How does a cold affect your eyes. What causes watery eyes during illness. Can flu symptoms include eye irritation. Why do eyes produce excess tears when you’re sick. Is eye watering a common cold symptom.

The Connection Between Colds and Watery Eyes

When you’re battling a cold or flu, you might notice your eyes watering more than usual. This ocular symptom is a common yet often overlooked aspect of these respiratory illnesses. But why does this happen?

The primary reason for watery eyes during a cold is the body’s inflammatory response to the virus. As your immune system fights off the infection, it triggers inflammation in various parts of your body, including the membranes around your eyes and nasal passages. This inflammation can lead to increased tear production and drainage issues, resulting in watery eyes.

How does inflammation affect tear production?

Inflammation causes the blood vessels in and around your eyes to dilate. This increased blood flow can stimulate the lacrimal glands, which are responsible for tear production. As a result, your eyes may produce more tears than usual, leading to the watery eye symptom many experience during a cold.

The Role of Nasal Congestion in Eye Watering

Nasal congestion, a hallmark symptom of colds and flu, plays a significant role in causing watery eyes. When your nasal passages are blocked, it can affect the normal drainage of tears.

How does nasal congestion contribute to watery eyes?

Tears normally drain through small openings called puncta, located in the inner corners of your eyelids. These puncta connect to the nasolacrimal duct, which empties into your nasal cavity. When you have a cold and your nasal passages are congested, this drainage system can become blocked. As a result, tears may overflow onto your cheeks, giving the appearance of watery eyes.

Viral Conjunctivitis: A Common Cold Complication

In some cases, the virus causing your cold can also lead to viral conjunctivitis, commonly known as “pink eye.” This condition occurs when the virus infects the conjunctiva, the clear membrane covering the white part of your eye and the inner surface of your eyelid.

What are the symptoms of viral conjunctivitis?

• Redness in one or both eyes
• Itching or burning sensation
• Increased tear production
• Discharge that may form a crust overnight
• Sensitivity to light

If you develop these symptoms along with your cold, it’s essential to consult with a healthcare professional for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Distinguishing Between Cold-Related Eye Symptoms and Other Eye Conditions

While watery eyes are common during colds, it’s crucial to differentiate between cold-related symptoms and other eye conditions that may require specific treatment.

How can you tell if your eye symptoms are related to a cold or another condition?

Generally, cold-related eye symptoms will coincide with other cold symptoms like nasal congestion, sore throat, and cough. They also tend to resolve as your cold improves. However, if your eye symptoms persist after other cold symptoms have subsided, or if you experience severe pain, vision changes, or other concerning symptoms, it’s best to consult an eye care professional.

Managing Watery Eyes During a Cold

While you can’t prevent your eyes from watering during a cold, there are several steps you can take to manage this symptom and improve your comfort.

What are some effective ways to manage watery eyes during a cold?

1. Use a warm compress: Applying a warm, damp washcloth to your eyes can help soothe irritation and reduce inflammation.
2. Practice good hygiene: Wash your hands frequently and avoid touching or rubbing your eyes to prevent spreading the infection.
3. Use artificial tears: Over-the-counter artificial tears can help lubricate your eyes and wash away irritants.
4. Stay hydrated: Drinking plenty of fluids can help thin mucus secretions and promote better drainage.
5. Use a humidifier: Adding moisture to the air can help prevent your eyes from drying out, which can exacerbate watery eye symptoms.

The Impact of Cold Weather on Eye Health

While we’ve primarily discussed watery eyes in relation to colds and flu, it’s worth noting that cold weather itself can also cause eye watering. Understanding this connection can help you better manage your eye health during the winter months.

Why do eyes water more in cold weather?

Cold air tends to be drier than warm air. When your eyes are exposed to this dry, cold air, it can cause the tear film on the surface of your eyes to evaporate more quickly. In response, your tear glands may produce excess tears to compensate for this rapid evaporation, leading to watery eyes.

Additionally, cold winds can irritate your eyes, triggering a reflex tearing response. This is your body’s way of trying to protect and lubricate your eyes in harsh conditions.

How can you protect your eyes in cold weather?

