red eye – Top Health Today

Eye Redness is a common eye condition caused by dilated or swollen blood vessels on the white outer surface of the eye. There are lots of factors that can cause eye redness and the condition may cause no irritation at all. There are other cases when eye redness may come with swollen eyes, visual disturbances, eye discharge, eye pain and itchiness. It is always advisable to see your eye doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment if the condition persists or causing other serious discomforts.

Causes of Eye Redness

There are lots of factors that may cause eye redness; some of the most common causes include eye fatigue, allergy, exposure to harsh environment and ocular trauma. Eye Redness can also be a symptom of a more serious eye condition or diseases, such as glaucoma or uveitis.

Treatments

There are many treatments to reduce eye redness, the method of treatment always depends on the cause of the Eye Redness. Some of the most effective eye redness reduction treatments include;

Using eye drops: You need to see your doctor for proper eye drops perception and the treatment dosage. Eye drops with antihistamines will work for eye redness caused by allergies but may also cause eye dryness.
Cold water treatment: Cold water treatment is done by placing a towel soaked with cold water on the face for few minutes. The code water will reduce blood flow to the eye and treat the inflamed blood vessel the cause the red eye.
Ice pack: this also works the same way as cold water treatment.

How to Reduce Eye Redness

Eye redness condition is caused by different factors, the cause may be related to over stressing of the eye, exposure or body intoxication. Some of the tips to reduce Eye Redness include:

Blinking: Eyes Blinking is important to the eye because it’s how the eye moisturized. Not blinking can cause eye dryness which will lead to eye redness. A study shows that we blink less when staring at electronic screens such as TV monitors, laptop, phones, and tablets. If you have to look at the screen for a long period of time, try to consciously remind yourself to blink. You can as well lower the screen brightness or distance your eye from the screen as convenient as possible.

Avoid smoke or smoking: exposing your eye to irritants like smoke can cause unnecessary eye redness.

Balance diets: Try to eat balanced diets, eat food and fruits that are rich in vitamins such as fresh vegetables, eggs, whole cereals, and meats like tuna, liver. Vitamins C, E, and zinc essential to eye protection against diseases. And Lutein and zeaxanthin you get from eating food like corn, green beans broccoli, and spinach_ protect the eye from harmful light.
Get plenty of sleep: not sleeping well can cause unnecessary eye redness. Your eye muscle relaxes when you sleep and most of your cells repair themselves during this time, not sleeping can over stress your eye muscle, leave eyes dry which can lead to eye redness.
Manage your allergies: Allergies is one of the most common causes of eye redness which also comes with itchy eyes. Try to know what might be causing your allergies and how you can protect your eye against them.

Having one or both eyes become red is so common that basically everyone will experience it at one time or another. It may range in severity, from several enlarged blood vessels in the eye, or it may look like a pink or even bright red which entirely covers the sclera. Everyone has blood vessels in their eyes, and you can always see them if you take a close look at the eye. However, with the case of red eyes, the appearance is considerably more noticeable because these ordinary blood vessels become swollen.

Generally speaking red eyes are not a cause of concern, and are usually just from something completely benign and normal. However, if accompanied by other symptoms, red eyes may pose a slight problem and in some rare cases they could even be indicative of some emergency. It all depends on why the eyes are red and if there are other issues as well.

Dry eye syndrome is a somewhat common and fairly harmless cause for red eyes, but it should still be managed with treatment. When the tear glands in the eyes can’t produce enough tears, or the proper quality of tears, the eyes are unable to stay lubricated. This leads to irritation, inflammation, and redness.

If you are prone to allergies then red eyes are a very common symptom. Histamine is released to fight off allergens like dust, pet dander, and pollen, and the histamine is what causes the blood vessels in the eyes to enlarge. Of course this is generally just an irritation and does not usually indicate anything serious, but there are medications you can take to help with your discomfort.

If the eye becomes irritated the blood vessels in the eyes will no doubt react. Contact lenses can irritate the eyes and often cause red eyes, especially if you don’t wear them correctly or you wear them too often. They may also lead to an eye infection which could be the culprit of the red eye or eyes, and if so this could be somewhat serious. Contacts may also make dry eye syndrome worse. To avoid problems keep lenses clean and replace them when necessary.

If your eyes become fatigued or tired after staring at a single point for long periods of time they may burn and become red. This is common with computer vision syndrome because many people use computers in this day and age. When working or playing on a computer you automatically blink less often which creates dry eyes. Frequent breaks are the easiest solution to this problem.

Pink eye is a type of infection which causes one or both eyes to become red. It is most prevalent among children and usually not too serious. Injuries to the eye may also cause eye redness. Swimming, smoking, some drugs and alcohol, pregnancy, cold or flu, and even whitening eye drops may also cause red eyes. There are a few more serious problems which can cause red eyes. Corneal ulcers, ocular herpes, uveitis, and glaucoma, may also be a part of red eyes. If there is pain, sensitivity, or discharge, it is always a good idea to see the doctor.