Why Do My Eyes Burn?

The brief burning sensation you may feel in your eyes is commonly due to a minor irritation that disappears once your tears wash it out. However, if the burning sensation persists for more than a few hours, it may indicate a severe problem such as Pink Eye (conjunctivitis), Dry Eyes, Blepharitis or an allergic reaction.

The only way to diagnose and treat burning eyes is by visiting your eye doctor. If you feel a persistent burning sensation in your eyes, talk to Our Team of Dry Eye Experts at Yealy Eye Care's Dry Eye Clinic, who will provide you with the relief you need.

What Eye Conditions Cause Burning Eyes

Dry Eye Syndrome

Dry Eye Syndrome is the leading cause of a burning sensation in the eyes. Healthy tears consist of a balance of oil, mucus and water, and when the components are not all there, whether in the right quantities and ratios (as in the case of dry eyes), the eyes become dry and irritated— which can result in a burning sensation.

Pink Eye (Viral or BacterialConjunctivitis)

Pink Eye, also known as viral conjunctivitis, is a highly contagious viral or bacterial infection that can affect either one or both eyes and is spread by coughing or sneezing. The symptoms include watery, burning or itchy eyes.

Blepharitis

Blepharitis is an inflammation of the eyelids that causes sore, red eyelids, and crusty debris at the base of the eyelashes. Symptoms include a burning or stinging sensation in the eyes, grittiness, and itchy eyelids.

What Environmental Factors Cause Burning Eyes?

Certain elements can also cause a burning sensation in the eyes, such as allergens, chemicals, perfumes, or getting tiny particles stuck in one’s peepers.

Allergies

Allergens in the air or in your home, such as pet dander or mold, can cause your eyes to itch, tear up, and burn.

Chemicals

Certain chemicals found in household cleaning supplies can cause you to experience a burning sensation. The volatile compounds found in aerosol sprays and disinfectants are not only polluting but also irritating to the eyes.

Fragrances

Certain people that are sensitive to fragrances emanating from perfume, cologne, shampoo, or skin cream, can experience eye irritation, resulting in a burning sensation.

Foreign Particles in Your Eye

When particles get stuck in the eyes, it not only hurts but can also lead to a burning feeling in the eyes.

The Connection Between Burning Eyes and Dry Eyes

Tears are necessary for maintaining eye health and for providing clear and comfortable vision. Whenever tiny foreign particles enter the eye, tears form and clean out the eye while keeping the eye moist. However, when tears evaporate too quickly and the eyes become dry, as in the case of Dry Eyes, it can lead to an itchy and burning sensation in the eyes.

What Causes Dry Eyes?

Dry Eye Syndrome can be caused by many factors, such as age, genetics, environment, lifestyle, medications, and overall eye health. No matter the factor, the result is the same: your eyes are either not producing enough tears to keep your eyes lubricated, or the tears are not formulated with the correct balance of water, lipids, and mucous to maintain proper lubrication.

What Factors Cause Dry Eyes?

Age. Dry Eyes tend to occur more frequently in older adults. The majority of those over 65 years of age tend to experience some form of Dry Eyes.

Gender. Women are more likely to develop Dry Eyes due to hormonal changes, whether due to pregnancy, oral contraceptives or menopause.

Medicines. Certain medications, such as antihistamines, decongestants, blood pressure medications, and SSRIs, can affect tear production.

Medical conditions. Those with rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and thyroid problems can develop symptoms of Dry Eyes. Furthermore, Blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelids), inflammation of the surface of the eye, or the inward or outward turning of eyelids can lead to Dry Eyes.

Environment. Dry Eyes can result from exposure to smoke, wind and dry climates, which can cause tears to evaporate.

Additional factors. Long-term contact lens use and refractive eye surgeries, such as LASIK, can reduce tear production and lead to Dry Eyes. Dry Eyes can also occur in those who fail to blink regularly, which typically occurs when staring at a computer screen for extended periods of time.

How Can I Treat or Alleviate Burning Eyes?