• Wear protective eyewear: Sunglasses or goggles can shield your eyes from cold winds and reflected glare from snow.
• Stay hydrated: Drinking plenty of water helps maintain overall eye moisture.
• Use artificial tears: These can provide additional lubrication in dry, cold conditions.
• Limit time outdoors in extreme cold: When possible, minimize prolonged exposure to harsh winter conditions.

The Importance of Eye Care During Illness

While dealing with a cold or flu, it’s easy to overlook eye care. However, paying attention to your ocular health during illness can prevent complications and ensure a smoother recovery.

How can you care for your eyes when you’re sick?

1. Avoid touching or rubbing your eyes: This can introduce bacteria and spread infection.
2. Use clean tissues: When wiping watery eyes, use clean tissues and dispose of them after each use.
3. Replace eye makeup: Discard and replace any eye makeup used during your illness to prevent reinfection.
4. Take breaks from screens: Extended screen time can exacerbate eye strain and dryness, especially when you’re ill.
5. Stay hydrated: Proper hydration supports overall eye health and can help manage cold symptoms.

By incorporating these practices into your routine when you’re sick, you can help protect your eyes and promote faster healing.

When to Seek Medical Attention for Eye Symptoms

While watery eyes during a cold are usually not a cause for concern, there are situations where medical attention may be necessary. Being aware of these scenarios can help you determine when to consult a healthcare professional.

What eye symptoms warrant medical attention during a cold?

• Severe eye pain or pressure
• Sudden changes in vision
• Persistent redness or swelling
• Thick, colored discharge from the eyes
• Sensitivity to light that doesn’t improve
• Eye symptoms that worsen or persist after other cold symptoms have resolved

If you experience any of these symptoms, it’s important to seek medical advice. An eye care professional or your primary care physician can determine if your symptoms are related to your cold or if they indicate a more serious condition that requires specific treatment.

Can cold-related eye symptoms lead to long-term eye problems?

In most cases, eye symptoms associated with colds are temporary and resolve as the illness improves. However, in rare instances, complications can occur. For example, if a viral eye infection is left untreated or if bacterial conjunctivitis develops as a secondary infection, it could potentially lead to more serious eye issues.

This underscores the importance of proper eye care during illness and seeking medical attention when symptoms are severe or persistent. By taking these precautions, you can help ensure that your eyes remain healthy, even when you’re battling a cold or flu.

The Role of Nutrition in Eye Health During Illness

While managing the symptoms of a cold or flu, it’s easy to overlook the importance of nutrition. However, maintaining a balanced diet can play a crucial role in supporting your overall health, including your eye health, during illness.

What nutrients are particularly important for eye health during a cold?

• Vitamin A: Essential for maintaining the health of the cornea and other parts of the eye.
• Vitamin C: An antioxidant that supports the health of blood vessels in the eye.
• Vitamin E: Another antioxidant that protects eye cells from damage.
• Omega-3 fatty acids: Help maintain the oily part of the tear film, which is crucial for eye lubrication.
• Zinc: Plays a role in delivering Vitamin A from the liver to the retina.

Incorporating foods rich in these nutrients into your diet can help support your eye health while your body fights off the cold or flu virus. Foods like carrots, citrus fruits, nuts, fatty fish, and leafy green vegetables are excellent sources of these nutrients.

How can proper nutrition support eye health during illness?

A well-balanced diet provides your body with the necessary tools to fight infection and maintain overall health. For your eyes specifically, proper nutrition can help:

1. Support the immune system in and around the eyes
2. Maintain proper tear production and quality
3. Protect eye tissues from oxidative stress
4. Support the healing process if any eye irritation or infection has occurred

Remember, while nutrition is important, it should complement, not replace, other treatments or medications prescribed by your healthcare provider.

The Connection Between Hydration and Eye Health

Staying hydrated is crucial when you’re battling a cold or flu, and it’s particularly important for maintaining eye health. Proper hydration can help alleviate some of the eye-related symptoms you might experience during illness.

How does hydration affect eye health during a cold?

Adequate hydration is essential for maintaining the balance of fluids in your body, including the production of tears. When you’re dehydrated, your body may struggle to produce enough tears to keep your eyes lubricated, which can exacerbate symptoms like dryness and irritation.

