Eye pain - Causes and Symptoms

Definition

Ocular pain is a common symptom of various diseases, which can cause a lot of discomfort. It may be a temporary non-specific disorder, which resolves spontaneously, or may represent a sign of a more serious condition, especially if associated with an alteration of the visual function.

Ocular pain can be described as acute, stabbing or excruciating when it results from a disorder that conditions the outermost eye structures. If it arises behind or inside the eye, the pain can be dull, excruciating, oppressive or throbbing.

The causes of eye pain can be divided into diseases that mainly affect the cornea (richly innervated and very sensitive to pain), pathologies limited to the eye and diseases that cause referred pain.

First of all, eye pain must be distinguished from superficial irritation or a feeling of scratching or sand in the eye. Conjunctivitis, allergies, glaucoma, optic neuritis or eye trauma are among the most frequent causes of eye pain. As for the disorders affecting the cornea, they cause this symptom: presence of foreign bodies, chemical burns, abrasion and corneal ulcer, herpes zoster ophthalmic, herpes simplex keratitis or contact lenses. Then there are pathologies that cause pain referred to the eye; it means that these diseases and pain originate in other systems. In this case it can be a reflex pain, in most cases caused by cluster headache or migraine, inflammation of the trigeminal nerve or sinusitis. Many of these causes of eye pain must be treated appropriately with the support of an eye specialist.