Eye pain

Eye pain is not a pleasant feeling. Not only does a person seem to lose sight, but also tears flow from the eyes or, on the contrary, they can not be seen, or eye pain is accompanied by other nasty symptoms. In the eyes there are a lot of nerve receptors, which is why they are the first to respond to the troubles that have befallen other organs, and react with pain. So, eye pain - what are its causes?

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What are the most common causes of eye pain?

All that concerns poor vision and eye care. Causes of pain in the eyes may be incorrectly selected lenses that can scratch the cornea of the eye, and the lenses can be obsolete, and this also traumatizes the eyes. Incorrectly chosen glasses can also cause eye pain. In this case, the eyes can stop aching if a person selects the correct lenses or glasses or until they wear them - until the eye heals.

Causes of eye surface irritation can be a computer screen that is obsolete or a person just long sitting behind it. Then the eyes may appear tingling or tingling, may also disturb the syndrome, known as dry eye syndrome or dry-eye syndrome. This is a common disease of those who sit long at the computer, especially in poor lighting conditions. Overstrain of the eye muscles (as well as with a long viewing of the TV) makes itself felt. Dry eye can also occur in people who work indoors with air conditioners, fans or heating devices. Fluorescent lighting can also negatively affect the eyes, there is eye pain.

Will uevit

Eye pain can be associated with a disease such as uveitis - that is, inflammation of the shell of the eyeball, densely strung with blood vessels - it is called for it by the vascular membrane. The vascular membrane of the eyeball consists of three parts. The first part is the iris, the colored ring of tissues, in which you can see yourself as in a mirror. The black circle in the center of the iris is the pupil. The second and third parts, which you can not see by looking in the mirror, are the ciliary body and the choroid. They are located behind the iris. An ophthalmologist can see them only with the help of special equipment. Inflammation of the iris is called irite. Inflammation of the ciliary body is called an intermediate uveitis or cyclite. Inflammation of the choroid is called choroiditis. Inflammation of all three shells is called panwayitis.

Why does uveitis occur?

There are several causes of uveitis, including autoimmune diseases (such as sarcoidosis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Behcet's disease and Bekhterev's disease), infections (such as syphilis and toxoplasmosis), and trauma. In addition, some causes of eye diseases are "idiopathic", that is, these causes are not known.

Symptoms of uveitis

Symptoms of uveitis may include some or all of the following:

• Painful eyes (or one eye)
• Red, bloodshot eyes (or one eye)
• Sensitivity to light (severe pain, when the eyes are exposed to light, this disease is called photophobia)
• Blurred objects, the so-called cloud vision
• Floating spots in the field of view

In addition to the reddening of the eyes (a), other visible signs of uveitis are simply microscopic and ordinary people can not consider them - one must go to the ophthalmologist. The ophthalmologist will see them using a special slit lamp microscope. White blood cells - a symbol of inflammation - can be visualized in the vessels and around the part of the choroid of the eyeball. They can also be in front of the eye under the cornea.

Causes of uveitis

Different types of uveitis are classified also for the reasons that caused them: autoimmune (when eye pain is associated with an autoimmune disease), infectious (when eye pain is caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites), traumatic (after eye trauma), or idiopathic (when there is no specific cause ).

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Trauma, eye contact with foreign body

When a foreign body enters the eye, it can cause severe pain in the eye. This pain can be caused by bacteria that fall on different parts of the eye. They also cause inflammation of the retina, which also provokes eye pain.

In these cases, you should immediately wash the eye and drip it with albumin solution (sold in pharmacies without a prescription). If you do not have such an opportunity, you can try to remove the foreign body from the eye, blinking, and then massaging it gently and only with clean fingers. The foreign body must come out of the eye with a tear. To massage it is necessary in a direction to an internal corner of an eye.

Keratite

If the foreign body is large, it damaged the eyes, or something injured the eye when working with different tools or machines, you need to immediately call an ambulance or go urgently to the ophthalmologist. If you delay and do not go to the doctor for 2-3 days, a person can develop keratitis.

Keratitis is a medical term for inflammation of the cornea. The cornea is a domed window in the front of the eye. When you look at the person's eye, you can see that the iris and pupil function normally due to a clear cornea. Between the front of the cornea and the environment - only a very thin tear film. The thickness of the cornea is about 0.5 millimeters. The back of the cornea is dipped into the aqueous fluid that fills the anterior chamber of the eye. The diameter of the cornea of the human eye is about 13 mm (½ inch). Together with the sclera (white part of the eye), the cornea forms the outer shell of the eye.

What are the causes of keratitis?

