Dry Eye Treatments
Eye problems are perhaps the most common or significant symptom of hayfever. When pollen lands on the eye, not only does this irritate the sensitive tissues, but also triggers the release of a chemical called histamine.
This reaction of the eye to pollen and other allergens is called allergic conjunctivitis. The symptoms can cause you to feel that your vision is affected. Thankfully, this is only temporary and it is extremely unlikely that any long term damage will occur to your eyes. Nevertheless, many hayfever sufferers long for some relief from their symptoms.
Allergic Conjunctivitis
Allergic conjunctivitis is the general term for problems of the outer lining of the eyes, triggered by allergies such as to pollen. Symptoms include redness in the eye, swelling and itchiness.
The symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis usually occur at around the same time each year, usually spring or summer, and also are at their worst when the pollen count is high. You may also suffer from other symptoms of hayfever such as a runny or blocked nose or ear problems.
Itchy Eyes
Itchiness occurs because of irritation to the eyes. The cause of irritation is twofold. Firstly, the eye responds to pollen landing on or near it. Anyone who has ever got shampoo in their eye when in the shower will be able to identify with this response.
Secondly, the body releases the chemical histamine when pollen enters the body, and this irritates the nerve endings. Your eyes become itchy to alert you to the foreign bodies (pollen) that have entered your system and your eyes.
Red Eyes
After your eyes become itchy, they also tend to become red. This is because the blood vessels on the white outer surface of the eye dilate or swell. This is an inflammatory response and is designed to fight off the irritant in your eye.
When your eyes are itchy, it is tempting to rub them. However, this is likely to cause more redness. This is because rubbing your eyes increases the irritation rather than removing it, as well as damaging blood vessels.
Watery Eyes
This symptom arises because your eyes produce excess tears in an attempt to flush out the pollen irritant.
Having excessively watery eyes may temporarily result in blurry vision, as this water distorts the way that light falls on the surface of the eye. As your watery tears start to dry, the tears thicken and become sticky – this can worsen blurred vision temporarily.
Swollen or Puffy Eyes
Many hayfever sufferers also complain of swollen or puffy eyes. This occurs because inflammation causes blood vessels to dilate or widen, bringing more fluid into the tissues affected. The eyes are prone to becoming puffy when irritated because tissues in this part of the body are looser than in other areas.
The symptoms of swollen and puffy eyes may remain for a couple of hours after the irritation has been removed from the eye. This is because it takes a little time for your blood vessels to reduce to their normal size and the fluid in tissues to be reabsorbed.
Hayfever
Eye problems are perhaps the most common or significant symptom of hayfever. When pollen lands on the eye, not only does this irritate the sensitive tissues, but also triggers the release of a chemical called histamine.
This reaction of the eye to pollen and other allergens is called allergic conjunctivitis. The symptoms can cause you to feel that your vision is affected. Thankfully, this is only temporary and it is extremely unlikely that any long term damage will occur to your eyes. Nevertheless, many hayfever sufferers long for some relief from their symptoms.
Allergic Conjunctivitis
Allergic conjunctivitis is the general term for problems of the outer lining of the eyes, triggered by allergies such as to pollen. Symptoms include redness in the eye, swelling and itchiness.
The symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis usually occur at around the same time each year, usually spring or summer, and also are at their worst when the pollen count is high. You may also suffer from other symptoms of hayfever such as a runny or blocked nose or ear problems.
Itchy Eyes
Itchiness occurs because of irritation to the eyes. The cause of irritation is twofold. Firstly, the eye responds to pollen landing on or near it. Anyone who has ever got shampoo in their eye when in the shower will be able to identify with this response.
Secondly, the body releases the chemical histamine when pollen enters the body, and this irritates the nerve endings. Your eyes become itchy to alert you to the foreign bodies (pollen) that have entered your system and your eyes.
Red Eyes
After your eyes become itchy, they also tend to become red. This is because the blood vessels on the white outer surface of the eye dilate or swell. This is an inflammatory response and is designed to fight off the irritant in your eye.
When your eyes are itchy, it is tempting to rub them. However, this is likely to cause more redness. This is because rubbing your eyes increases the irritation rather than removing it, as well as damaging blood vessels.
Watery Eyes
This symptom arises because your eyes produce excess tears in an attempt to flush out the pollen irritant.
Having excessively watery eyes may temporarily result in blurry vision, as this water distorts the way that light falls on the surface of the eye. As your watery tears start to dry, the tears thicken and become sticky – this can worsen blurred vision temporarily.
