April showers and May flowers….bring itchy, watery, allergy eyes

April showers and May flowers….bring itchy, watery, allergy eyes

In addition to having symptoms of sneezing, congestion and a runny nose, most of these allergy sufferers also experience itchy, watery, red eyes and/or swollen eyelids. An eye allergy can be caused my many elements. This time of year most frequently including pollen, ragweed, grass, etc.

Here are a few tips to help minimize your symptoms of red, itchy, watery eyes:

1. Avoidance- On days when the pollen count is high, try to stay indoors as much as possible.
2. Don’t rub your eyes when they itch. This can release more histamine and make your eye symptoms worse.
3. Eye drops- if your symptoms are just mild, they may be alleviated by the use of an artificial tear 2-4x/day. For more moderate to severe symptoms a prescription eye drop may be necessary and it is recommended that you see your eye doctor for this.
4. Contact lens wear- you may need to decrease your contact lens wear and/or keep a rewetting drop handy to decrease symptoms. You may also consider switching to a daily disposable contact lens to help decrease allergy symptoms.
5. Consider purchasing an air purifier for your home and purchase an allergen-trapping filter for your furnace.