What does it mean when one eye is red?
When one of both of your eyes become red, it can be very alarming. They may feel dry, agitated, painful, or even like theres something stuck in there. Many environmental factors can be the cause for your red eye including allergies, dust, or smoke. When just one of your eyes is red, that means that just the one has become agitated although it is possible that both become red. Red eye is not an initial sign of a serious problem.
What can cause red eyes?
If you wake up to a red eye, it could be that something got in it overnight to cause the flare-up. Sleeping with an overhead fan on can dry out your eyes as well and potentially cause redness. This red eye is often due to you rubbing the eye when it is irritated and thus causing a reaction. It is easy to do and not even realize you have done this especially while you are sleeping.
If you are a contact lens wearer, your red eye could be caused by the contacts themselves. If they did not get cleaned properly each time you take them out or if there was something on your fingers when you put them in, this could irritate the eye and cause redness. Forgetting to take the contacts out at night could also be the culprit. It is incredibly important to only wear your contacts exactly as directed. If you have 30-day contacts, you should only be using them for the 30 calendar days that they have been opened. Trying to stretch their life span is like drinking expired milk- no good! Daily contacts should likewise only be worn for the single day and never washed and put back in the eyes a following day.
Other simple causes for red eyes include saltwater, sunshine, or wind overexposure. Here in Florida, we often see that people who spend a lot of time near or on the ocean having irritated eyes afterwards. It is always smart to wear quality sunglasses that are rated to help protect your eyes from the sun’s rays. We also recommend to people who boat often to make sure the sunglasses are a style that almost cups the eye more, wrapping around to enclose them rather than the open sides. This helps with the wind from drying them out. Motorcyclists should also make sure to wear protective high quality eyewear as well for the same reasons.
Of course there can be more serious causes such as trauma or injury, infections like pink eye (Conjunctivitis), or even glaucoma, ulcers, or uveitis. Your eyes are independent of one another when it comes to conditions and health, which is why generally, if both of your eyes are red, it is probably due to something like allergies. It is possible to have rubbed your one eye then touched the other and spread something like Pink Eye to both eyes.
What can I do to treat my red eye?
One of the first things to take note of is if there could be something in your eye causing this irritation. Make sure before you touch or rub your eyes to wash your hands really good. Then you can look in the mirror to see if there is an eyelash or anything hiding under the eyelid. You can flush your eye with room temperature water using a small cup and filling it to the top. Then dip your eye in the water and blink a few times to clear out and flush the eye.
You can also use eye drops to try and flush your eye. This can be very soothing for a red eye to help out and there are over the counter drops specifically for red eye. We find that the fastest acting eye drops you can buy without a prescription are generally the more expensive ones. These have higher quality ingredients that act more like your natural tears and have better soothing properties to them. Often you will find that you actually use less of the product at one time than with the less expensive version which means they also can last longer. Do mind their expiration dates however, as expired eye drops of any kind could make things worse.
A hot water towel compress is another great method to ease irritated eyes. The heat helps to sooth, while the steam from the water gives extra moisture to help flush. You want to get your tap water good and hot, then take a face cloth and get it all the way wet. Make sure you ring it out good before placing it over your closed eyes. If you have makeup on, it is very important to remove all the makeup you can specifically with makeup remover to make sure no additional makeup gets into your eye, which could very well be your culprit.
Taking allergy medicine is also a good idea, especially if you are prone to allergies. Although this will not give immediate relief like the options above can, it will help to reduce those symptoms for the day and make you feel better overall. These are easy to find at your local pharmacy although some you may need to ask the pharmacist for despite not needing a prescription for them.
It is also possible that you have over extended your eyes by staring at screens too long or being out on a windy boat ride. Give your eyes the rest that will feel great anyways! If after a day or so your eyes do not improve, feel free to give us a call to have things checked out. We are always happy to make sure you have your optimal vision! Find a Perich Eye Center close to you from the list below of your Florida locations!
