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Relieving Itchy Eyes

Your eyes are often the first thing people notice about you and are said to be the windows on the soul. Sparkling eyes are an indication of good health. Red, watering, itchy eyes that are gummed up with mucus are saying something completely opposite. Whether it's because of the swelling, the water or your scratching hands being in the way, you can't see clearly and you're in desperate need of some relief.

Whatever the allergy trigger is - pollen, house dust mite dung, animal dander or perfume - once it gets up your nose and into your eyes it sparks the release of chemicals. Even eye drops, contact lenses and contact-lens solutions may be responsible for triggering an upset. These chemicals initiate a chain reaction, and not the kind that people write songs about. This one is more like being on the chain gang on the road to misery as the tissues of the eyes and nose swell and buckets of fluid leak out. Well, maybe not buckets, but it feels like it. End result, you feel bloody awful.

For most people, it's the itching that's the most frustrating and irritating symptom. You can hide your red eyes from everyone else's gaze by wearing shades, and even the watering can be absorbed onto a tissue. But the itching, that's what drives people crazy and gets in the way of their regular, everyday activities.

You know you shouldn't, but they're crying out to be rubbed, and so rub them you do. This may make your eyes feel a whole lot better and clear the blurred vision, but this is only a temporary respite. It's just like driving down the motorway in a rainstorm: the windscreen wipers briefly give you a clear view of the road ahead, but as soon as they have passed the screen is covered again. But why does rubbing only make them worse?

It seems logical that, once the irritating culprit has done it's dirty deed and the chemicals that cause the problem have been used up, the itching and the watering should finish. However, where the eyes are concerned, this is not the case. (In this regard, they are just like mosquito bites.) Rubbing your eyes can have the same effect as the allergy trigger that got into your eyes in the first place: it causes more of the chemicals, for example histamine, to be released. However, it does this mechanically rather than chemically, as the act of rubbing in effect bursts the chemical-containing cells, releasing the chemicals and allowing them to kick into action. So here's the stinger: when it comes to the eyes, if you've got an itch don't scratch it. You need to find relief some other way.

A cold compress, using a face cloth soaked in cold water, is a great idea because it's soothing and, being cold, will stabilise the cells that contain those triggering chemicals and prevent more of them escaping. Cold also helps to relieve inflammation. Anti-allergy eye drops are also very good at helping to relieve symptoms, and if someone suffers on a regular basis, using them each day can help to prevent the symptoms too.

So here's the golden rule. At all times, fingers should be kept out of eyes. No ifs, no buts. You wouldn't poke yourself in the eye, would you? No. So don't rub or scratch them either.


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