Every day, Dr. Farah Khan sees patients who do their best to scratch their inflamed eyes. They are miserably in, one after the other, with identical complaints. “Itching is a characteristic symptom, and it can be very intense,” explains Khan, an allergist who is spokesperson for the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. “Then there are redness and swelling, and you can have a little clear and aqueous aqueous leave.”
If there is a saving grace, it is because the symptoms are transient. Khan patients suffer from seasonal allergic conjunctivitis, a common disease that is particularly likely to transform themselves in spring, summer and autumn, when the number of pollen is the highest.
Here is what you need to know about the state, the more what to do with red and itching eyes.
Which causes seasonal allergic conjunctivitis
Allergic conjunctivitis is triggered by allergens suspended in the air, such as pollen which escapes trees, herbs and weeds. “Allergens mainly attack your eyeballs,” says Khan. They land on the whites of the eyes and the inner surface of the eyelids, linking mast cells, which play a key role in allergic reactions. When the mastocytes come into contact with an allergen, “they broke out, then a bunch of inflammatory mediators are released, including chemicals like histamine,” explains Khan. “Histamine leads to a lot of itching and swelling and redness, so you have this local allergic reaction that takes place with your eyes, that’s why you get all the symptoms.”
Find out more: 10 strange symptoms that could be allergies
It is easy to confuse allergic conjunctivitis with this other type of better known conjunctivitis: pink eye. But there is an easy way to differentiate both. “Sometimes people wake up and think:” Uh oh, do I have a pink eye? ” “, Said Khan. “But generally allergic conjunctivitis is bilateral – why would grass pollen attack one eye and not the other?” The pink eye, on the other hand, is more likely to affect a single eye.
Prevent allergic conjunctivitis
The minimization of contact with allergens is the best way to protect your eyes. You can do so while staying inside, keeping your windows closed and using your air conditioning if you have access to it. It is also a good idea to turn off ceiling fans. “They become very, very dusty, and nobody never really rises up up and wipes the top of the blades,” said Dr. Michelle Andreoli, clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Ophthalmologist in Northwestern Medicine. “You’ve laid down all night, and your ceiling fan blows allergens and dust on your eyelid skin, which will be it itch.”
Also keep your pillowcases clean – they probably feed many allergens that infiltrated your skin and hair. If you don’t want to wash your bedding, Andreoli suggests winding your pillow in a fresh t-shirt every night. “You can tear it in the morning and throw it into the machine,” she says. “It seems less heavy than having seven pillowcases and changing them every day.”
Processing options
Remember when you were a child and everyone told you not to scratch your mosquito bites? The same rule applies to itching. “You creak grinding in the irritant or allergen, and you almost guarantee that five minutes later, you will it be even more itching,” explains Andreoli.
When Andreoli’s patients tell her that they want to scratch their eyes, she asks them to gently rinse their eyelids and eyelashes with a little bit of facial soap. “This gives off the oil from our eyelashes – which is sticky – and it removes all allergens and irritants,” she said. “By removing the oil, the less will stick to our eyelashes throughout the day, and our eyes will not be also itchy and irritated.”
It is also a good idea to get into the habit of jumping in the shower to rinse after spending time outside, then transforming into a set of clean clothes. This will help make sure you don’t track pollen all day.
Over -the -counter antihistamic eye drops can make a big difference for people with allergic conjunctivitis. Many brands are available and work by blocking histamine, which helps reduce symptoms such as itching and redness. Most drops are designed to be used every 12 to 24 hours, says Andreoli. You can associate them with lubricating eye drops, often called artificial tears, which relieved by moisturizing the eye.
Find out more: How to protect your eyes while looking at a screen all day
It may also feel good to press a cold compress or an ice pack against your eyes. Andreoli patients generally find that doing it reduces swelling, redness and the exasperated desire to scratch.
If you rely on the free sale options and they do not help, plan an appointment with an allergist. Your supplier will aim to understand what triggers your symptoms and what type of diet will work best for your needs. “If you just have nasal symptoms, or if you just have eye symptoms, we can find targeted therapies,” said Khan. This could mean allergy strokes or drops for the eyes of the mastocytes stabilizer, which can help prevent or reduce symptoms such as itching, redness and tear.
“People sometimes underestimate the ravages that their symptoms of environmental and seasonal allergy cause,” explains Khan. “Come and talk – we treat and help patients with these symptoms every day.”