If you feel a burning sensation in your eyes, talk to your eye doctor as soon as possible. Our Team of Dry Eye Experts will carefully diagnose and detect the cause of your discomfort, and if you are diagnosed with Dry Eyes, Our Team of Dry Eye Experts might recommend medicated eye drops or artificial tears to alleviate the burning sensation and ensure that your eyes remain moisturized all day long. In more severe cases, steroid drops may be prescribed for quick, short-term relief.

If the eye doctor determines that you have Pink Eye or Blepharitis, anti-inflammatory drops will be prescribed. These drops can provide major relief as they target the source of the issue quickly and effectively.

If allergies are the culprit, we can help with that, too. Antihistamines and decongestants can alleviate your symptoms and minimize or even eliminate the burning sensation.

Want your healthy eyes back? Contact Yealy Eye Care's Dry Eye Clinic and say goodbye to burning eyes for good.

We help patients from in and around Lancaster County, Lancaster Township, York, and East Petersburg, throughout Pennsylvania, enjoy great vision and comfort again.

Dry Eye Syndrome Affects Your Blinking

Ever notice that when you blink your eyes, your vision goes out of focus?

Blurry vision does not necessarily mean that you need new glasses. In fact, a very common cause of blurry vision is called dry eye syndrome. Often confused with eye allergies, when your eyes fail to produce tears with the right balance of oils, here eyes can become irritated, red, and even itchy. Over time, this can, in a severe case of dry eye, even affect your vision and make things blurry.

Nearly every week, Yealy Eye Care sees patients who complain about the following:

• Driving at night is difficult
• Very light-sensitive
• Glare from bright lights can be painful
• Eyes are constantly red
• Watery eyes are teary eyes
• Continuous eye rubbing

While not everybody suffers from dry eye syndrome, there are certainly a number of shared symptoms that can indicate dry eye. One of the telltale signs, however, is when you blink and your vision goes to the focus. Because your vision is dependent on the quality of your tears, any imbalance will tend to disrupt the way your eyes can focus and receive light.

Dry Eye Specialist – Eye Doctor in Lancaster

If you have noticed any of the following symptoms such as blurry vision or red eyes, schedule an appointment at Yealy Eye Care for a complete eye exam and dry eye evaluation.

Preparing for school means new school supplies, meeting new friends and teachers, and ensuring your child visits their eye doctor for an eye exam. Although schools may offer vision screenings within a few weeks or days of the new school year to ensure a child doesn’t struggle with poor visual acuity, none of the staff or even trained nurses check for visual problems, such as binocular vision and accommodative eye skills that play a significant role in near vision. Children who develop reading problems may have passed vision screenings yet were never examined by a professional optometrist.

Another benefit of coming to our practice is that we specialize in myopia management. Traditionally, the only way to handle nearsightedness or myopia progression in a child is to increase the prescription, often resulting in thicker glasses. Over a few years, a child will end up jumping from a low prescription of -.5 or -1 to a high prescription of -3 or worse! Unfortunately, high myopia has been identified as a lead cause for eye disease in old age, such as macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, and even retinal detachment. A person can be 3-4x at risk for eye disease from having a prescription of -4 compared to someone with a low prescription.

Why does myopia cause eye disease?

Although LASIK surgery can help you see without eyeglasses, once a person’s eyes have worsened to a low prescription, the shape of their eye has elongated to a point that leaves the retina in a precarious state. Laser vision correction merely corrects the surface of the eye, but without preventing myopia progression, the damage has already been done. Therefore, the only way to safely secure one’s vision from greater risk is myopia management, in other words, taking steps to stop progression in its tracks.

What should a parent consider for their child’s next year at school?

Come to our practice and schedule an eye exam with our eye doctor, Dr. Natalia Yealy. We’ll not only evaluate the child’s complete eye health, but we’ll guide on the proper steps to slow myopia progression. We have methods through specialty contact lenses to stop advancing myopia, but often we’ll educate parents on how to slow progression through good habit building.

• Children need 2 hours of outside play. Build their long-vision muscles!
• Reduce screen time
• Practice the 20-20-20 Rule.
  • Take a break from close vision work every 20 minutes,
  • Then look at something 20 feet away (or further)
  • Spend at least 20 seconds doing this before returning to your close-up work.

We look forward to seeing you and your children and getting the entire family prepared for the new school year with confidence & healthy vision.