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Why does your eyes water when you have a cold: Ocular affectation in Flu and Cold

07.09.202304.07.2023 by alexxlab

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Got Watery Eyes with a Cold? Here’s What to Do

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How to relieve watery eyes during a cold

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Watery eyes can be a bit of an obstacle when you’re trying to appear pulled together despite having a cold. So, what helps watery eyes with a common cold? With our top tips and tricks below, you’ll be able to get on with your day-to-day life. Sniffing and watery eyes often accompany each other, so we’ll also go through what to do when your cold brings both of them to the party.

What helps watery eyes with a common cold?

Watery eyes are a symptom of colds. And a remedy for watery eyes during a cold like the ones below, along with the right supplies, will help you cope with the waterworks. These tips specifically help watery eyes with a cold:

Cleaning. Keeping your eyes clean with a gentle wash helps to remove any debris or irritants, which is also helpful when you’re suffering from allergies.
Cold compress. Cool temperatures can, ironically, relieve this symptom of the common cold. A watery eyes home remedy to ease heat and prickliness involves placing a cool, clean flannel over your eyes for as long as necessary.
Massage. A gentle eyelids massage could pep up the natural functions of your eyes during a cold. This method helps by stimulating the oil glands in your eyelids.
Be prepared. When you have watery eyes with a common cold, it’s important to have the right kit with you when you’re out and about. That includes a quality pack of soft tissues, to help wipe your eyes whenever the need arises.

Those are the specifics on how to help watery eyes with a cold, but what about when you’re dealing with both sniffing and watery eyes? Watery eyes with a cold demand some slightly different approaches.

How to help watery eyes and a cold – at once!

It’s common to experience a runny nose and tearful eyes at the same time, so here are some general tips to deal with these sorts of cold symptoms:

Rest. Your immune system will be busy expending energy on getting rid of the virus that has caused your sniffing and watery eyes, so by getting lots of rest you’ll help remove the virus more quickly.
Stay hydrated. Sipping water regularly and eating clear chicken broth will help your mucus to thin and therefore drain faster from your nose. It will also help restore those fluids that have been lost due to your runny nose and watery eyes.
Use a warm compress. The warmth of a damp, clean flannel over your nose and eyes can help soothe watery eyes. With a runny nose, it can help ease congestion.

With these tips you can help deal with your watery eyes that’re a symptom of a cold. Common cold reactions often include runny eyes with a cold, but you’ll be one step ahead of that pesky pair with these approaches.

If your symptoms don’t improve within a few weeks, we recommend seeing a doctor.

Did you find this article helpful?Thanks for your feedback!

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Why Do My Eyes Water in Cold Weather

The cold weather months bring snow, sleet, and dry air. Winter walking, skating, and other outdoor activities often come with watery eyes that make your eyes red, makeup smudge, and make you look sad when you’re not.

An eye exam can ease your eye health concerns, but watering eyes are typical in cold weather. As counterintuitive as it sounds, your eyes water when they’re too dry. Dry eyes lead to your tear glands producing extra lubrication. The winter months bring the perfect storm of factors to make your eyes water.

What Causes Your Eyes to Water in Cold Weather?

Watery eyes are commonly caused by windy days and cold, dry air that dehydrates your eyes. As your eyes become overly dry, your tear glands will work overtime to produce excess tears. Instead of just lubricating your eyes, tears can fall when your tear ducts are overwhelmed. Even though you’re not sad, your tear glands might make it look like you are. Like a furnace, they cannot turn off right away.

Outdoor conditions aren’t the only reason your eyes water in cold weather. Chilly conditions tempt you to blast the heat in your car or home furnace, producing the dry air it takes to irritate your eyes. This irritation can manifest in spontaneous watering eyes and trigger your tear glands to overproduce lubrication.

As annoying as it can be, watery eyes can sometimes indicate your eyes are healthy. It’s a sign that your tear glands are working as they should and creating the excess lubrication your eyes need as moisture evaporates in cold air.

In other cases, watery eyes can be caused by dry eye disease. When you’re suffering from dry eye disease, watery eyes mixed with other symptoms such as redness, eye fatigue, scratchiness, or pain. Too many tears can indicate issues with your tear film, requiring artificial tears or medicated eye drops to ease the symptoms.

How to Prevent Watery Eyes in Cold Weather?

