There are many reasons that cause your eyes to become red. Red eye is a general term to describe red, irritated, bloodshot eyes.
1. Subconjuctival hemorrhage – broken blood vessel that causes no harm to the eye
2. Blepharitis – inflammation and flaking of the eyelids
3. Dry eye
4. Allergies
5. Conjunctivitis or “pink eye”
6. Contact lenses – improper use of contact lenses can cause serious damage to the eyes
7. Smoking – Cigarette smoke causes the blood vessels in your eyes to constrict, which dries out the surface of your eyes. When your body senses the dryness and lack of blood flow, it tries to compensate by dilating your blood vessels. And that means more redness.
8. Alcohol
9. Whitening eye drops marketed for red eyes – these contain vasoconstrictors, which are chemicals that shrink the blood vessels on the surface of your eye to reduce redness. After continued use they actually make your eyes worse when the drop starts to wear off because your eyes become dependent on them and you get a rebound effect.
10. Pregnancy
If your symptoms last more than 1-2 days give us a call!
