Itchy eyes is a common eye symptom that everyone has experienced at one time or another. It could be a temporary eye discomfort or long standing and chronic symptom. It is usually one of the symptoms of allergic eye condition often triggered by particles or impurities in the air around us. When these impurities come in contact with the eyes, they trigger the action of lysozyme – a neutralizing defense agent in tears. If this agent can not ‘fight’ back’ i.e neutralize the allergic effect of the impurity/foreign body, the eyes become hypersensitive, gets watery and itchy.
Knowingly or Unknowingly, most people are engaged in activities and habits that make the eyes itchy. For those who have food allergies, being able to identify such food and keep away from it, will prevent itchy eyes.
There are several factors responsible for itchy eyes. The silent but most common ones being the activities or habits that we engage in at home or work.
What do you do when your eyes are itchy?
When the eyes become itchy, the first and natural approach for most people is to close the eye and profusely rub it. This often triggers a sweet sensation that makes you want to continue to rub until the itching stops and which often gets the eyes red. Rubbing the eyes may give a quick but few minutes of relief before the eyes start to itch again. Am sure most people can relate to this. This ‘quick-fix’ act of rubbing the eyes is not harmful to the eye. However, as irresistible as this act may seem, I do not encourage it. The reasons are
1) The more you rub yours eyes the more you trigger allergic reaction and the more intense the itching gets.
2) Finger in your eye is a recipe for direct transfer of germs into the eyes if your hands are not clean. This may not only cause more allergic reaction and redness of the eyes but also could get the eye infected.
3) Rubbing the eyes may not cause any obvious damage to the cornea. But constantly doing so over a long period of time could weaken the cornea especially in children and may lead to a condition called keratococus.
When your eyes get itchy seek the advise of any eye care practitioner. If you can’t immediately speak to or visit one, you could go to the pharmacy and speak with an experienced pharmacist. If the itching persists after five days, consult an eye care practitioner for further diagnosis and recommendations
Itchy eyes may be a common symptom of ocular allergy nevertheless there are other symptoms such as watery eyes, stringy discharge, gritty sensation etc.
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