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Red eye
Category: Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat · All head & senses symptoms
What it can feel like
A red eye means the white of the eye looks pink or bloodshot — from surface blood vessels dilating, inflammation, or occasionally a flat patch of blood under the surface (subconjunctival haemorrhage). Most red eyes are conjunctivitis and settle, but pain, light sensitivity and vision change separate the serious causes.
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
Red eye can be associated with viral or bacterial conjunctivitis, hay fever and allergy, dry eye, tiredness, and a subconjunctival haemorrhage after coughing, straining or a knock — dramatic but usually harmless.
Other possible causes
A painful red eye can be associated with inflammation inside the eye (uveitis), acute glaucoma, corneal infection (especially in contact lens wearers), or a foreign body or chemical injury.
Red flags — when to seek help promptly
- Red eye with pain, light sensitivity or any change in vision — urgent
- Red eye in a contact lens wearer
- Red eye after injury, chemical exposure or with a suspected foreign body
- A red eye in a newborn baby
- Red eye that is not improving after a week
What a clinician may do
A clinician will test vision, look at pupils and patterns of redness (all-over versus a ring around the cornea), measure pressure if indicated, and examine with dye for scratches. Most conjunctivitis needs no antibiotic; painful or sight-threatening patterns go to eye services the same day.
Watch: related videos
Examination and clinical videos from the MedicalVideos.com library relevant to this symptom. Some clinical footage is graphic — that is the nature of a medical video library.
Related guides on MedicalVideos.com
Frequently asked questions
How do I tell conjunctivitis from something serious?
Conjunctivitis gives itch or grittiness, discharge and normal vision with little pain. Pain, true light sensitivity, blurred vision, or redness concentrated in a ring around the coloured part of the eye suggest deeper problems — those features mean same-day assessment.
What is a subconjunctival haemorrhage?
A small bleed under the clear surface layer of the eye, producing a startling flat red patch. It is the eye's equivalent of a bruise, usually follows coughing or straining, needs no treatment, and fades over one to two weeks — unless it recurs often or follows injury.
Related symptoms — Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat
Browse the R section of the A–Z list or return to the Symptoms A–Z hub.