Keratitis, or the condition of the eyes, in which the cornea becomes inflamed, has many potential causes. Different types of infections, dry-eye syndrome, trauma and a wide variety of basic medical conditions can all lead to keratitis. In some cases, keratitis occurs due to factors unknown to physicians.

What are the types of keratitis?

Keratitis can be classified by its location, the severity of the disease and its cause.

If the keratitis affects only the surface (epithelial layer) of the cornea, it is called superficial keratitis. If it affects the deeper layers of the cornea (stroma of the cornea), it is called stromal keratitis or interstitial keratitis. Inflammation can develop in the center of the cornea or its peripheral part (this part is closer to the sclera) or both. Keratitis can affect one or both eyes. Keratitis can be mild, moderate or severe and can be associated with inflammation of other parts of the eye.

Keratoconjunctivitis is an inflammation of the cornea and conjunctiva. Kerato-uveitis is an inflammation of the cornea and vessels.

Keratitis can be acute or chronic. He can disturb a person only once or twice or repeat it periodically. Keratitis can be lethargic or progressive, causing damage to the eye.

Causes of Keratitis

Different causes of keratitis can lead to different clinical manifestations, so determining the site of inflammation, the severity of a person's condition can often help in identifying the exact cause. Other useful facts for establishing the cause of keratitis may include demographic data, such as the age, gender and geographical location of the patient.

Infection is the most common cause of keratitis. Bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasitic organisms can infect on the cornea and cause infectious or microbial keratitis.

Bacteria most often cause keratitis. These are bacteria such as staphylococci, Hemophilus, streptococci and the bacterium Pseudomonas. If the front surface of the cornea was damaged or just a small scratch, and the surface of the eye is damaged, almost all bacteria, including atypical mycobacteria, can enter the cornea as a result of keratitis. If the cornea is ulcerated, a condition known as ulcerative keratitis may occur. Before the appearance of antibiotics, syphilis was a common cause of keratitis.

Viruses that infect the cornea include respiratory viruses, including adenoviruses and others causing colds. Herpes simplex virus is another common cause of keratitis. In the United States, about 20,000 new cases of ocular herpes are recorded every year, along with more than 28,000 cases of reactivation of the infection. In the US, also recorded about 500,000 people diagnosed with a simple herpes eye. What would you think - the herpes zoster virus (virus that causes chicken pox and shingles) can also cause keratitis.

Fungi, such as Candida, Aspergillus and Nocardia, are atypical causes of microbial keratitis. Most often they occur in people with weakened immunity due to the underlying disease or taking numerous medications. Keratitis by the type of fungal infection can occur due to improper handling of contact lenses. Interestingly, bacterial infections can hinder the appearance of fungal keratitis.

Physical or chemical trauma is also a common cause of keratitis and eye pain. Foreign bodies are frequent sources of keratitis. Ultraviolet radiation from sunlight (snow blindness), the ingress of strong light into the eyes during welding, contact lenses and chemical agents, splashes or into gases in the form of vapors can lead to non-infectious keratitis. Chemical trauma or contact lenses often cause superficial punctate keratitis, in which myriads of damaged cells appear on the surface of the affected cornea.

Disturbances in the structure of the tear film can also lead to changes in the surface of the cornea due to the drying of the corneal epithelium. This type of keratitis is usually superficial and is most often associated with dry eyes. It is known as dry keratitis or keratitis of dryness. If the eyes are very dry, the surface of the cells may die off and remain on the surface of the cornea in the form of a thread. This condition is known as filamentous keratitis. The inability to close the eyelids properly can also lead to dryness of the cornea and cause exposition keratitis.

Allergy to pollen flying in the air, poplar fluff or bacterial toxins in tears can also cause a non-infectious type of keratitis. Autoimmune diseases often affect the periphery of the cornea, causing inflammation and eye pain - a condition called limiting keratitis or limbic keratitis.

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What to do with keratitis?

First of all, immediately consult a doctor. If you do not do it in time and start treating your eyes yourself, you can easily lose them. In the case of eye pain, you can not joke - every day is expensive.

Diseases of the eye vessels

Ophthalmic vessels are very important for the health of the eye, as they saturate it with blood and oxygen. If the eye vessels become sick, eye pain may appear. It appears due to lack of blood supply and oxygen. The tissues surrounding the eye also lack oxygen and blood. Diseases of tissue orbit doctors call ischemia of the eye. This is a complex condition that can only be diagnosed in the office of an ophthalmologist. For this, ultrasonic triplex scanning is used. Treatment for ischemia is usually prescribed and the ophthalmologist, and the cardiologist - together.

