My itchy eyes

I am a 60-year-old man. I have been having itchy eyes for the past few months without much improvement despite all forms of treatments. Kindly let me know what to do about it.

Chinedu (by SMS)

The most common cause of itchy eyes is an allergy. Your eyes may start to itch if you are near pollen or animal fur. Other things can also trigger itchy eyes are: mould, dust mites, make-up and eye drops.

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Itchy eyes occur when your body reacts to the trigger by releasing histamine in your eyes. This causes the blood vessels in the eye to stretch and get bigger. Then, the nerve endings start to get irritated. The result is that the eyes start to water. The eyes get red because of the allergy.

This redness is called allergic conjunctivitis. Sometimes it can be called ‘pink eye’ or ‘red eye’. This type of conjunctivitis is not contagious. Other causes of itchy eyes are: Dry eye syndrome — when you do not make enough tears.

Tears help keep the surface of your eye moist and comfortable, an object or chemical in your eye, blepharitis—inflammation or redness of your eyelids, an infection from wearing contact lenses, a reaction to a medicines, such as birth control pills, antihistamines, painkillers or antidepressants. Urgent medical should be sought under the following conditions; your symptoms aren›t getting better, you have thick discharge from your eyes, your eyelids are stuck together, you can’t keep your eye open, your vision is changed or blurred, you have something in your eye, you can see a halo around lights, it hurts to look at bright lights, your pupils (the black parts in the centre of your eye) are different sizes, your eyes are swollen or you are in pain.