Swollen or Puffy Eyes
Many hayfever sufferers also complain of swollen or puffy eyes. This occurs because inflammation causes blood vessels to dilate or widen, bringing more fluid into the tissues affected. The eyes are prone to becoming puffy when irritated because tissues in this part of the body are looser than in other areas.
The symptoms of swollen and puffy eyes may remain for a couple of hours after the irritation has been removed from the eye. This is because it takes a little time for your blood vessels to reduce to their normal size and the fluid in tissues to be reabsorbed.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is an eye condition where the optic nerve, which connects your eye to your brain, becomes damaged. It can lead to loss of vision if not detected and treated early enough.
It usually occurs when the fluid in the eye cannot drain properly or too much fluid is produced, which increases the pressure inside the eye and puts pressure on the optic nerve.
Glaucoma is a common condition, but many people won't realise they have it because it doesn't always cause symptoms in the early stages.
It can affect people of all ages, including babies and young children, but is most common in adults over 40 (especially people in their 70s and 80s).
Symptoms of glaucoma
Glaucoma doesn't usually have any symptoms to begin with and is often only picked up during a routine eye test.
Many people don't realise they have it because it develops slowly over many years and tends to cause a loss of peripheral vision (the edge of your vision) at first.
Types
There are several different types of glaucoma.
Some of the main types are:
- primary open angle glaucoma – the most common type, which tends to develop slowly over many years
- primary angle closure glaucoma – an uncommon type that can develop slowly or quickly
- secondary glaucoma – glaucoma caused by an underlying eye condition, such as uveitis (inflammation of the eye)
- normal tension glaucoma – where the pressure inside the eye is at a normal level
- childhood glaucoma (congenital glaucoma) – a rare type that occurs in very young children, caused by an abnormality of the eye
Treatments
It's not possible to reverse any loss of vision that occurred before glaucoma was diagnosed, but treatment can help slow down, or stop your vision getting any worse.
The treatment recommended for you will depend on the type of glaucoma you have, but the main treatments are:
- eye drops – to reduce the pressure in your eyes
- laser treatment – to open up the blocked drainage tubes in your eyes or reduce the production of fluid in your eyes
- surgery – to improve the drainage of fluid from your eyes
- You'll also probably need regular appointments to monitor your condition and ensure treatment is working.
Presbyopia
The two main parts of your eye that focus light onto your retina to enable you to see clearly are the cornea and lens.
The cornea is that transparent, dome shape in front of your eye and your lens is located inside your eye and changes its shape to allow you to see things at varied distances.
So, What's the Problem?
You'll need different pairs of glasses for distance and reading.
Well, as you get older your lens becomes less flexible and reduces your ability to see things clearly up-close, at which point you'll need reading glasses.
This is because there are muscles around your lens that contract and make it change shape to enable light to be correctly focused on your retina.
In children's eyes, the lens is much more elastic and can easily change shape to cope when switching from far to near objects. Whereas, as we age, the lens becomes stiffer, this means it is less able to alter its shape and thus we're less able to see those close-up objects. Also, this means that switching focus can also be much longer as we get older as well.
Because the lens has lost its elasticity, you need glasses to make up for it and focus on the different distances you need to see.
But, What's the Cure?
Basically, there isn't any, it's part of the process of getting older. Though one of the main ways around it is to wear reading glasses as it's near sight that tends to be affected first, so you'll see people pearing over the rims of their glasses to see things far away - they will look blurred through the glasses. You can also use bifocal glasses with two separate lens areas - one to focus light from objects far away and the other for reading.
You can also find that reading is more difficult at night and things seem more blurred or even when looking at text where the contrast is low and in low light. This is because your pupils get bigger (dilate) in dimmer light and have less focal depth. Whereas in bright light you have increased depth of focus and don't notice the blur as much.
Blepharitis
This is an inflammation of your eyelids and can make them red, irritated and itchy. It some cases it can lead to burning, soreness or stinging and could develop into ulcers or styes.
It tends to be worse in the morning when you could find that your eyelids are stuck together.
Blepharitis is a long term condition that can reoccur at any time.
Types
Anterior
Affects the outside front edge of your eyelids and can be caused by staphylococcus bacteria.
Posterior
Also known as Meibornian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) and is caused when something affects the inside rim of your eyelid - just behind your eyelids (that contain the Meibomian gland)
Who is at risk?
Is more common in people over 50, but it's possible to get it at any age. Basically, as you get older the gland that secretes part of your tears are more easily blocked and the lubricants they contain are reduced. This means your eyes can feel dry and gritty.
How do you know if you have it?
If you experience any of the symptoms above, then mention it to your optometrist, who can spot the signs by looking at your eyelids.
