How To Treat Red Eyes

Red eyes are a common but rather annoying problem. If you feel itchy and dry and your eyes inflamed, you can try to resolve the situation with some quick remedies and modify certain behaviors that can trigger this ailment. If the hyperemia is chronic or you show other symptoms that indicate a severe illness, you need to see your eye doctor for relief.

Treat Red Eyes

Rest Your Eyes

Rest is the best medicine for most causes that lead to eye redness (a corneal scratch, lack of sleep, fatigue due to a long time spent in front of the computer, excessive sun exposure, or a long journey by car). Try to get some more sleep and reduce your time on your computer, TV, reading books, or watching your cell phone. Try listening to a radio show or an audiobook. If you can’t take a day off to rest your eyes properly, at least try to give them a few short breaks.

1. If you are reading or working on a computer, you should stop every 15 minutes and observe a distant object for at least 30 seconds. This change in the focal distance helps relax the eye muscles.
2. Take a 15-minute break every two hours by looking away from the monitor for your eyes to rest. Go for a walk, get some physical activity, have a snack, or make phone calls; engage in something that doesn’t require staring at a monitor or cellphone.

Use Moisturizing Eye Drops Or Artificial Tears

When you suffer from occasional ocular hyperemia, you can find relief by instilling a few drops of moisturizing eye drops, also called artificial tears. For a few euros, you can buy them in any pharmacy and optical shop. These products can lubricate and wash the eyes, reducing redness and irritation. There are four types: Of preservatives: Preservative ingredients such as benzalkonium chloride, polyhexamethylene biguanide, poly quad, purity, and sodium perborate prevent bacterial growth but can irritate the eyes. 

1. If your eyes are sensitive or you plan to use eye drops for a long time, you should avoid these products. 
2. Without preservatives: Systane, GenTeal, and eye drops in single-dose pipettes are all without preservatives. 
3. For contact lenses: if you use this type of optical correction, choose a specific humectant, which can be instilled even while wearing the ACL. 
4. Whitening or anti-redness: avoid using whitening eye drops (vasoconstrictors) because, over time, they aggravate the situation.

Consider Using An Eye Gel For Severe Dryness

Eye ointments and gels are denser and have a longer-lasting effect than eye drops. However, their pasty texture slightly blurs the view for a while. For this reason, you should apply them before bed to prevent your eyes from drying out overnight.

1. Remember to wear a warm compress or wipe your eyelids with a mild cleanser before applying gels and ointments. This way, you avoid blocking the glandular ducts.
2. If you have been diagnosed with meibomian gland disease, do not use eye gels or ointments.

Take Allergy Medications

Seasonal allergies to pets or some aspects of the environment can trigger symptoms such as itching and watery eyes, especially in the morning. The reason for this phenomenon is twofold: first of all, sleeping in a house full of allergens, you expose yourself to these irritants for a long time, and, secondly, seasonal allergies are particularly annoying in the morning when the amount of pollen in the air is more significant. To control allergies:

1. Take an oral antihistamine such as cetirizine (Zirtec), desloratadine (Clarinex), fexofenadine (Allegra), levocetirizine and loratadine (Clarityn).
2. Instill medical eye drops that contain an antihistamine or anti-inflammatory, including azelastine, emedastine, ketotifen, and olopatadine.
3. Keep windows closed during allergy season to reduce exposure to pollen.
4. Do not allow pets into your room, and do not allow them to get on the bed.
5. Try using a home air purifier to reduce the presence of allergens.

Do Eye Washes

This remedy removes irritants on the ocular surface that can contribute to redness. In addition, the wash moisturizes and cools the eyes. You can proceed with simple lukewarm water letting the stream run over the eye, using the special glass, or standing in the shower while the water slides over the face and into the eye (do not allow the spray to enter directly into the eye). For the best benefits, use a specific eye wash solution: Boil 240ml of distilled water.

