Suggest Treatment For Red Itchy Watery Eyes

Posted on Wed, 23 Nov 2016

Question: My Son has allergies, but the last few days his eyes are red, watery, itchy and sore. He can't drive due to this condition. Could he have an infection?

Answered by Dr. Bonnie Berger-Durnbaugh (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Allergic vs viral and bacterial conjunctivitis

Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,

Watery itchy eyes are more likely to be from allergies than an infection. Usually with infectious conjunctivitis (pink eye), the discharge is goopy and yellow, and the white's of the eyes are diffusely pink.

However it is not possible to say, without seeing him, whether it is not an infection.

There is medicine for allergic conjunctivitis (irritation caused by allergies). There are now antihistamine eye drops, and if there is a significant problem, sometimes steroid eye drops are used to decrease the inflammation. The antihistamine and steroid eye drops require a prescription.

For allergic conjunctivitis, irrigating the eyes after exposures to allergens can help. He can get a saline eye rinse at a drug store such as Walgreens, without prescription. He can also put cool wet wash cloth on his closed eyelids.

For a suspected infection, using hot wet compresses several times per day can sometimes nip an early infection in the bud. Most cases of pink eye are viral (and usually follow or come on with a cold or other upper respiratory infection) and because they are caused by a virus, don't benefit from an antibiotic. However, if it is more severe, particularly with yellow discharge, it can be caused by bacteria and then antibiotic eye drops can treat it.

There are other reasons for the symptoms you listed, but the ones I described here are the most common.

I hope this information helps. Please let me know if I can provide further information.

Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar