My Eye Won't Quit Tearing Up!

Ok I know this is going to sound strange but it sounds like to me your eye is dry. I worked as an ophthalmic assistant for 3 yrs and an optometric assistant for 5... so needless to say I have some experience with this type of stuff. Your eye produces 2 types of tears..oily ones that stick around all the time and crying tears. When your eye doesn't produce enough oily tears it over produces crying tears. I would normally tell patients that complain of this to use over the counter artificial tears...such as refresh tears. Do not use anything that says "gets the red out" because they constrict blood vessels. If the tears dont work you might need to go ahead and make an appointment with an eye doctor and have it checked out. Good luck with it.

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Try getting a warm soft washcloth and massaging about every hour for about 10-15 mintues for the next week. When my son was born his little tear duct was clogged so it made is eye run and get crusty but thats what were instructed to do from the doctor and after several weeks it went away. If you experience redness or itching and burning in the eye I would go to the eye doctor and have it checked out. Could be pink eye. Try to avoid eye makeup til you get it cleared up.

I would suspect a blocked duct too. The moisture in your eye is a constant washing motion like a bunch of little streams flowing into a pool before passing through the outlet at the other end. If the outlet is blocked then the "water" had got to go somewhere.

That's not to say it's not something environmental too. Sorry, maybe it's time to go see the doctor

B.,

This is going to sound strange, but I have the same problem when I use certain types of make-up. Some mascara and eye shadows will make my eyes tear. I also have to be carefull with the types of face lotions I use. Anything that has fumes or is strongly scented can cause tearing. If you have changed anything about your skin care routine or makeup recently I would stop using it for a while. Some women also become sensitive to red dyes and mica in eye shadow. These can cause eyes to water as well. Good luck,

J.

PS. - If the eye watering is accompanied by rapid or uncontrolled blinking you need to go to a doctor ASAP.

I do think it might be your allergies, my youngest daughter does that and the doctor said that it is her allergies. Allergies dont neccessarily cause red dry itchy eyes, but they can cause them to water.

The same thing happened to me a week ago and I thought the same thing about the allergies and it lasted for about 5 days. I couldn't wear make-up or anything and this past Monday I woke up with a sore throat, itchy (not watery) eyes and serious cough. I stayed at home for 2 days i feel better now but I still have a mild cough.

Anyway, I did not go to the doctor I just loaded up with allergy and sinus medication.

Good luck.

Hi B.,
It might be an eye infection. Or is it possible that you got something in your eye or scratched it with something. I don't have anymore ideas other than this, sorry. You should probably make an eye appointment with doctor. Hope you find out whats wrong, W.

I'm an optometrist. Clogged tear ducts in adults are less common. Usually they occur after an infection or something that would cause an obstruction. Something is irritating that eye causing the "tearing reflex" to make you eye water. It could be an allergic reaction to something (although usually your eye itches), it could be dry eyes (the ophthalmic technician that responded is right), you could have an eye infection starting, or you could have something in the eye.

I recommend flushing the eye out with several drops of artificial tears or saline a few times a day. Also, cleanse the eyelid where your eyelashes grow out- scrub it with soap and water on a washcloth- to wash away any irritants building up.

If this improves after a day or two, continue treating it for a week. If it doesn't, see an eye doctor to find out what is going on.

My little boy was born with a blocked tear duct and his tears wouldn't drain in one eye. You can "massage" it, but unfortunately this didn't work for him and we had to do surgery. I'm sure it would for you though since you weren't born with the condition. You can go on the net and look up blocked tear duct or nasolacrimal system and should be able to find some information. Hint: Press down really hard when massaging or it won't work. Good luck!

it might be a blocked tear duct. and to help get rid of it all you need to do is wet a cotton ball with water and gently massage corner of your eye several times a day. babies get them all the time and that seems to clear it up. hope it helps,

K.

My eye does this on occasion for seemingly no reason. I hate it because mu husband will ask me what's wrong and when I tell him nothing, he says that he can see me crying. I'm not crying! LOL! I chalk it up to allergies or excessive tear build up, I really don't think it's a problme except that it's annoying and always seems to happen when my make up is perfect! I don't know what to tell you to fix it, since it's just something I've learned to live with.

My mom had something like this, and it turned out the duct from her eye that leads down into her sinuses was blocked. Don't know if that's the case for you, but if it doesn't go away, you may want to go see your doctor ... could develop into an infection if that duct doesn't get cleared.