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Retinal Ischemia

Retinal ischemia is a condition in which a large lack of oxygen is detected in the retina. It can be caused by a variety of causes, including stroke, accident and diabetes. It also often occurs when the central veins of the retina detach from the eyes, and then bleeding occurs. When the retina loses oxygen, the body tries to compensate for it, causing the endothelial vessels to grow rapidly. Unfortunately, this can lead to an increase in abnormal blood vessels on the surface of the retina. This state results in blindness.

Risk groups

Retinal ischemia is an eye disease that usually affects middle-aged and elderly people. With retinal ischemia, systemic vascular diseases are also associated. They were found in 74% of patients older than 50 years. Arterial hypertension and hyperlipidemia associated with ocular pain as a result of ischemia are observed in 32-60% of cases, and diabetes - in 15-34% of patients. In addition, as doctors have identified, migraine is also associated with eye diseases and eye pain. In addition, eye pain can also provoke oral contraceptives, sympathomimetics and diuretics.

Causes of retinal ischemia

This disease can be caused by obstruction of the central vein of the retina, which leads to the accumulation of blood and fluid in the retina. More than 23% of cases of retinal ischemia are associated with eye diseases, such as primary open-angle glaucoma in 25-66%, optic nerve diseases, retinal arteries, retinal vascular malformations. Trauma or sudden contraction of the eyeball, changes in intraocular pressure, too, can lead to damage to the wall of the eye vessels and eye pain due to shearing or contraction of the central vein of the retina. Finally, retinal vasculitis can lead to vessel occlusion (the effect of hidden vessels).

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Symptoms of retinal ischemia

As a rule, retinal ischemia starts suddenly, without warning. It can hit one eye, but often progresses and affects both eyes. The disease can last for a long time.

In most cases, patients with retinal ischemia exhibit a sudden, painless loss of visual acuity and visual fields associated with optical edema of the eye disc. The age range of such patients is very extensive and partly depends on the cause of retinal ischemia. Some patients simply experience a sudden loss of vision. The degree of loss of vision can be severe, the patient can only have a vague feeling of blurred vision, which is often described as a shadow or veil. Loss of vision (temporary) can cause serious disturbances in the field of vision and a person may lose visual acuity. As soon as there was at least a short-term loss of vision, you should immediately consult a doctor. In the early stages, you can still do something and the person will see. With proper treatment, of course.

In the treatment of retinal ischemia, surgery or laser therapy may be used.

Structure of the eye

To understand why there is eye pain, or pain in the eyes, you need to know what the eye consists of. The eye is the organ of human or animal sensory. The eye can perceive the radiation of electromagnetic waves in the range of long light waves and enables the person to see. That is, it provides us one of the most important functions - visual. The eyeball is a pair formation in the form of a ball, which is located in the eye cavities, called orbits. Orbits and the eye itself, as we know, are in the human skull.

In the eyes of many painful nerve endings, so our organ of vision very well feels all the changes in the human body and immediately reacts to them. Both internal processes and external ones. That's why every disease, which seems to have no relation to the eyes, can be most directly displayed on their health and provoke eye pain.

What is eye pain?

Eye pain can appear even with minor seemingly factors: a cold wind, a grain of sand in the eye, a sudden change in temperature. Yes, there can be little provoking factors. On the other hand, the eye is designed to protect a person from these influences. Frying oil in a frying pan that can "shoot" with fat, you can be sure almost certainly that the eye immediately closes by the eyelid, and this unconscious process is an involuntary protective reaction to the stimulus.

As for the nature of ocular pain, oculist physicians distinguish several of its types - from sharp and burning, as if pepper was poured into eyes, to the drawing and prolonged, barely perceptible.

In order not to play bad before serious problems with the eyes, ignoring the eye pain, it is necessary, when it occurs, to appear to the specialist-oculist. If the cause of the pain is unknown to you, but the eye pain still does not pass, the doctor will make a detailed diagnosis and determine the cause of the disease. Eye pain, according to experts, can vary - it can be simple fatigue due to prolonged work at the computer or the manifestation of glitches in the oculomotor nerves. Either the involvement of the carotid artery, or the disease of internal organs.

Internal factors of eye pain

At other malfunctions in an organism an eye pain can adjoin with a headache pain. If a person has an overstrain of the facial muscles, this too can lead to pain in the eyes.

When to consult an ophthalmologist?

If you have at least one or more of these symptoms, you should definitely consult a doctor.

• Injury or bruise of the eye
• Foreign body that has got into the eye
• eye pain, which lasts more than two days
• Visual disturbances and eye pain, which is accompanied by nausea, weakness, headache
• Prolonged (more than two days) discomfort or eye pain.