slight smarting both eyes

[Darkin]

Developed slight smarting in both my eyes over the last few weeks. My vision is not impaired . The condition is intermittant and does not seriously me but is worrying. Its what I imagine eye strain to be but for no reason. Could it be the chemistry if the tears I wonder. Can this be checked , perhaps slightly acidic ?

[PainConcernHelpline Moderator Community Champion Pain Concern]

Hi @Darkin ,

Thank you for your post. It sounds like your pain is not something that you have really experienced before and it worries you - unfortunately this community is not qualified to give you advice. Therefore, the best course of action is to give your doctor a call if you can. You want to make sure to rule out anything that may be a cause for worry so make sure to describe to them in as much detail as possible. They will know if you need to go in for further checks.

For your doctor's call, you can take a look at our leaflet on managing healthcare appointments to ensure you get answers to all your questions during the short call. You can find it here: painconcern.org.uk/managing...

I hope this helps. Best,

Moderator 3 on behalf of Pain Concern

[rabbits65]

People get smarting and itchy eyes quite badly with hay fever,

Just a thought.. ...

[cyberbarn]

There are several things that this could be, and usually an optometrist would be a first port of call although in the current times you might want to talk to a pharmacist first as they are qualified to help with this sort of problem. In fact if you ring your GP surgery you might actually be told to talk to a pharmacist first. Many areas now have something called Pharmacy First for things like this, and may Clinical Commissioning Groups have websites similar to NHS 111 where you can check your symptoms and find out who to go to.

Rabbit is right, this year has been a very intense year for allergy and it could be that. Even if you have never had any allergies before they can develop suddenly out of the blue. Also people's allergies can change when they move to a different part of the country, of if they live somewhere that crops are grown and the farmer grows a different crop. It can also depend on the weather. Dry air can make these things worse, or wind can bring in pollen or dust from other areas. Also, check what side effects there are from any of the other drugs you are taking, as sometimes there are weird things like dry eyes from that too.

But in the mean time the chemist will have some drops that will be suitable to give you some relief.

[billybunter123]

Hello Darkin , i suffer with the same smarting in the eyes as yourself , have done for years , so many things can affect the eyes in this way that it is always best to get professional health , having arthritis , hay fever etc etc can cause this , i am confident that you will get to the bottom of the problem once you seek medical advice

[Darkin in reply to billybunter123]

Arranged visit to my optician next week. The lady mentioned dry eye which seems the most likely cause. Thank you.

[billybunter123]

From my own experience , i use Carbomer eye gel , can get messy at times , no matter how careful you are , my mother would make up a solution of warm water and sodium bicarbonate for eye problems , but cannot see that working if it is dryness ,hope things get better for you .

[Darkin in reply to billybunter123]

perhaps the sodium bicarbonate, being slightly alkaline, neutralises the fluid.

[Hidden]

Get a covid-19 test. The eye problems are a symptom.

[chairbasedIns1]

I have had dry eyes for many years, which means that your eye glands dont produce tears properly. My optician prescribed eye drops at first. Make sure you close your eyes when put them in,bend head back and move eyes side to side. I now have to have eye gel which does make your vision blurred for a minute or 2. I put them in at night, too. It doesn't affect my vision, though. I also get a bit of hayfever but prefer to take a pill at night as I don't get red eyes which is more common with that. I am over 70 though!

Good luck!