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Eye Pain

Also known as sore eye, painful eye, ophthalmalgia

Scratchy surface pain is usually treatable; deep, aching pain behind the eye is the one to take seriously.

About 1 minute to read

Overview

Eye pain divides cleanly into two kinds, and telling them apart is most of the diagnosis. Surface pain is sharp, scratchy and feels like something is in the eye — it comes from the cornea and conjunctiva, and usually eases briefly with an anaesthetic drop in the office.

Deep pain is a dull ache in or behind the eye, often worse with eye movement or bright light. That comes from inside the eye or from the structures around it, and the list of causes behind it is far more serious.

What are the common symptoms?

  • A gritty, foreign-body sensation with watering
  • Deep aching in or behind the eye
  • Pain on moving the eye
  • Severe pain with haloes, nausea and a hard, red eye
  • Pain with light sensitivity or falling vision

What causes it, and who is at risk?

Surface pain: corneal abrasion, a foreign body, dry eye, contact lens overwear, welding flash burn, or a chemical splash.

Deep pain: uveitis, scleritis, acute angle-closure glaucoma, optic neuritis, orbital cellulitis, and sinus disease referring pain to the eye. Cluster headache and migraine both produce convincing one-sided eye pain with a normal-looking eye.

How is it treated?

Abrasions and foreign bodies are treated by removing the cause and protecting the surface while it heals — usually within a couple of days. Dry eye and lens overwear respond to lubrication and a break from lenses.

The deep causes each need their own treatment quickly: steroid drops for uveitis, pressure-lowering drops and laser for angle closure, intravenous antibiotics for orbital cellulitis, and urgent neurological assessment for optic neuritis. Anaesthetic drops are never given to take home — they stop the cornea healing.

When to get seen quickly

Severe pain with nausea, haloes around lights and blurred vision suggests acute angle-closure glaucoma and is an emergency measured in hours. So is eye pain after an injury, with vision loss, or with a chemical exposure.

This page is general information, not a diagnosis. Only an eye care professional who has examined you can tell you what is actually going on.

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Related conditions

Dry Eye Syndrome Burning, gritty, tired eyes — and often watery ones — caused by a tear film that is not doing its job. Light Sensitivity Wincing at ordinary light can be a migraine trait, a dry surface, or inflammation inside the eye. Glaucoma Progressive damage to the optic nerve that steals peripheral vision silently — which is why screening matters more than symptoms. Uveitis Inflammation inside the eye — painful, light-sensitive, and needing prompt treatment to protect vision.
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