Eye Allergies

There’s nothing quite as frustrating as the feeling that there’s something in your eyes. Whether dry, itchy, or sore, it’s one of the most irritating things you can encounter. However, if your eyes are red and itchy and you don’t see anything in them like sand or grit, it might be an allergy. Eye allergies, also referred to as allergic conjunctivitis, is quite common. Today we’re going to be looking at what an eye allergy is, what causes them, how they’re diagnosed and what treatments are out there.

What are the symptoms of an eye allergy?

What causes itchy eyes?

What are the treatments?

Unfortunately, there is no direct treatment for the allergy itself. However, there are a few options to treat the symptoms of eye allergies. The first way to prevent an eye allergy is to simply avoid what you think triggers the allergy.

If it’s pet dander, you can control where that pet goes in your house, such as keeping them out of your bedroom. If it’s dust, try keeping dust mites away from your skin by washing your sheets regularly and using allergy reducing covers for your bed and pillows. However, this is easier said than done when it comes to seasonal allergies. When avoidance is not possible, there is a range of medicines that may help with your eyes.

Firstly, there are mast-cell stabiliser eye drops. What these drops do is inhibit the release of histamine from the mast cells in your eyes. These take a few days to start to work. Antihistamine eye drops take a more immediate effect. These don’t prevent the allergic reaction, but instead, treat the symptoms once the allergy has started. You can find various types of eye drops to suit your needs. There are also antihistamine tablets, which not only treat the eye symptoms in the same way as the eye drops, but also the potential symptoms of a runny nose and sneezing if these are also caused by your allergy.

We hope that this guide to eye allergies has helped you with regards to why you’re experiencing eye allergies, what could be causing them, how you can get an allergy diagnosed and what potential treatments there are for the symptoms. As always, make sure to check out the eye health section of our website to keep yourself informed about eye conditions and eye symptoms. You can also talk to us in store where we can give you an eye test and speak to us about allergies and general eye health.