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Pinkeye and Pain

Some minor eye irritation is common with minor eye infections. Pinkeye (conjunctivitis), allergies, or dryness in the eye may also cause your eyes to feel sandy or scratchy. Home treatment is usually all that is needed to relieve the irritation.

When you have a viral illness that causes a fever, such as influenza, it may hurt to move your eyes (such as when you look to the side without turning your head). As you get better, your eyes will also feel better.

Severe eye pain is not common in pinkeye. Severe eye pain requires an immediate visit to a doctor. Severe, aching eyeball pain is often a sign of a more serious condition, such as a buildup of pressure inside the eyeball (glaucoma) or inflammation of the colored part of the eye (iritis). Immediate medical care is needed to prevent the condition from getting worse and possibly causing blindness.

By Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer William H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine
Last Revised November 2, 2011

Last Revised: November 2, 2011

Author: Healthwise Staff

Medical Review: William H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine & H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine

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