Moreover, staying hydrated can help thin mucus secretions, potentially improving nasal congestion and, by extension, tear drainage. This can help alleviate some of the watery eye symptoms associated with colds.

What are some tips for staying hydrated when you’re sick?

• Drink water regularly throughout the day
• Consume clear broths or soups
• Enjoy herbal teas, which can provide hydration and potentially soothing effects
• Eat water-rich fruits and vegetables
• Avoid or limit caffeine and alcohol, which can contribute to dehydration

By prioritizing hydration, you’re not only supporting your overall recovery but also helping to maintain your eye health during illness.

The Impact of Sleep on Eye Health During Illness

When you’re fighting a cold or flu, getting adequate rest is crucial for your body’s recovery process. Sleep also plays a significant role in maintaining eye health, particularly when you’re ill.

How does sleep affect eye health during a cold?

During sleep, your eyes have a chance to rest and recover. This period of reduced activity allows for:

1. Replenishment of the tear film
2. Reduction of eye strain
3. Healing of any minor irritations or inflammations
4. Overall recovery and rejuvenation of eye tissues

Additionally, sleep is crucial for your immune system’s function. A well-rested body is better equipped to fight off infections, including those that might affect your eyes.

What are some tips for promoting good sleep when you have a cold?

• Elevate your head to help with nasal drainage
• Use a humidifier in your bedroom to add moisture to the air
• Avoid screens before bedtime, as the blue light can interfere with sleep quality
• Create a dark, quiet, and cool sleeping environment
• Try to maintain a consistent sleep schedule, even when you’re sick

By prioritizing sleep, you’re giving your body, including your eyes, the best chance to recover and heal during illness.

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.

Why You Get Watery Eyes In Cold Weather

Are Watery Eyes a Bad Thing?

Watery eyes can actually be a good sign. While too much water can certainly be annoying, those tears are protecting your eyes by keeping them lubricated. The eye’s natural tear film is made up of three layers that work together to protect your cornea and maintain optimum eye comfort.

This maintenance is helped by something called the lacrimal gland, an important structure that sits just above each eye and acts as a water reservoir for the eye’s surface.

The moisture created by our lacrimal glands is constantly evaporating, so when our eyes get watery, that’s our glands reacting to a signal from the brain that we need more tears.

Is It Normal for Eyes to Get Watery In The Cold?

Most people will experience watery eyes occasionally when exposing themselves to cooler temperatures. Generally, cold air is also dry air, and it’s this lack of moisture that is problematic for our eyes.

Think back to the last time you were outside when it was particularly windy. If you were facing the wind, you probably started tearing a lot. That’s because all that air blowing into your eyes rapidly dries out your tear film and kicks your lacrimal glands into overdrive. Essentially, the same thing happens when our eyes encounter cold air, but usually to a lesser extent.

How to Prevent Dry Eyes in Cold Weather

While suffering from watery eyes on a cold day is fairly normal, if you find that your eyes constantly to feel dry when temperatures begin to dip, there are a few things you can do to try to prevent discomfort, such as:

• Using a humidifier at home
• Avoiding the outdoors on cold and windy days
• Wearing goggles or sunglasses for outdoor activities
• Applying preservative-free eye drops before heading out into the cold

If you find that the above measures aren’t doing enough or if you find your eyes are irritating you no matter the temperature, you may be suffering from dry eye disease, a problem that affects nearly a quarter of Canadians.

How Do I Know If I Have Dry Eye Disease?

One study conducted by a group of doctors in 2019 estimates that more than 6 million Canadians could be living with dry eye disease (DED). Many of them likely don’t realize they’re suffering from it and may even think their dry eyes are normal. 

You may be dealing with dry eye disease if you’re experiencing prolonged eye discomfort and any of the following symptoms:

• Burning/scratching
• Sensitivity to light
• Tired eyes

You can try our free online survey to help you determine whether or not your symptoms could be linked to DED. If you want dry eye relief,  you should also book an appointment to see an eye doctor that has the equipped knowledge in dry eye.

Are Dry Eyes a Big Deal?

Unfortunately, dry eyes are more than just an uncomfortable feeling. If left untreated, this imbalance in your tear film can lead to infection, inflammation of the eye, or in rare cases, damage to your cornea.

