What types of eye pain are there?

Basically, experts differentiate between two types of eye pain: ocular and orbital. The former refers to pain felt on the surface of the eye. Orbital eye pain, on the other hand, refers to pain in the eye socket where the eyeballs are located.

Reasons for ocular, external eye pain can, for example, be conjunctivitis or stye . Orbital, internal pain in the eye can arise, for example, due to inflammation of the sinuses. What is known as glaucoma, better known as glaucoma , or an inflamed optic nerve are also possible.

Eye pain can come in different forms. Patients often report feeling a stinging eye. Others complain of itchy and burning eyes. Sometimes they can be reddened, tear and rub. Some patients also report visual disturbances and state that they see double or blurred, suddenly see nothing for a few seconds and are more sensitive to light than usual.

Eye pain: Possible accompanying symptoms

Eye pain can go along with an unusually severe and sudden headache . The same applies to chewing pain and pain in the neck area. Toothache or pain in the entire jaw area can also occur.

If you suffer from eye pain and the following symptoms, you should see a doctor immediately: fever , fatigue, muscle pain , vomiting , chills, decreased visual acuity. Likewise if you can no longer move your eye up, down, right or left or if one eye bulges out of the eyes socket.

Causes: where does eye pain come from?

The entire area around the eyes is very susceptible to disease and infection. However, the eyes are often not the real problem. In this case, it is often difficult to find out where the pain is coming from. There are several reasons for this. First, the pain usually radiates all over the face and patients cannot pinpoint the exact point of origin.

In the following section you will finds an overview of possible causes of eye pain, broken down by medical specialty.

When the eyes themselves are the cause of pain

However, there are some diseases in which the pain results from an eye disease. This includes, for example, inflammation of the eyelids, also called blepharitis. In addition, there are conjunctivitis, inflammation of the dermis, the iris and the middle skin of the eye, increased intracranial pressure or narrow-angle glaucoma. Glaucoma is the technical term for the glaucoma. If this special form of glaucoma is not treated, the patient can go blind in the worst case.

In addition to the causes just mention, there is another: the visual aid. If the visual aid is correctly adjusted and adapted to the respective visual defect, patients usually do not have any problems. If this does not happens, it can cause sore eyes. If the visual defect is not corrected in the first place, this can also become painful, because the eyes constantly try to correct the defect independently. This is exhausting and leads to tired, sometimes burning and reddened eyes. Headaches are also possible. Contact lens wearers, like glasses wearers, can suffer from eye pain. The reason for this is often that the cornea is injured by certain types of lenses, for example by drying it out at certain points.

Anyone who reads for hours, be it on the computer or in a book, can also get eye pain. Dry air and air conditioning can also be another trigger.

Headache as a cause of sore eyes

Neurological diseases are often accompanied by pain in the head and face area. This also includes various types of headache. They are one of the most common causes of sore eyes.

With the so-called tension headache, many sufferers feel pressure behind both eyes. In addition, there are some visual disturbances. Migraine sufferers also complain of pain in the face, both in the ears and in the eyes. The pain point in this form of headache is usually behind the eye.

People who suffer from cluster headaches also report sore eyes. In various medical examinations, the patients described the symptoms as particularly bad. Some said they felt the pain was pushing out the eye. The pain point is behind the eyeball.

Ear, nose and throat disorders as a cause of eye pain

It is obvious that diseases in the ear, nose and throat area can also lead to sore eyes. After all, the eyes are only a few inches from the nose and ears. In addition, about two thirds of the eye socket are also a boundary of the paranasal sinus. As a result, inflammation of the nose can quickly spread to the eyes. This is the case, for example, with inflamed sinuses, also known as sinusitis. Patients who suffer from sinusitis also often complain of an aching pain in the eye socket. Another possible trigger is a sinus tumor.

Oral and jaw diseases as a cause of eye pain

Just like ear, nose and throat diseases, mouth and jaw diseases can cause pain in and around the eyes. The reason for this is also the anatomical proximity to the eyes.

