Why Wont My Eyes Stop Watering?

The root cause of watery eyes isn’t always easy to diagnose. There are all types of potential causes, from allergies or dry eyes to blocked or narrow tear ducts. Maybe the most common cause of persistent watery eyes, especially among adults, are blocked tear ducts.

That may sound counterintuitive. If your tear ducts are blocked, why do you have too many tears? Tear duct blockages prevent tears from draining away, which means they instead build up in your tear sac.

Blocked tear ducts are a real problem. The inability for tears to drain can lead to infections. If your eye is producing particularly sticky tears, you should see a doctor, as that may be a sign of infection or inflammation caused by blocked tear ducts. People with narrow tear ducts are more likely to experience tear duct blockages.

Eye Irritation

Temporary watery eyes or seasonal watery eyes can likely be attributed to environmental irritation. That’s why your eyes might be watering a lot more during allergy season.

Pink eye, or conjunctivitis, is essentially an infection or the inflammation of the membrane that lines the inside of your eyelid and your eyeball. Having red eyes doesn’t necessarily mean you’re suffering from conjunctivitis, but it is one of the symptoms. If you (or your child’s) eye is exuding a discharge that leads to crusting over on the eyelashes when you’re sleeping, you might have conjunctivitis.

Pink eye is sometimes referred to as “infective conjunctivitis.” Some people suffer “allergic conjunctivitis” when they’re exposed to allergens. The symptoms are very similar, but the underlying cause of the conjunctivitis is different.

The best way to treat conjunctivitis is to:

• Avoid the allergens that are causing your eye irritation (stay indoors, keep your house clean, etc.)
• Don’t put in contacts while you’re experiencing conjunctivitis symptoms – use a pair of glasses instead (wait at least 24 hours after your symptoms have cleared up before using contacts)
• Although your eyes might be itchy you should do your best to avoid rubbing them, which can exacerbate inflammation
• You should avoid hot compresses, but gently applying a cold compress on your eyelids might provide some relief
• Some people find relief from using artificial tears (eye drops)

If you’re experiencing watery eyes from allergens you may want to consider taking some over-the-counter antihistamines. In addition to the oral antihistamines like loratadine, fexofenadine and cetirizine you can also get antihistamines in eye drop forms – like Alaway and Zaditor.

Eyelash Angles

Eyelashes can potentially grow inwards instead of outwards. The condition, known as trichiasis, might occur after an injury or infection. If the eyelashes rub against your eye, you might experience significant irritation and excessive tearing. You should talk with your doctor about either redirecting the eyelashes or removing/trimming the offending eye lashes.

Blepharitis

Eyelid swelling caused by blepharitis might result in a number of painful eye symptoms, including watery eyes. Other symptoms might include itchiness, redness and a crusty discharge when you’re sleeping.

Eyelid Styes

Styes on the eyelid might look like a pimple or a swollen lump of red skin on your eyelid. If you have a stye on your eyelid DO NOT attempt to pop it. Styes are caused by bacterial infections and in most cases they’ll go away on their own.

Popping the stye might spread the infection. If you have a stye that persists for more than a week without improvement you may want to see a doctor.

Cornea Scratches

Scratches on eyeball do happen. Your eye can get scratched from all kinds of things if your eyelid doesn’t close in time to block whatever’s incoming. People frequently get scratched corneas from blown dirt and sand since the small grains can fly into eyes quickly or without being noticed.

In addition to excessive tears, a scratched cornea may leave your eye looking red, feeling itchy or even being sensitive to light. Corneal scratches generally heal on their own relatively quickly, but they can become infected. If you believe you have an infection from a cornea scratch, you should visit a doctor.

All eye injuries should be taken seriously. If you suddenly experience persistent eye pain after getting hit with something in the eye or it feels you some foreign body got into your eye and under your eyelid, see a doctor or optometrist.  

What Should You Do If Your Eyes Won’t Stop Tearing Up?

As you’ve probably realized, excessive tears are symptoms of a lot of potential eye health issues. If you only experience symptoms during allergy season you might just be experiencing temporary allergic conjunctivitis.

If you’re experiencing teary eyes all year long without many other symptoms or obvious causes, you should see an eye doctor or your primary care physician to get your tear ducts checked. You might have narrow or blocked tear ducts, which should be treated as soon as possible to prevent infection.

You can get help with your eye issues from St. Hope Foundation. Book an appointment with our vision program by calling us at (713) 778-1300.