“Why are my eyes blood red when I wake up?”
I am 23 years old and am into a profession which requires me to stare at the computer screen for long hours. I have recently been noticing waking up everyday to bloodshot eyes with intense fatigue in the eyes. What could be the cause for this?
8 Answers
Red eyes in the morning could be caused by dry eyes. A complete ophthalmologic exam should be performed.
Overuse of your eyes and eye stress lead to redness. Dryness is associated with redness, pain and blurred vision. Periodic rest, eye drops and relaxation will make your eyes happier and less red .
Today, most of us spend a good amount of time on the computer screen throughout the day. The fatigue and redness you're experiencing is likely due to dry eye. Many symptoms and signs can arise from dry eye, but redness and tired eyes are some of the most common. Try lubricating your eyes during the day with an artificial tear you buy over-the-counter. Use these drops up to 4x daily. Try to avoid "get the red out" drops. If symptoms persist, make an appointment with your local ophthalmologist for further treatment.
Computer work is drying and that is the cause for almost all related symptoms. Computers are in dry atmospheres. When you do concentrated work, your blink rate drops from 16 to 6 per minute which increases drying. The symptoms are many and include fatigue, blur, headaches, irritation, eye redness and lack of concentration. I recommend that an eye dropper bottle of eye tear replacement fluid be next to your computer to apply whenever you have any of these symptoms. These carry over at night and that is why you wake up with eye redness and fatigue. Helpful for this is to apply pain eye ointment into each eye just before going to sleep, which will usually stop the problem you are describing. Note that computer use is not harmful and all symptoms from sustained use are short term and totally reversible.
Dry eyes and eye fatigue, especially because of the continuous use of computer. I recommend taking a break once in a while from computer to combat this. Use the 20-20-20 rule which is every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away and close your eys for 20 seconds. Also, try to blink more during computer usage and try eye drops.
Most likely it is due to dryness and possibly oilgland dysfunction in your lids. You can try artificial tears during the day and a thicker gel like genteel gel at night. If it persists see Eye are professional advice
Let me know if you did not receive my reply. I sent it from Armenia where I was on a Mission Trip. Perhaps it did not get sent due to poor Internet service.
Roger Ohanesian, MD
Roger Ohanesian, MD
Many possible causes including not completely closing your eye during sleep. Consult with an MD ophthalmologist.
