Eye Ache

Eye ache is commonly experienced as a burning or a straining sensation due to prolonged hours of work or due to watching TV for long. To treat such eye problems, resting the eyes for a while can relieve the pain due to straining. However some causes of eye problems can cause severe symptoms like decreased vision and severe pain.

Causes

Eye pain can be in the eye, around the eye or both and can be described as an aching, burning, throbbing or stabbing sensation. Sometimes a person can experience the presence of a foreign particle in the eye. It is important to identify the cause of the pain for the appropriate treatment.

• Foreign bodies like dust or pollen particles entering the eye
• Eye operation
• Sinus related problems
• Stye, which is an eye infection
• Viral infections like flu
• Eye problems, due to infection or injury
• Pink eye or conjunctivitis, which is the inflammation of the eye lids
• Eye pain due to burns
• Eye strain due to working on the computer for a long period
• Migraine, where a person may experience eye ache and headache
• Contact lens related complications
• Glaucoma, an eye disease which impairs vision

Treatment

After identifying the cause, it is important that you contact a medical practitioner, if the cause is serious. Some of the causes can affect your eyesight if not treated on time. However, for minor ache try these home remedies to get relief.

Remedies
Here, are some safe to use eye ache remedies which you can try.

• Rest for a few hours if you are facing eye pain due to straining of your eyes.
• Over-the-counter eye drops, called artificial tears can relieve you from common eye problems like dry eyes, eye pain, eye irritation, etc. Read the label on the bottle, and use accordingly.
• If you are sensing a dull ache in your eyes, it could be related to migraine. In such a case, take 1 or 2 aspirin every eight hours, to get relief from the pain.
• If you are experiencing ache due to prolonged watching of TV or staring at the computer screen then simple eye exercises can help. Take a pencil and focus on it, bring it near your nose and move it away. Repeat this exercise for a minute every 20 minutes.
• You could be experiencing eye pain, due to glasses which slide off your nose. So get proper fitting glasses. Also an outdated eyeglass prescription can give you the ache.
• To cool off your eyes and reduce the burning or irritation sensation, place two cotton pads dipped in rose water over your eyes. Alternatively try this remedy, wash your eyes with cold water and place slices of cucumber over your eyes. This remedy will greatly help to soothe your eyes.
• If you are experiencing eye irritation or problems due to your contact lens then avoid wearing them for a while.

Seeking Medical Help
It is important that you seek medical help for eye care, in the following cases.

• If the above home remedies don't provide relief, and the pain persists for more than 2 days.
• If you are experiencing severe pain.
• If you have low immunity, or suffer from a condition like diabetes.
• If you have undergone an eye surgery recently.
• If the eye pain is not associated with eye strain or eye infections which are viral.
• If you have other symptoms along with the ache like swelling, redness, eye pressure, decreased vision.

When visiting an eye doctor (ophthalmologist), try to describe as many symptoms as possible which are related to the eye ache. After a discussion of the symptoms, the doctor may perform some tests and exams to exactly diagnose the cause, and prescribe the appropriate treatment.