Gritty eyes are easily scratched and irritated and there is no visible discomfort.
Multiple conditions can cause people to experience gritty eye movements. Symptoms of irritation may be moderate to severe.
This condition can cause mild to extreme discomfort. A person may also experience: pain irritation watery eyes
Various conditions cause irritation in the eyes. The severity may vary from mild to severe.
Description of grittiness as a feeling that there’s a foreign substance in your eye. Others explain it as if there’s a tiny fleck of sand in the eye, resulting in a scratchy, rough sensation. Either way, it’s an uncomfortable experience. It can also cause some vision difficulties, such as blurry vision, inflammation, or frequent infections. Blepharitis Blepharitis is a condition caused by a skin disorder or a bacterial infection.
If you are experiencing a gritty sensation in your eyes, schedule an eye exam to determine the cause of your symptoms and receive an appropriate treatment plan.
Its cause may result from various eye problems such as dry eye syndrome, blepharitis, Sjogren syndrome or sunburn.
Symptoms are often caused by swollen eyelids that can become irritable or irritated.
That Gritty Feeling: What Is It & What Causes It?
Gritty eyes mean you have eyes which feel rubbed with irritation and scratching. The word “grit eye” also refers in the English language to foreign object perceptions. Your eye may appear dry, cracked and irritated.
Grittiness is no disease at all; it is simply symptomatic of a bigger problem. the skin of your eyes feels gritty or irritable.
Causes of Gritty Eyes
A variety of possible causes are listed below.
Possible causes of gritty eyes include the following :
Dry eyes
Dry eye symptoms can lead to gritty feeling, blurry vision and are very frequent. A person’s dry eyes may cause insufficient production of tears. Weak eyes are more prone to dry eyes when we are experiencing watery eyes.
Along with dry eyes, comes a gritty sensation, burning in or around the eyes, light sensitivity, red eyes, and blurry vision. To relieve your symptoms, your eye doctor may recommend an artificial tears eye drop, gel or ointment to help keep your eyes moist throughout the day
What Is Dry Eye Disease?
Dry eye diseases occur when tear juice is not hydrating your eyes and cause severe irritation. About 30% of Canadians have wet eyes. Usually your eyes are dry as a result of complications on the tear film. Your eye’s tear films are necessary to moisturize your eye, but it can be difficult to do so with overlapping layers. Each layer in the tear film helps to make eye movements easier.
Dry eye syndrome
Dry eyes can occur if the tears in the eye are unable to provide sufficient moisture or protection. The dry eye may cause problems in the eye or skin and cause irritation.
As a person ages, the eye glands which naturally produce tears, begin to slow down this natural tear production. A lack of tears causes the eyes to become dry, itchy, and uncomfortable.
Dry Eye Symptoms
Symptoms of Dry Eyes. Besides gritty eyes, dry eye can lead to several symptoms , including:
- A stinging, burning, scratchy sensation in the eyes.
- Stringy mucus in or around your eyes
- Light sensitivity
- Red eyes
- Difficulty wearing contact lenses
- Watery eyes
- Blurry vision
- Eye fatigue
Corneal abrasion
A corneal abrasion is scratching that scratched your cornea’s inner layers. Sometimes corneal abrasions occur when you touch something that sticks to the eyelids. Your vision is not good. The corneal trauma can become painful.
Blepharitis
Blepharitis is a condition caused by a skin disorder or a bacterial infection.
A person with Blepharitis typically experiences inflamed eyelids, resulting in red and itchy eyes, as well as a general irritation of the eye area. Grittiness of the eye is also a symptom of this condition.
Sjögren syndrome
Tear deficiency also can be a sign of an autoimmune disease such as Sjogren’s syndrome.
Sjögren syndrome has been known for its symptoms of dry mouth and eye. It is most often affected by adults over age 40, but there’s also a significant female risk than a male. The procedure may involve various medications, surgical procedures, or eye droplets.
