratitis).

Inflammation can affect the choroid (uveitis) and the iris (iritis). Iritis can be a manifestation of a systemic disease (Bekhterev’s disease, Reiter’s disease), develop after an injury, an infectious process (tuberculosis, syphilis, toxoplasmosis), or occur due to metabolic disorders (diabetes, hypothyroidism). At an early stage, the disease is asymptomatic. The first manifestation of iritis occurs after hypothermia, stress, with the progression of systemic diseases. Symptoms are increased lacrimation, pain, photophobia, redness of the conjunctiva, hemorrhages in the eye. The pain is aggravated by pressing on the eyeball.

Severe eye pain is caused by optic neuritis, which develops as a result of infectious and inflammatory processes that affect the optic nerve throughout its entire length. Inflammatory diseases of the brain and its membranes (meningitis, encephalitis), paranasal sinuses, dental diseases, acute infections (flu, tonsillitis, erysipelas) and metabolic disorders (diabetes mellitus, gout) can lead to neuritis.

Tumors of the eye and auxiliary apparatus give pain due to tissue compression and impaired blood supply.

A dangerous disease that can cause blindness is angle-closure glaucoma. It is quite rare compared to open-angle, it progresses rapidly and is accompanied by loss of vision.

Against the background of an acute attack, there is a sharp and persistent increase in intraocular pressure, which causes severe pain in the eye area with a return to the temples and the superciliary region. The eyeball becomes hard, there is a sharp decrease in visual function.

Diagnostics and examinations

First of all, the traumatic nature of eye pain should be excluded. As a rule, the diagnosis in these cases is not difficult. Pain in the eye occurs suddenly, its appearance is preceded by either a blow, or a foreign body, or a thermal or chemical lesion.

Wearing contact lenses also sometimes leads to eye injuries.

The appearance of a hemorrhage, a change in the shape and size of the pupil, the presence of blood in the anterior chamber (between the cornea and the iris) should be especially alarming. To diagnose the disease, biomicroscopy of the lens and vitreous body and examination of the fundus (ophthalmic biomicroscopy) are performed. In some cases, studies using CT and MRI are shown.

In the presence of symptoms of dacryocystitis, a West color test is performed (assessment of the patency of the lacrimal ducts), and to clarify the extent of the lesion, probing of the lacrimal canals. The diagnosis of dacryocystitis is also confirmed by a negative result of a passive tear-nasal test.

In inflammatory diseases, the eyes check visual acuity, intraocular pressure, determine the refraction of the eye (the refractive power of the optical system of the eye).

In some cases, computerized perimetry is prescribed to study the structures of the eyeball. Conjunctivitis is detected by slit lamp examination. To confirm the diagnosis, take a scraping from the conjunctiva.

Ultrasound examination reveals morphological changes in the eyes. Diagnosis of optic neuritis and glaucoma requires measurement of intraocular pressure, morphometric examination of the optic nerve head, examination of the fundus. It is also recommended to perform perimetry (examination of the boundaries of vision), since peripheral vision suffers in glaucoma.

Which doctors should I contact?

The appearance of pain in the eyes always requires the consultation of an ophthalmologist.

If the cause of the disease is autoimmune diseases, a therapist, rheumatologist, immunologist can be involved in the treatment.

What should be done if there is pain in the eyes?

Any eye pain requires immediate contact with an optometrist. If the eye injury is caused by a chemical burn, rinse the eye with water and immediately take the patient to a doctor. In case of flame burns, ice should be applied to the closed eye as soon as possible, wrapping it with a dry cloth. If a foreign body enters, do not independently remove small particles that can further damage the cornea. If an immediate visit to the doctor is not possible, it is necessary to drip disinfectant eye drops (0.25% solution of chloramphenicol, 20% solution of sodium sulfacyl) and try to get to the doctor as soon as possible. In this case, the movement of the eyeballs should be limited by applying sterile wipes to both eyes.

If the pain in the eyes radiates to the temple, the occipital region and is accompanied by dizziness and nausea, urgent hospitalization is necessary. These signs may indicate a decompensated form (acute attack) of glaucoma, which requires surgical intervention.

Treatment

In no case should you treat eye diseases yourself.

Only proper diagnosis and specialized care can prevent serious complications.

In inflammatory diseases, in most cases, conservative therapy is carried out using antibacterial drugs or antiviral agents. If necessary, the doctor may prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamins A, C and P. In cases of eye injury, treatment is determined by the depth of the wound channel. For non-penetrating wounds, the use of antiseptic and antibacterial drugs is recommended. With penetrating wounds, treatment is prescribed by an ophthalmologist after a thorough examination of the eye. With corneal erosion, therapy depends on the cause of the disease (dry eye syndrome, allergies, infection). With dacryocystitis and dacryoadenitis, treatment is aimed at stopping the inflammatory process and surgically draining the lacrimal canal.