Eye pain can occur on the surface of your eye or within your eye's deeper structures. Severe eye pain — especially accompanied by any degree of vision loss — may be a signal that you have a serious medical condition. Seek immediate medical attention.
Eye pain that's on the surface of your eye might be described as itching, burning or shooting pain. Surface eye pain is often related to a foreign object in your eye, an eye infection, or anything that irritates or inflames the membrane covering the surface of your eye.
You might describe eye pain originating deeper within your eye as throbbing or aching.
Seek emergency medical care
Call 911 or your local emergency number for eye pain if:
- It is unusually severe or accompanied by headache, fever or unusual sensitivity to light
- Your vision changes suddenly
- You also experience nausea or vomiting
- It is caused by a foreign object or chemical splashed in your eye
- You suddenly begin to see halos around lights
- You have swelling in or around your eyes
- You have trouble moving your eye or are unable to keep it open
- You have blood or pus coming from your eyes
Make a doctor's appointment
Contact your eye surgeon if you're experiencing eye pain and you've had eye surgery in the past or if you've recently had eye surgery or an eye injection.
Seek medical attention if you have eye pain and you wear soft contact lenses, have a weakened immune system or your eye pain is not improving after two to three days of medication.
Feb. 25, 2016
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