Running for tissues to combat watering eyes can leave them red and irritated. Preventing watering eyes before they create real tears is the key to overcoming cold weather waterworks.

Wear Glasses

Wearing your glasses and sunglasses in the winter is a simple method to create a barrier between your eyes and the wind. It keeps the humidity between your eyes and lenses contained, so your eyes don’t become overly dry. Contact lenses can also dry out your eyes, so swapping them for your glasses on cold days tends to be beneficial for your eye health. You can also wear sunglasses over your contacts lenses.

Just like with snowboarding and skiing, all winter sports, like snowshoeing and winter hiking benefit from eye protection goggles to prevent eye-watering, irritation and U.V damage.

Add Moisture

It may seem odd to add moisture to eyes that are already watering, but because dry eyes are the cause, eye drops can stop your eyes from producing excess water. Before you go out into the windy, snowy cold, a few drops can keep the surface of your eyes lubricated.

You can also add humidifiers to your indoor spaces to keep moisture in the air. It will counteract the drying effects of your furnace on cold days and promote natural lubrication of your eyes.

Tips to Take Care of Your Eyes in the Winter

In the winter, your eyes need special care. Some tips to keep your eyes extra safe in winter include:

Keep your eyes safe from snow-related damage and scratches. Shards of icy snowflakes can scratch the cornea.
Despite the festive season, don’t share mascara or eyeliner with anyone. The risk of spreading bacteria is not worth flawless makeup.
Don’t be afraid to blink excessively. Your eyes are trying to find the right balance of moisture, and blinking is the best way to lubricate your eyes.

Should You See an Optometrist for Watery Eyes?

If you notice your eyes water in cold weather with no other irritation or symptoms, your eyes are likely trying to prevent your eyes from getting overly dry.

If you’re noticing that your eyes are persistently watering, regardless of the environmental conditions, you may be experiencing epiphora––which is the scientific term for tearing or watery eyes.

Epiphora

When the tear film can’t drain properly, or there is an overproduction of tears, you can experience watering eyes. There’s a balance between healthy tears that keep the eye’s surface healthy and too much tearing that negatively affects your vision.

People who develop consistent watering eyes may notice other symptoms, including:

Redness in the eyes
Swelling
Blurred vision
Eye fatigue
Mucus around or in the eyes
Difficulty wearing contact lenses

In cold, windy weather, these symptoms can intensify.

These indicators of watering eyes can be uncomfortable, and you may notice difficulty when driving at night and more sensitivity to screens or other lights. These markers are a sign that you need to see an optometrist.

Dry Eye Disease

When your eyes are overwatering, it’s a common sign of dry eye disease. Your eyes are trying to lubricate themselves by flooding with tears. It indicates a problem with your tear film where your tear layers are out of balance. Your tear film can be affected by:

Too much exposure to screens
Poorly fitted contact lenses
Eyelid inflammation
Certain prescription medication
Ocular surgery
Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD)

Dry eye disease is common, but you don’t have to live with it. Detail your symptoms to your optometrist to start treating dry eye disease and stop your eyes from overwatering.

Still Experiencing Watering Eyes?

If you’re concerned about watering eyes in cold weather or any other season, York Mills Eye Care can thoroughly examine your eyes and tear ducts to get to the root of your concerns. Book an appointment with our team to discuss your eye health and learn how to keep your eyes at their best in cold weather.

Watery eyes with a cold what to do?

Published: October 20, 2018

Respiratory viral diseases do not pass without a trace and are always accompanied by pathological changes in the body. From the first days, patients feel weakness and malaise. Later, these symptoms are joined by a rise in temperature, cough and sore throat, runny nose and lacrimation.

Many people know how to cope with a sore throat, bring down the temperature and restore normal nasal breathing. But what if you have watery eyes with a cold? To answer this question, it is important to know what is the cause of lacrimation against the background of a viral infection.

Contents of the article

Possible causes of lacrimation

The main cause of lacrimation in colds is sinusitis. Viruses attack the mucosa, damage it and invade cells, changing their structure. Infected cells divide rapidly, which leads to the spread of germs in the body.

The inflammatory process involves the sinuses and the entire nasopharyngeal mucosa. As the edema increases, the nasal septum increases in size, the passages to the sinuses overlap partially or completely. This makes it difficult for the mucus to pass. It begins to quickly accumulate in large quantities and puts pressure on the forehead and eye sockets.

