If your eye hurts, start by identifying what kind of pain you’re feeling and whether anything specific triggered it. Most eye pain comes from minor, treatable causes like dryness, a small scratch, or something stuck on the surface. But certain combinations of symptoms signal a genuine emergency that needs immediate care. Here’s how to figure out what you’re dealing with and what to do next.
When Eye Pain Is an Emergency
Some types of eye pain need urgent medical attention, not a wait-and-see approach. Call 911 or get to an emergency room if your eye pain comes with any of these:
- Sudden vision changes or sudden blurriness
- Nausea or vomiting alongside severe eye pain
- Halos around lights
- A headache, fever, or extreme light sensitivity
- A chemical splash or foreign object embedded in the eye
- Blood or pus coming from the eye
- Inability to move your eye or keep it open
- Swelling in or around the eye
This combination of severe pain, nausea, halos, and vision changes is the classic presentation of acute angle-closure glaucoma, a condition where pressure inside your eye spikes suddenly. It can damage your vision permanently if not treated within hours. If you’re experiencing these symptoms together, don’t wait.
Surface Pain vs. Deep Pain
Where and how your eye hurts tells you a lot about the cause. Surface-level pain typically feels like burning, stinging, grittiness, or the sensation that something is in your eye. It’s usually tied to problems on the front of the eye: dryness, a scratch on the cornea, a stray eyelash, or an infection like conjunctivitis. You might also notice redness, tearing, or sensitivity to light.
Deep, aching pain that feels like it’s behind or inside the eye points to different causes. Pain that worsens when you move your eyes can signal inflammation in the eye socket or a problem with the optic nerve. Double vision, a bulging eye, or facial numbness alongside deep eye pain all suggest something involving the structures behind the eyeball rather than on its surface. These symptoms generally need professional evaluation sooner rather than later.
What to Do for a Foreign Object
If you feel like something is stuck in your eye, resist the urge to rub it. Rubbing can push the object deeper or scratch your cornea. Instead, try flushing it out with a gentle stream of clean, lukewarm water. You can use a small, clean glass held with its rim resting on the bone at the base of your eye socket, or stand in the shower and let lukewarm water flow over your forehead and into the open eye.
If the object appears to be embedded in your eye or is sticking out between your eyelids, don’t try to pull it out yourself. Cover the eye loosely and get to an emergency room. The same applies if flushing doesn’t work after a few attempts or if your pain and vision get worse.
What to Do for a Chemical Splash
Chemical exposure to the eye requires immediate, aggressive flushing. Use clean, lukewarm tap water and keep rinsing for at least 20 minutes. That’s longer than most people think necessary, but it’s critical for diluting the chemical and limiting damage. Don’t put anything other than water or contact lens saline in the eye. After flushing, get medical attention right away, even if the pain subsides. Alkali chemicals (like bleach or oven cleaner) can continue burning deeper into eye tissue after the initial exposure.
Corneal Scratches
A scratch on the cornea, the clear front surface of your eye, is one of the most common causes of sudden eye pain. It can happen from a fingernail, a tree branch, sand, or even putting in contact lenses too aggressively. The pain is usually sharp and immediate, often with tearing, redness, and sensitivity to light. It may feel like something is stuck in your eye even after the object that caused the scratch is gone.
The good news is that most corneal abrasions heal on their own within 24 to 72 hours. Larger scratches covering more than half the cornea’s surface may take four to five days. Your doctor will typically prescribe an antibiotic ointment to prevent infection during healing. If you wear contact lenses, you’ll need to stop wearing them until the scratch has fully healed, and your doctor will likely choose an antibiotic that covers the specific bacteria contact lens wearers are prone to.
Dry Eyes
Dry eye is a surprisingly common source of eye pain. It can cause a burning or gritty feeling, sensitivity to light, excessive tearing (your eye overcompensates for the dryness), and occasional redness. Long hours at a screen, dry indoor air, ceiling fans, and certain medications can all make it worse.
Over-the-counter artificial tears are the first thing to try. If you’re reaching for them more than four times a day, switch to preservative-free drops. The preservatives in regular artificial tears can irritate your eyes with frequent use. Beyond drops, you can reduce dryness by taking breaks from screens (look away every 20 minutes), using a humidifier, and positioning yourself away from direct airflow from vents or fans. If artificial tears aren’t making a noticeable difference after a week or two, an eye doctor can evaluate you for underlying causes.
Contact Lens Wearers Need Extra Caution
Wearing contact lenses increases your risk of corneal infections, and some of those infections are serious. Bacteria, fungi, and even parasites can invade the cornea when lenses are worn too long, stored improperly, or worn while swimming or showering. The resulting condition, microbial keratitis, can lead to permanent vision loss or the need for a corneal transplant in severe cases.
If you wear contacts and develop eye pain, redness, light sensitivity, unusual discharge, or sudden blurriness, take your lenses out immediately. Don’t put them back in. Call your eye doctor the same day if possible. Pain that continues or worsens after removing your contacts is a particularly concerning sign that you shouldn’t ignore. Even if your symptoms turn out to be minor, contact lens-related infections move fast, and early treatment makes a significant difference in outcomes.
Pink Eye and Other Infections
Eye infections often cause pain alongside redness, discharge, and a crusty feeling when you wake up. The type of discharge gives a clue to the cause. Thick, yellow-green discharge that keeps coming back throughout the day leans toward a bacterial infection. Watery discharge with lots of tearing is more typical of a viral infection, which generally clears on its own in one to two weeks.
For mild symptoms, you can use a clean, warm compress on the closed eye several times a day to relieve discomfort. Wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your other eye to prevent spreading the infection. Don’t share towels or pillowcases. If you have heavy pus-like discharge, severe pain, or vision changes, see a doctor promptly, as aggressive bacterial infections can damage the eye quickly without antibiotic treatment.
Simple Steps While You Monitor Symptoms
For mild eye pain without the emergency red flags listed above, a few things can help while you figure out the cause. A cool, damp washcloth placed over closed eyes can reduce swelling and soothe irritation. Avoid rubbing your eyes, which almost always makes things worse regardless of the cause. If light is bothering you, dim your screens and wear sunglasses, even indoors.
Over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen can take the edge off while you’re waiting for a minor issue to resolve. If you wear contact lenses, switch to glasses until you know what’s going on. And pay attention to whether the pain is getting better, staying the same, or worsening over the next 24 hours. Pain that steadily worsens, spreads, or starts affecting your vision is telling you it’s time to see a professional rather than continue managing it at home.