RED eye!

This morning, I woke up with a red eye..oh,no! Do I have conjunctivitis? I've been a contact lens user for years, but this is the first time I got it. I'm just afraid if it is conjunctivitis, then it is infectious and I must be careful not to transmit it to my daughter and husband. I went to work as usual, then ask my boss to be excused and see the eye doctor (opthalmologist) at my workplace. 
Dr. Tan examined my eyes with her eye gadget (not sure what it's called :P )...my cornea is ok...no ulcer or laceration. Then she put an eye stain (orange fluorescence in colour) on my right eye and examined with the microscope again. I'm relieved when she told me there's nothing to worry about...it's not conjunctivitis, probably just because my eyes are dry due to contact lens wearing.

Why is my eye red?

1. Conjunctivitis

Is an inflammation or infection of the conjunctiva, a protective layer that coats the front part of the eye. This can be caused by viruses, bacterias, allergies or toxic substances.

2. Blepharitis

An inflammation of the follicles along the eyelid. May be caused by poor eyelid hygiene, lice on the eyelashes, allergic reactions or bacterial infections.

3. Dry eyes

4. Frequent use of eye drops

Surprisingly, frequent use of eye drops that we use when our eyes are red can cause a red eye too. These whitening eye drops cause our blood vessels in the eye to dilate, thus the eye appear more bloodshot.

5. Eye injury

Any injury or damage to the eye due to trauma 

6. Contact lens wear

If you wear contact lenses for long hours, the eyes can become red like me. In some people, simply having contact lens in the eye can cause redness.

7. Corneal ulcer or infection

8. Uveitis

Causes redness, pain, blurry vision, light sensitivity and floater. It must be treated quickly because it can cause bad complications.

9. Subconjunctival haemorrhage

Caused by a bursted blood vessel due to straining, coughing, trauma, high blood pressure or certain blood disordes.

10. Acute angle closure glaucoma

A serious medical emergency and must be treated immediately. It causes painful red eye which usually occurs in one eye.

Home Care

How to care for your red eye at home? Here are some tips :

•  Avoid touching the infected eye and then rubbing the other eye...it can easily spread to the other eye!
• Wash your hands frequently
• Avoid eye makeup or wear contact lens until the infection clears up. You should also throw away items like these that you have used on the infected eye
• Apply cold or warm compressers on the eye

When to go to hospital?

• After a penetrating injury to the eye
• You have headache along with blurred vision
• Your eyes are red longer than 1-2 days
• You have eye pain or vision changes
• You have nausea and vomiting
• You are seeing halos around lights
• You have yellow or greenish discharges from the eye
• Your eyes are very sensitive to light

For my eye problem, I was given chloramphenicol ointment and artificial tears..

What I mentioned above is just a rough guideline about red eye. For more detailed info, you should see an opthalmologist. Eyes are very precious as they give us sight to see this beautiful world. So, don't take your eye problem lightly!