Don’t Live With Dry Eyes

MyDryEye helps match you with a dry eye doctor near you so that you can get help fast. We’ll help you find an eye doctor who can conduct a comprehensive assessment of your symptoms and determine what course of treatment is right for you so that you can get back to feeling normal again. 

Watery eyes with colds and runny nose: causes, treatment 02 Colds are accompanied by a number 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 bridge 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 may also be the cause of tearing in children of different ages. This symptom can be caused by:

• Various perfumes. 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 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.
• With 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 are frequent.

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.

Treatment

In order to quickly and effectively cure colds, you should strictly follow the doctor’s recommendations. Do not try to treat only lacrimation, with a cold this will not work. You can treat colds with medicines and traditional medicine. At the same time, the latest methods only complement traditional treatment. The patient can be prescribed:

• Antiviral drugs – Groprinosin, Anaferon, Amizon and Viferon.
• Immunomodulatory drugs – tincture of Echinacea purpurea and medicines based on this medicinal herb.
• Antipyretics – Paracetamol and Ibuprofen.

If a cold has a complication in the form of otitis media, conjunctivitis, bronchitis or other infectious diseases, then systemic antibiotics are indicated. In such cases, tablets and syrups are often prescribed, only injections are indicated for severe infections.

Time-tested traditional medicine recipes are good for colds:

• Linden tea. Helps to lower the temperature. It has a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect. It is recommended to drink linden decoction with the addition of a teaspoon of honey.
• Tea from raspberry twigs lowers the temperature well.
• With severe lacrimation or the first signs of conjunctivitis, it is recommended to wash the eyes with a concentrated decoction of chamomile or sage. For each eye should take a separate cotton swab.
• Rubbing. Various rubbing will help to quickly cure colds. To do this, it is good to use goat, badger or bear fat.

It should be borne in mind that the patient must not be rubbed at a high temperature, otherwise the condition will worsen significantly.

Eyes with colds are almost always watery due to a very stuffy nose. It is useless to treat the organs of vision in this case, it is necessary to eliminate the root cause of tearing. If a cold is complicated by conjunctivitis, you need to wash your eyes with antiseptic solutions. Treatment is carried out under the supervision of a doctor.

Watery and sore eyes with a cold (what to do)

If your eyes are watery and sore with a cold, in 80% of cases it is necessary to treat first of all … a runny nose!

Cause watery and sore eyes with a cold may be sinusitis. What it is? Like many other medical terms ending in -itis, sinusitis refers to inflammation. In this case, inflammation of the sinus, and more specifically, the paranasal sinuses. As a rule, sinusitis begins with a cold or flu, when, after some time, the nasal septum swells and sputum production increases on the mucous membrane. The nasal septum swells so much that the passages to the paranasal sinuses are clogged. When phlegm and air cannot move freely between the nose and sinuses, excess pressure builds up in the sinuses. It causes pain in the frontal part of the skull, in the cheeks and upper jaw. And also around the eye sockets. That’s why the eyes hurt with a cold.

Headache and eye pain can also be caused by other causes, such as the common migraine. In this case, it passes quite quickly, within one day, and even without treatment. Whereas a headache from sinusitis lasts up to several weeks.

The reason why our eyes water when we have a cold is also quite simple – swelling of the nasolacrimal canal. The nasal canal is clogged, there is no other way for the fluid to go out, as through the lacrimal canal.

In most cases, syunsitis can be cured quite quickly and without consequences. Quite rarely, there are cases when sinusitis provokes eye diseases, despite the fact that the focus of infection is located very close to the eyes. Sinusitis is much more dangerous for the lungs and the respiratory system as a whole. Sinusitis is generally treated with antibiotics. It is customary to treat a stuffy nose with vasoconstrictor drops, for example, Naphthyzinum. However, one should not get carried away with such treatment – the abuse of this remedy can cause rhinitis.

The main recommendation for those who have watery and sore eyes during a cold is the following: try not to create excessive pressure in the sinuses. For example, when blowing your nose, do it gently, pinching each nostril in turn, and not both at once. Try to postpone your flight until you are well. When taking off or landing, passengers on an airplane experience a sudden pressure drop that will make your eye pain worse.