Many of us experience runny noses and constant sneezing due to allergies, but did you know you can also experience symptoms that affect your eyes? Eye allergies can significantly impact your vision and even make wearing contact lenses uncomfortable. Dr. Dorothy Park & Associates in Columbia, SC, offers eye allergy treatment to help you regain visual clarity and comfort. Learn more about eye allergies and how we can treat them below.
Understanding Eye Allergies
A common problem that can affect your vision is eye allergies. This uncomfortable condition occurs when your eyes come in contact with an allergen. Allergens are substances in your environment that cause a reaction when your immune system encounters them. Your body mistakenly treats allergens as threats and produces histamine to counteract them, leading to symptoms like itching or burning eyes, puffy eyelids, and watery eyes. Common eye allergy triggers include pet dander, dust mites, perfume, cigarette smoke, and pollen.
Treatment and Management
Our optometrist will evaluate your eyes during an eye exam to determine the cause and severity of your allergies. We check your eyes for redness, swelling, and excessive tearing to see if your allergies led to an infection. Once we diagnose your condition, our optometrist will recommend several treatment options and lifestyle adjustments to ease symptoms and prevent future incidents.
Treatment will vary based on the allergen causing your symptoms and the severity of your condition. We can prescribe eye drops to alleviate itching, redness, and watering caused by allergies. Severe cases of eye allergies might require steroid eye drops to reduce inflammation. Antihistamines help manage most allergy symptoms, including eye irritation.
The best way to manage eye allergies is by avoiding exposure to known allergens. This may include staying indoors on high pollen days or wearing protective lenses when working in dusty environments. Changing your air filters more frequently keeps allergens from circulating in your home. Daily disposable contacts are beneficial for preventing allergen buildup on your lenses since you throw the contacts away at the end of the day.
Visit Your Eye Clinic in Columbia, SC, for Eye Allergy Treatment Today
If you struggle with eye allergies and need effective treatment from an “eye clinic near me,” look no further than Dr. Dorothy Park & Associates in Columbia, SC. Our optometrist can prescribe eye drops or contacts to help you see clearly and comfortably again, so call us and schedule an appointment today at (803) 254-6306.