Sunburned eyes
In the case of excessive UV exposure, the eyes can get sunburns. The feeling of irritation affects the eye.
The technical term for a sunburned cornea is photokeratitis. It can lead to redness, blurry vision, and gritty eyes.
The first sign of sunburned eyes is when the sclera, the white part of the eye, appears bloodshot. You may notice a sudden sensitivity to light and feel a gritty sensation in your eyes. Soreness, light sensitivity and blurry vision can also occur from sunburned eyes.
Thyroid disease
Thyroid disease can cause eye pain and irritated vision.
Corneal laceration
The corneal lacerations have greater depth than corneal abrasions. A severe blow can cause corneal lacerations. In the case of corneal laceration the patient should immediately be evaluated
Contact lenses
Contact lenses have long been an alternative option to glasses. However, contact can cause dry eye. Keep in mind the instructions for cleaning, storing or applying contact lenses.
Environment
Your healthcare professional or eye doctor should be able to help you determine if environmental factors are contributing to or causing your dry and gritty eyes.
Patients may feel like they have grit or sand inside their eyes. Sometimes the only sign is blurred vision.
Other medical conditions
Sometimes other health issues cause eye sensitivity, for example gritty eyes.
Medication side effects:
Certain medications can affect tear production and lead to dry eyes, which in turn causes a gritty feeling in the eyes.
Treatments for gritty eyes
The best way to treat gritty eyes depends on the cause of your irritation . Your eye doctor will recommend a customized treatment plan after examining your eyes.
Dry Eyes
Gritty eyes don’t need to be an everyday experience—you can enjoy long-term comfort with help from your eye doctor . They can diagnose and treat the source of your symptoms, recommending a customized treatment plan for your needs
Eye drops
If people are using it more than 3-4 times a day, or wear contact lenses, then I would encourage them to use preservative-free drops.
Over-the-counter artificial tears can provide significant relief for dryness or irritation of the eyes. If this does not provide relief, I would recommend an eye exam for further evaluation. I would also avoid any drops claiming to “get the red out.”
Talk to your eye doctor about whether you should use drops that are preservative-free.
Prescription eye drops can treat dry, gritty eyes by reducing your risk of recurrent eye inflammation. The eye drop will help you find your way back to normal life. The product reduces inflammation while the product increases production of the eye’s natural tear production.
If gritty eyes are severe, your eye doctor may recommend medicated eye drops to help you make more tears. Restasis is a medication which helps to relieve dry eyes through inflammation and irritation of the tear canal. This causes inflammation to reduce eye irritation as well as the production of tears.
How to avoid getting dry eye?
What not to do Do not apply eyeliner to the waterline of the eye. Avoid wearing an ill-fitting sleep apnea mask. Don’t use eye drops claiming to remove redness. Don’t sleep in contacts, which also puts patients at risk for an infection that could cause vision loss. Avoid smoking. Be proactive Use a humidifier. When working at a computer, follow the 20/20 rule: for every 20 minutes on the computer, take a 20-second break looking at a far away place.
Warm compresses can open up the oil glands along the eyelids so patients can make better quality tears.
Some patients may benefit from having plugs placed into the tear “drains” of the eye to help collect more of their natural tears.
Blepharitis
If your gritty eyes sensation is from Blepharitis, a simple way to alleviate the uncomfortable feeling is to keep your eyelids consistently clean.
Use a warm compress to soften the eyelids and gently wash away any eye crust formations. The doctor often suggests using a light cleanser such as Avenova to clean the area lightly, but effectively. In case of a bacterial infection, the eye doctor may give you a prescription for antibiotic drops or ointments, or in more severe cases, steroid drops.
Restasis
One prescription product is Restasis , which treats dry eye by relieving inflammation in your eyes and tear ducts. Addressing this inflammation helps improve tear production and dry eye symptoms.
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Find an eye doctor near you Search near me Dry eye syndrome (DES) Dry eye syndrome is the most common cause of gritty eyes.
