Red eyes are not always a reason to run to the doctor, even if you’re not a terminator. Sometimes you can deal with the problem without the doctor’s help. But if your eyes often become red and give you huge discomfort or pain, it’s time to run to the doctor.
1. Allergy
Dilation of the eye vessels leads to redness, tears, and irritation. It may be signs of an allergy. In this case, it makes sense to apply moisturizing drops to wash off the allergen. And if it doesn’t help, you should take an antihistamine.
2. Smoking and alcohol
You just need to spend a couple of hours in a smoky room to get redness in the eyes. Tobacco smoke, like any other smoke, irritate the cornea and this leads to the redness of the eyes. If you overdo it with alcohol, you also risk waking up in the morning with red eyes. Alcohol violates the process of moisturization in the eyes and this leads to redness.
3. Lack of sleep
Your eyes need a certain time to restore the natural level of moisture. They rest at night, but if you steal their precious hours of sleep, they will get back at you and turn red.
4. Infections
In some situations, red eyes is caused by inflammation of the eye tissue – conjunctivitis, episcleritis, keratitis, inflammation of the iris, or some more rare diseases. Although light infections of the outer lining of the eyes can go away on their own, these conditions shouldn’t be ignored since they can be dangerous for vision. In such cases, only a qualified eye doctor can determine the severity of the disease and give accurate recommendations for treatment.
5. Dry air
Dryness and redness of the eyes are more common in the winter time. This is due to the low level of air humidity that is in hot rooms and outside.
6. Staring at the computer for a long time
On average, you blink 15 times per minute. But if you stare at the computer screen at the same time, you blink three times less. Therefore, if you don’t break away from the monitor for several hours, your eyes will get less moisture than they need and thus may turn red.
7. Subconjunctival hemorrhage
If you noticed a red spot in the eye, most likely the wall of one of the vessels was injured. In most cases, these reddenings will pass themselves, but sometimes they may indicate other diseases (for example, diabetes or hypertension). Therefore, if this happens often, you should immediately visit your doctor.
8. Medication side effects
Dry eyes and redness can be caused by certain medications such as beta-blockers, diuretics, antihistamines, hypnotics, and sedatives. Therefore, you should talk to the doctor who prescribed you these medications and tell him/her about your eye problems.
9. Contact lenses
Wearing contact lenses is a challenge to the natural level of eye-moisturizing. If the lenses cause redness, you should try to choose another brand of lenses or use glasses instead of contact lenses.
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