Eyeirritation can kind of hijack your brain.
It is literally impossible to focus on anything else.
Its not like your eyes actuallyhurt, so no need to see a doctor, right?
Justin Case/Getty Images
Here are six times you should see a doctor about eye irritation.
This could signalpink eye, aka conjunctivitis.
That leads to symptoms like redness, itching, andexcessive tearingbasically all signs that somethings up.
Youve probably heard that pink eye happens when you getpoop particlesin your eye.
But a slew of other things can also cause pink eye, includingpollenand other allergens.
This is known as allergic conjunctivitis, and to be frank, it sucks.
When spring hits, we see a bigrashof allergic conjunctivitis.
you could actually get this even if you dont think you haveallergies.
If your conjunctivitis is bacterial, youll need antibiotic drops to clear it up.
You could be dealing withdry eye, Dr. Periman says.
Dry eye usually happens when either the amount or quality of your tears cant keep your eyes moist enough.
Enter feelings like scratchiness, grittiness, dryness, and burning, among others.
If you have a mild case ofdry eye, you may be able to get by with rewetting drops.
If you think you have it, you should absolutely see a doctor for guidance.
There are several things that can cause this, including dry eye.
The best treatment is to limit your screen time, but hello, this isnt the 1800s.
Instead, take some small measures that can make a big difference.
Beyond that, its important to give your eyes a break.
Its normal to wake up with sleep in your eyesyou know, those littleeye boogersthat magically appear overnight.
Theyre a result of extra tear fluid building up as you sleep.
Pink eye is one potential cause of excessive eye gunk.
That inflammatory response can cause eye irritation, Dr. Goedde says.
Either way, neither feels especially great to your eyes.
Foreign bodies can cause irritation in one of two ways, Dr. Goedde says.
If something is embedded in your cornea, you might feel it every time you blink.
You might be able to get the object out safely by yourself.
No matter the cause, you dont want to mess with this.
But given how important your eyes are, you really shouldnt chance it.