With severe inflammation, swelling of the tissues of the nasolacrimal canal occurs, tear fluid collects in it. The only way to get it out is through the lacrimal canal. This is the reason that the eyes watery with a cold.

If the disease is not treated in time, complications may occur. With the addition of a secondary bacterial infection against the background of a weakened immune system, not only sinusitis often develops, but also conjunctivitis. This is due to the anatomical proximity of the nasopharynx and the orbital region.

Damage to the mucous membrane of the eyes provokes redness, itching and burning, profuse lacrimation. The tear fluid may include pus. In such cases, self-medication is unacceptable. It is necessary to seek help from an otolaryngologist and an ophthalmologist as soon as possible.

How to stop lacrimation: folk recipes and pharmacy remedies

If your eyes are watering during a cold, a lot can be done even before consulting a specialist. To cope with lacrimation, it is important to remove the swelling of the nasal mucosa. To achieve this, washing the nasal passages with the following means will help:

weak salt composition – per glass of water 2 teaspoons of table salt,
soda solution – add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to a glass of water and stir thoroughly.

Rinse the nose 2-3 times a day. As soon as the swelling of the mucosa subsides, the eyes will water less. Herbal infusions will also help get rid of severe lacrimation.

Pour boiling water over a spoonful of blue cornflower flowers, cover with a lid and let it brew for one hour. Strain the liquid, moisten cotton swabs and apply to the eyelids for 15 minutes.
Add flowers and leaves of lily of the valley to boiling water, leave for 30 minutes, strain. Apply cotton pads moistened with a decoction to the eyes twice a day for 20 minutes. Instead of lily of the valley, you can use dried clover flowers.

Symptoms and treatment of acute respiratory infections in adults are interrelated, so an integrated approach is important when choosing therapy. To quickly get rid of watery eyes, runny nose and other signs of a cold, you need to follow the doctor’s instructions and use proven drugs. In the treatment of viral diseases, specialists often use Derinat. It has a triple action:

antiviral – destroys pathogens;
reparative – restores the nasopharyngeal mucosa, which is the first and most important barrier to infection;
immunomodulatory – strengthens the natural immune defenses.

You can read more about the drug
on our website.

Follow the doctor’s instructions and use proven products in the correct dosage, following the instructions, then the cold and its manifestations will be a thing of the past!

Derinat Products

Drops
Spray
Bottle

Useful articles:

Watery eyes with colds and runny nose: causes, treatment 27 When to see a doctor

Treatment

Colds are accompanied by a range of unpleasant symptoms. A person has a stuffy nose, a sore throat and head, and a fever. In addition, the patient often has watery eyes during a cold. The cause of this phenomenon is considered to be swelling of the soft tissues of the nose and irritation of the tear ducts. To get rid of such an unpleasant symptom, it is necessary to comprehensively treat a cold. Do not forget that under such a symptom, not only a respiratory disease, but also a number of other diseases can be hidden.

Features of the symptom

It is worth remembering that the tear ducts are connected to the nasal passages, so any disease of the nose can also affect the visual organs. With a runny nose, the mucous membrane swells strongly and moisture from the eyes cannot normally be released through the lacrimal canals, so it simply flows out of the corners of the eyes.

Such a disorder is often accompanied by pain and pain in the eyes, and photophobia often occurs. Constantly moist eyes are an excellent breeding ground for bacteria. If they begin to multiply on the mucous membrane of the eyes, then conjunctivitis develops. In this case, the use of antibacterial drugs is indispensable.

Why the eyes are watery

Tearing of the eyes with a runny nose is easily explained, due to swelling of the tissues of the nose, the normal discharge of tear fluid is disturbed. But the cause of such an unpleasant phenomenon can be a number of other diseases, some of which are somewhat reminiscent of a cold with symptoms.

Allergic rhinitis

Very similar to the common cold allergic rhinitis. In this case, a person has a scratchy throat and a strong flow from the nose. The patient often sneezes, his eyes become red and constantly watery.

Allergies can be triggered by certain foods, household dust and animal hair. Sometimes a person does not understand where his allergy came from, even without taking into account that he sleeps on a down pillow, and down is a great allergen.

Vasoconstrictor drops can also provoke an allergic reaction, especially if they are used very often. To avoid such a complication, such drops should be used no longer than 2-3 days.

