Key Takeaways
- Long hours on screens can leave your eyes aching, dry, and blurry.
- Dry eye often feels gritty or burning, and simple habits can help.
- Pink eye, styes, and swollen lids share signs like redness and tenderness.
- Contact lens slip-ups and stray grit are common sources of discomfort.
- Sudden pain, vision changes, or nausea are reasons to book a checkup.
Sore eyes have a way of taking over your whole day. You rub them, blink hard, and hope the ache fades before your next task. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it lingers, and our team at Port Moody Eye Care Centre can help you find out what’s going on.
Most eye pain can be connected to screen strain, dry eye, infections, and contact lens or debris trouble. Certain discomfort needs a closer look from an optometrist. Knowing which one you’re dealing with helps you find relief faster.
Screen Time and Digital Eye Strain
You blink far less when you stare at a screen. Fewer blinks mean less moisture spread across your eyes, and that adds up over a workday.
By mid-afternoon, your eyes might ache, your vision might blur, and a dull headache can settle behind your brow. Long stretches on a laptop, phone, or tablet make this worse.
The 20-20-20 rule gives your eyes a break. For every 20 minutes of screen use, look at something about 20 feet away for 20 seconds. That short pause lets your eyes relax and refocus.
Dry Eye and Everyday Irritation
Dry eye can feel like a bit of sand you can’t wash out. Some people notice scratchiness or burning instead.
A few everyday things can make it flare up:
- Dry indoor air from heating or air conditioning
- Natural changes that come with age
- Certain medications that reduce tear production
Simple Comfort Habits
Preservative-free artificial tears can ease the scratchy feeling and keep your eyes moist through the day.
When dry eye sticks around, in-office dry eye therapy can provide additional support. Our team uses tools like LipiFlow to warm and clear the tiny glands that line your eyelids, which helps your tears work better.
Infections, Styes, and Pink Eye
Some sore eyes come from infection or inflammation. These often look different from simple tiredness, so it’s helpful to know the signs.
Pink eye, also called conjunctivitis, can cause redness, discharge, and itching. It can spread easily, so washing your hands regularly and using fresh towels can help prevent it from spreading.
A stye is a tender bump along the edge of your eyelid. It can feel warm and sore, a bit like a small pimple.
Blepharitis leaves your eyelids swollen, red, and sore. It tends to come back, so steady lid care helps keep it calm.
Although your GP or pharmacist may be able to recommend or prescribe treatment, our clinic can examine your eyes more closely to determine what’s causing your symptoms and recommend the appropriate treatment.
Contact Lens Problems
Contacts feel great until small habits catch up with you. Sleeping in lenses meant for daytime, skipping proper cleaning, or wearing lenses past their replacement date can all leave your eyes red and sore.
A fresh case, clean hands, and a solid replacement schedule go a long way toward comfort.
Dust, Grit, and Small Scratches
A speck of dust or grit can turn a good afternoon into a watery, blinking mess. Rinse your eye gently with clean water and let your tears do the rest.
If the pain stays after the debris is gone, you might have a small scratch on the surface of your eye. That deserves a checkup so it can heal without trouble.
When Eye Pain Needs a Closer Look
Most sore eyes settle on their own. Some signs, though, point to something that needs attention:
- Sudden, sharp, or lasting pain
- Changes in your vision
- Strong sensitivity to light
- Nausea along with the eye pain
How Our Team Can Help
A full eye exam gives your optometrist a clear picture of what’s happening. Modern imaging, like the Spectralis OCT scan, captures detailed layers of your eye in just a few minutes. This helps our team spot problems you may not yet be able to see or feel.
Come See Us
Sore eyes don’t have to be a mystery you sort out alone. Our team at Port Moody Eye Care Centre can look closer, find the reason, and help you feel comfortable again. Book your appointment today at whichever location works for you.
