Eye pain

Category: Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat · All head & senses symptoms

What it can feel like

Eye pain ranges from the gritty soreness of a dry or tired eye to the deep, severe ache of raised pressure inside the eye. Pain with redness, light sensitivity or any change in vision moves an eye complaint from routine to urgent.

Possible causes

A symptom can have many causes, and most are not serious. The lists below group conditions this symptom can be associated with — common causes first. They are possibilities to discuss with a clinician, not a diagnosis.

Common causes

Eye pain can be associated with dry eye, eye strain, a scratched cornea or a foreign body, styes and eyelid inflammation, contact lens irritation, migraine and sinusitis referring pain around the eye.

Other possible causes

Significant eye pain can be associated with acute angle-closure glaucoma (a pressure emergency), inflammation inside the eye (uveitis), infection of the cornea in contact lens wearers, and inflammation of the optic nerve.

Red flags — when to seek help promptly

Severe eye pain with blurred vision, haloes around lights, redness, nausea — emergency (possible acute glaucoma)
Eye pain in a contact lens wearer, with redness or reduced vision
Eye pain after an eye injury or chemical splash — emergency
Painful red eye with marked light sensitivity
Eye pain with new double vision or a bulging eye

What a clinician may do

Eye assessment covers vision in each eye, pupils, eye pressure, and examination with a slit lamp, often with dye that shows scratches under blue light. Acute pressure problems and internal inflammation need same-day eye hospital assessment.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the signs of acute glaucoma?

A severe ache in and around one eye, blurred vision with rainbow haloes around lights, a red eye, a pupil that sits mid-sized and reacts poorly, and often nausea or vomiting. It is an emergency: pressure rises fast enough to damage the optic nerve within hours.

Why does a scratched cornea hurt so much?

The cornea has the densest pain-fibre supply in the body, and every blink drags the lid across the scratch. The good news is corneal scratches usually heal within a day or two — pain out of proportion to a trivial knock still deserves an examination to exclude a retained foreign body.

Related symptoms — Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat

Bad breath (halitosis)Bleeding gums Blocked ear feeling Blocked or runny nose Blurred vision Difficulty swallowing

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Please note: This page is educational information about a symptom. A symptom alone cannot diagnose any condition, and the causes listed here are possibilities, not a diagnosis. If you are worried about a symptom — especially one that is new, severe, getting worse or not going away — please see your own clinician, who can examine you and arrange tests. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.