Treatment of allergic rhinitis should begin with the elimination of any contact with allergens. Reception of antihistamine preparations is shown.

Conjunctivitis

An infectious disease such as conjunctivitis can provoke tearing. In this case, lacrimation and photophobia are also observed. Eyes hurt, they bake, pus is released from them. In the morning, the patient cannot open his eyes normally, as the eyelashes are glued together with purulent masses.

Conjunctivitis can be allergic, viral or bacterial, depending on this and prescribed treatment. With a viral and allergic form, two eyes are immediately affected, with a bacterial form of the disease, one eye is first affected, and a few days later the second.

Treatment is limited to the use of antibacterial drops and ointments. Floksal, Tobrex, Levomycetin drops and Tsiprolet will help. If several drugs are used, then the time interval between them should be at least 10 minutes.

In bacterial conjunctivitis, antibiotics should be used for at least 5 days.

Influenza and acute respiratory infections

In case of respiratory diseases, the eyes are almost always red and watery. This is due to swelling of the nasal mucosa and irritation of the eyes by pathogens. This state lasts no more than 3 days.

Conjunctivitis can become a complication of a cold, in which case the symptom persists for a longer time. A cold is accompanied by a sore throat, runny nose, fever, and frequent sneezing. The patient needs complex treatment.

Pathologies of the paranasal sinuses

Diseases of the paranasal sinuses can also cause tearing. Most often, sinusitis leads to the constant release of lacrimal fluid. In this case, the maxillary sinuses become inflamed and filled with pus, as a result of which soft tissue edema occurs and the outflow of lacrimal fluid becomes difficult.

Sinusitis and rhinitis

With sinusitis and rhinitis, the patient often has a headache, there is a feeling of pressure from the inside in the region of the nose and near the wings of the nose. With labyrinthitis, the patient is tormented by severe headaches. These diseases are accompanied by high fever, runny nose, cough and lacrimation.

Treatment consists of taking antibacterial drugs and washing the paranasal sinuses with antiseptic solutions. In especially advanced cases, bone punching and pumping out of purulent masses are required. Then the cavity is washed with an antiseptic solution. After such an operation, the patient must be prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotics, which help prevent complications.

Tumors

Cysts and polyps in the nose can provoke tearing, especially if they are located close to the tear ducts. Treatment in this case is reduced to the removal of neoplasms surgically, the operation can be done with a laser or in the classical way. This surgery is usually performed under local anesthesia.

If lacrimation persists for a long time, a complete examination is necessary. Serious diseases can be the cause of this unpleasant phenomenon.

Peculiarities and causes in a child

Other factors can also cause tearing in children of different ages. This symptom can be caused by:

Various perfume products. Strongly pungent odors can provoke the strongest lacrimation in the baby.
Excessively dry indoor air can also cause tearing. If there is a sick child in the house, then it is necessary to monitor the humidity of the air. During the illness, the mucous membranes of the baby are already too dry, which leads to their severe irritation. To humidify the air in your home, you can use wet towels or special household humidifiers.
Foreign objects in the nose or eyes. In this case, the baby also sheds abundant tears. When a foreign body enters the eye, reddening of the mucous membrane and severe pain in the eyeball are observed. If some small object got into the nose, then more often there is lacrimation from both eyes at once and severe lacrimation.

In infants, watery eyes may be caused by an allergy to formula milk or complementary foods. Most often, such an allergy occurs with skin rashes like urticaria.

When to see a doctor

In some cases, you should not delay in going to the doctor, as there is a risk of developing serious complications. Only a specialist can accurately diagnose and prescribe treatment. A doctor’s examination is necessary in the following cases:

If a cold is accompanied by a high temperature that does not go well or lasts more than 5 days in a row.
If, in addition to tearing, there is skin itching and soft tissue swelling.
If there is a suspicion that a foreign body has entered the nose or eye. In many cases, without the help of a doctor is not enough.
If the patient’s condition worsens every minute.
In case of suppuration from the eyes and if in the morning the eyelashes stick together in purulent masses.
If there is a feeling of pressure in the face or migraines often bother you.

In any case, it is necessary to see a doctor if a young child is ill. In children, colds are often complicated by bronchitis and pneumonia, which is explained by the special structure of the respiratory organs.