1. Add a tablespoon of eyebright, chamomile flowers, or chopped fennel seeds.
2. Remove the pan from the heat, add the lid and leave to infuse for half an hour.
3. Filter the liquid into a sterilized container on the opening of which you have placed an American coffee filter.
4. You can keep the solution in the refrigerator for up to seven days.

Place A Warm Compress On Your Eyelids

The inflammation of the eyelids interferes with the proper flow of the oily part of the tears. You can use a warm compress to unclog the ducts of the glands that produce this substance. Hold a clean, dry cloth under running hot water until it is completely wet, then squeeze it to remove all excess liquid, fold it in half and place it over your closed eyes. Relax like this for 5-10 minutes. 

Give Your Eyes Some Relief With Cold, Wet Tea Bags

You can use green or chamomile tea, as both contain elements that can soothe irritated skin, reduce inflammation, and open glandular ducts. Dip two tea bags into the water and then place them in the refrigerator or freezer until they are cold. Finally, put them on your closed eyes for five minutes. 

Stopping The Causes Of Ocular Hyperaemia

Make Sure There Is No Foreign Body In The Eye

Even the tiniest dust can irritate if it gets stuck in the eye. If you feel your vision is being “scratched,” do not scratch it. Otherwise, you could cause a corneal abrasion. The best way to proceed is to wash the eye. You can instill artificial tear drops or saline and then blink quickly. If you want to do an even more effective wash: 

1. Keep your eyelids apart with clean hands, and place your eye under a gentle stream of warm water.
2. Enter the shower and let the spray of water hit your forehead. She opened her eyes and let the water run over her face. Alternatively, you can wash your eyes with a special glass or in an eyewash sink.
3. If you have a foreign body in your eye, you will have difficulty opening and closing your eyelids.

Sleep For Eight Hours Every Night

Lack of sleep is a common cause of red eyes. If you feel sleepy and dizzy all day in addition to having sore eyes, then your problem may be insufficient rest. Adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep a night, but some people need more or less rest to “function” at their best. 

Give Your Eyes A Little Break From The TV And Computer Monitor

You may complain of eye fatigue despite getting enough sleep because you spend too much time watching television or a computer. This happens because you are induced to blink less when staring at a screen and because your eyes get very tired when they have to keep objects focused for a long time at the same distance. Try to take a 15-minute break every two hours and look away for 30 seconds every 15 minutes. When you take a long pause, go for a walk and focus on distant objects; alternatively, you can take a 15-minute nap to allow your eyes to recover from their busy day. When you look away for only a few seconds, look at a distant point for 30 seconds (such as a tree beyond the window or a photograph on the other side of the room).

Wear Sunglasses

Studies have shown that excessive exposure to sunlight or wind can cause eye redness. Suppose you wear protective eyewear when outdoors. You can prevent wind and UV rays from irritating your eyeballs. Choose a wrap-around model that filters 99-100% UVA and UVB rays. Sunglasses are essential to ensure good eye health in the long run. Excessive sun exposure can cause problems in old age, such as macular degeneration and cataracts.

Use Contact Lenses For Less Time And Perform Proper Maintenance

These optical devices can sometimes cause the eyes to redden, a condition potentially linked to an infection, corneal hypoxia, or contact irritation.

1. Before inserting the ACLs, put a few drops of saline or moistening eye drops into your eyes and blink several times. This procedure cleans the ocular surface, preventing irritants from getting trapped under the lens.
2. Dirty, broken, or deformed contact lenses can irritate the eyeballs and trigger infections. Follow the instructions of your ophthalmologist and optician to keep them clean. If you use disposable ACLs, never wear them more than once.
3. Don’t sleep with contact lenses in your eyes.
4. Please do not wear them when swimming or showering.

Quit Smoking And Avoid Smoky Environments

This is one of the first causes of ocular hyperemia. If you smoke, do your best to get rid of this habit and get away from the people who smoke around you. This improves the health of your eyes and your body in general. 

Also Read: URTICARIA: A MOST OFTEN INFLAMMATORY DISEASE