Do you feel like your eyes are being assaulted by springtime? When others are “oohing” and “aahing” over the beauty of the blooming plants, are you rubbing your eyes and reaching for the tissues? If this sounds familiar, we can help.
Symptoms of allergy eyes may include: redness, itching, watering, swelling and burning. The problem is actually caused by an overreaction of your immune system. Your body has identified a substance in your environment (in this case, the pollens that are so abundant in the spring) as an enemy (similar to a cold virus) and is trying to protect your eyes from injury from the pollen, but the result is making you miserable.
There are over-the-counter and prescription medications you can take orally for allergies. Many of these works well, but some older antihistamine medications can also make you drowsy. There are newer medications that relieve your symptoms without making you sleepy. Some of these medications can, however, cause your eyes to dry out, resulting in discomfort and difficulty in wearing contact lenses.
Supplementing the oral antihistamine medications or just used by itself, ocular (topical) antihistamines are available as an over-the-counter or by prescription. The known benefit of prescription eye drops is that its stronger potency allows for faster and better relief. It also requires less dosing compared to the over-the-counter drops, which need to be used four times a day. This is especially helpful for the contact lens wearer since they can put their contacts on 10 minutes after using the eye drop in the morning.
Placing cold compresses on your eyes, removing contact lenses (if you wear them) and trying to avoid the substances that trigger your allergies will also help relieve your symptoms. Wearing daily disposable contacts provide the best relief if you want to continue wearing contacts during allergy season. These are some of the arsenal of weapons that can specifically treat allergic eye symptoms. When your eyes start acting up due to allergies, call us for help in finding relief.
For more information, please call Advanced Vision Care at 661-257-4499.