How to Treat Ocular Allergies

Allergies occur when our body’s immune system overreacts to environmental substances that it sees as a potential threat. Regardless of the allergen, the response can cause various uncomfortable symptoms in different body parts, including our eyes.

When ocular allergies happen, common symptoms include itching, redness, and watering. These are often seasonal and may coincide with environmental conditions or changes.

Treatments are readily available over the counter or by prescription if needed.
 

How Allergies Affect the Eyes

Allergic reactions on or near the eyes can lead to redness, rash, itchiness, puffiness, and dryness despite producing normal tears.

Such symptoms may be mistaken for pink eye or bacterial infection. Also, irritation can occur at the front surface of the eye or around the eyes. Therefore, it’s important to understand the causes of ocular allergies.
 

Causes of Ocular Allergies

The proximity of the allergen to the eyes is the major determining factor in causing ocular allergies. Environmental allergens such as pollen, dust, and other airborne allergens come in contact with the front of the eyes, thus leading to a reaction.

Cosmetics, including makeup, lotion, and nail polish, that come into close contact with the eyes, can result in an allergic reaction.

Sometimes, the material from eyeglasses rubbing around the skin can cause an allergic reaction too.

In rare cases, eye drops or other medications may cause allergies. These allergic reactions may be more severe than other eye allergies due to the direct application of the medication to the eyes.
 

How to Treat Red, Itchy, Watery Eyes

The best way to handle allergies is to avoid exposure to allergens and remove the potential source of the allergic reaction.

For instance, if the trigger for allergies is a certain type of lotion or eyeglass, switch to a different one.

If you can’t avoid your allergen, such as in the case of seasonal allergies, you have a few options to reduce symptoms.

Whether it’s over-the-counter medication or prescription eye drops, antihistamines are effective in relieving ocular allergy symptoms.

Along with antihistamines, some eye drops contain mast cell stabilizers, which help prevent allergic reactions.

Cool compresses are also an excellent option for relieving irritation and swelling.
 

Additional Options for Eye Allergies with Contact Lenses

Beyond eye drops and cool compresses, there are other options to help with the symptoms of eye allergies.

For contact lens wearers, switching to daily disposable contact lenses may greatly reduce the symptoms of allergies if there is a buildup of allergens on the contact lenses over time.

Another option is to use a stronger cleaning solution to remove the allergens entirely from the contact.
 

Summary of Ocular Allergies

Ocular allergies result from a reaction to a foreign substance, and such symptoms can significantly disrupt daily routines, which makes treatment important. Identifying the source of the allergic reaction and avoiding exposure is the most effective approach, however, treating symptoms with eye drops or cool compresses can help relieve discomfort. Anyone experiencing redness, itching, swelling, or dryness in their eyes should report to the doctor as soon as possible to receive the necessary treatment for ocular allergies.

Our eye doctor at Local Eyes Optometry in New Braunfels, TX excels in the prescription of glasses, contact lenses and the diagnosis of a variety of eye diseases. Call our optometrist at (830) 627-9272 or schedule an eye exam appointment online if you would like to learn more about ocular allergies. Our eye doctor, Dr. Marcus Page, provides the highest quality optometry services and eye exams in New Braunfels, Texas.