Red, sore or watering eye
Red eye: when it’s nothing, and when it’s today
Most red eyes are conjunctivitis, tiredness or a burst vessel, and settle. A few are the sort that damage sight if left. Here’s how to tell them apart, and what to do either way.
Same day — ring us now
- Red and painful — not gritty, painful — especially if light hurts
- Red with blurred vision that doesn’t clear with blinking
- Red in a contact lens wearer (lens out first, then ring)
- A red eye after something went in it — grit, a branch, a splash
- One red eye with a feeling of pressure, nausea or a headache — this is A&E, not us
Can wait a day or two — but book
- Both eyes red, sticky in the morning, otherwise comfortable: usually conjunctivitis. Warm water to clean the lids, don’t share towels, book if it’s not better in three days.
- Itchy and red with a runny nose: allergy. Cold compress and an antihistamine drop from the pharmacy.
- A bright red patch on the white with no pain and normal vision: a burst blood vessel. Alarming, harmless, gone in a fortnight.
- Red rims that come and go for months: probably blepharitis or dry eye — not urgent, but worth a Dry Eye Assessment.
What we do
Twenty minutes with an optometrist: the front of the eye under the microscope, the pressure, and if needed the back of the eye. Most red eyes are treated on the spot with a prescription. If it needs the hospital, we ring them while you’re in the chair.
Guides on this
- Red eye: when it’s nothing, and when it’s todayMost red eyes settle on their own. A few are the kind that damage sight if left a week. The difference is four signs, and none of them is “h
- Flashes and floaters: the ones that need seeing the same dayA retinal tear caught the same day is a ten-minute laser. Left a week, it can be a detachment and an operation. The signs are specific, and
- Stye or chalazion? What to do tonightA lump on the eyelid is nearly always one of two things, both harmless, both fixable at home most of the time. Here’s how to tell them apart
- Something in my eye: what to do, and what not to doMost things wash out. The ones that don’t — and the ones you should never try to get out yourself — are the reason to know this before it ha
Five clinics across Greater Manchester, Cheshire & West Yorkshire
Every Book button on this page comes here. Choose your practice — the number appears on the one you pick.
Book a Dry Eye Assessment — Cheadle 0161 428 3717
Book a Dry Eye Assessment — Middleton 0161 653 0771
Book a Dry Eye Assessment — Heald Green 0161 437 3400
Book a Dry Eye Assessment — Winsford 01606 599030
Book a Dry Eye Assessment — Heckmondwike 01924 403617
Gland Scan: £15 with any eye examination (included in our Gold eye examination).