US Trends

why do my eyes hurt

Eye pain can come from something minor like dryness or screen strain, or from more serious problems like infection or glaucoma, so it’s important to pay attention to your other symptoms and how fast things started hurting.

Quick Scoop: Why your eyes might hurt

Common reasons your eyes hurt include:

  • Dry eye and screen strain – Burning, gritty, tired eyes after computer or phone use, air‑conditioned rooms, or long days driving.
  • Allergies – Itchy, watery, puffy eyes, often with sneezing or a runny nose.
  • Conjunctivitis (pink eye) – Red “pink” eye, discharge that can be yellow‑green, crusting in the morning, and irritation or pain.
  • Blepharitis (eyelid inflammation) – Sore, crusty, or flaky eyelids, burning or stinging eyes, worse in the morning.
  • Dry eye syndrome – Persistent dryness, stinging, feeling like sand in the eyes, often worse with screens or low humidity.
  • Sinus problems – Pressure or ache around and behind the eyes, often with a stuffy nose or headache.
  • Foreign body or scratch – Sudden sharp pain, tearing, feeling like something is stuck in your eye, light sensitivity.
  • Contact lens issues – Pain, redness, and blurred vision if lenses are overworn, not cleaned properly, or slept in.
  • Infections of the cornea – Significant pain, redness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, sometimes discharge; often linked to injuries or contact lenses.
  • Inflammation inside the eye (iritis/uveitis) – Deep aching pain, red eye, blurred vision, and light sensitivity, sometimes linked to autoimmune disease or recent infection.
  • Glaucoma (acute angle‑closure) – Sudden severe eye pain, headache, halos around lights, nausea, and rapidly worsening vision; this is an emergency.
  • Headache‑related eye pain – Migraine or cluster headaches can cause intense pain around or behind one eye, with light sensitivity or nausea.

When to get urgent help

You should seek emergency or same‑day care (ER or urgent eye clinic) if you have:

  1. Sudden, severe eye pain.
  1. Sudden vision changes (blurring, loss of vision, seeing halos, “curtain” over vision).
  1. Eye pain with nausea, vomiting, or intense headache.
  1. A chemical splash, high‑speed metal/wood injury, or serious trauma to the eye.
  1. Painful red eye with light sensitivity and reduced vision.

These can be signs of conditions like acute glaucoma, serious infection, or internal inflammation that can threaten your sight if not treated quickly.

Simple, cautious self‑care (for mild symptoms only)

If your symptoms are mild (no vision loss, no severe pain, no major redness or discharge), you can try:

  • Resting your eyes: follow the 20‑20‑20 rule (every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds) for screen strain.
  • Lubricating drops: preservative‑free artificial tears for dryness or irritation.
  • Cool or warm compresses: cool cloth for allergies and mild swelling; warm cloth for eyelid issues like blepharitis or styes.
  • Avoiding contact lenses for a while if your eyes are irritated, and never sleeping in them unless specifically instructed.
  • Not rubbing your eyes, as this can worsen irritation or scratches.

If pain or redness lasts more than a day or two, or keeps coming back, an eye doctor (optometrist or ophthalmologist) should check you in person.

Mini “symptom check” view

This is not a diagnosis, just a way to think about patterns before you see a professional.

  • Sore, tired eyes after long screen use → often eyestrain or dry eye.
  • Itchy, watery, both eyes, with sneezing → may be allergies.
  • Red, goopy, sticky lashes in the morning → may be conjunctivitis.
  • Sudden sharp pain, tearing, can’t keep eye open → possible scratch or foreign body.
  • Deep ache with light sensitivity and blurred vision → possible iritis or uveitis.
  • Severe pain with halo vision and nausea → consider acute glaucoma, emergency.

Important note

I can’t see your eyes or examine you, so this can’t replace a real‑world medical evaluation. If your eye pain is strong, getting worse, or worrying you at all, it’s safest to contact a local eye doctor, urgent care, or emergency service now and describe your symptoms in detail.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.