Furthermore, fractures, for example due to a traffic accident, can lead to eye pain. If the patient has suffered a so-called midface trauma, the periosteum of the eye socket is usually injured. The periosteum is the outer shell of the bone and supplies it with blood vessels and nerves. If it is injured, it can lead to eye pain.

The cause can also be inflammation in the maxillary sinus. The patients usually have painful and reddened eyes and swollen eyelids.

Other possible reasons: The patient had a tooth extracted or he had a root canal treatment. Diseases of the skull bones, such as malignant tumors, are the cause of eye pain rather rarely.

Wherever the eye pain comes from: As soon as it occurs over a long period of time or suddenly, you should definitely see a doctor. In this way you rule out a possible illness and the long-term damage that may result from it.

Eye pain in children: causes

Just like adults, children can experience eye pain. Often times, the causes of eye pain in children are similar to those in adults. However, there are some causes that are more common in children. This includes, for example, foreign bodies in the eye.

When children play outside, they can get dirt in their eyes. Because the children do not wash it out immediately, but rub it in the eye, the cornea can be injured.

Other reasons: growth spurts, for example that of the jaw. In this case, not only will your teeth hurt, but your eyes will also hurt. In addition, there are colds, poor lighting conditions, herpes viruses or uncorrected poor eyesight.

In any case, you should consult with a doctor as soon as your child suffers from eye pain for a long period of time.

Diagnosis: This is how eye pain is examined

Before starting treatment, the doctor must thoroughly examine the patient. This is the only way to finds out the cause and take appropriate measures.

The examination includes, among other things, that the patient describes his symptoms and the doctor will ask question such as: How long have you been in pain? Where exactly does it hurt? Have you ever had eye pain before?

If necessary, the doctor then measures a fever and checks how sensitive the patient's face is and whether he has a cold.

Then the eye is examined. Doctors usually check whether and to what extent the eyes are red or puffy. Whether the patient can still see clearly and how the pupils react to light. In addition, there is a so-called visual field examination. The doctor uses this to clarify whether the patient can see in every area of ​​the field of vision.

To rule out a foreign body causing the pain, the doctor turns the eyelids inside out.

The doctor can look closely at the eye with a so-called slit lamp. The said lamp works like a microscope. To check the cornea, the doctor puts a drop of fluorescein on the cornea. This will reveal any scratches or an infection. He also measures the intraocular pressure and uses an ophthalmoscope to check the lens, vitreous humor, retina, optic nerve, veins and arteries of the retina.

In some cases, computed tomography , also called CT, will be necessary in order to be able to make an exact diagnosis.

Nonprescription medication can help with occasional pain. What you should pays attention to when taking so that the funds work optimally.

 

Therapy: This is how eye pain is treated correctly

As you read in the sections above, there are a multitude of possible causes of eye pain. Therefore, treatment varies from patient to patient.

If the eye itself is the cause of the pain, doctors usually treat the problem with analgesic and / or anti-inflammatory eye drops. Surgery is only necessary if the medication does not work. This can be the case with glaucoma, for example, if the intraocular pressure does not decrease despite the medication.

If the visual aid triggers the pain, you should seek advice from a specialist immediately. This can correct the visual impairment accordingly. Contact lens wearers should wear glasses again if they have pain in the eye. You should also protect your eyes.

If the cause is neurological, CT or magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI for short , is usually performed. They provide information about the exact origin of the pain. As mentioned earlier, headaches and migraines are common causes of eye pain. To relieve this, patients are given pain relievers. In addition, doctors recommend relaxation training and exercise to reduce headaches. In some cases, behavior therapy can also be useful. This helps to change habits that promote and favor the headache.

Is a sinus infectionthe reason for the eye pain, doctors usually prescribe decongestant nasal sprays, expectorant preparations to free the airways and, if necessary, painkillers.

If the eye pain occurs after a dental treatment, a so-called surgical rehabilitation is carried out. This means that the doctor will operate on the area that is causing the pain again.

No matter where the eye pain is coming from: To get well again, you should give yourself and your eyes rest. Do not strain your eyes by watching TV, reading, or using a computer.

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