Symptom: Red eye

Introduction: Red eye

An inflammation of the eye may be conjunctivitis (which can itself be caused by several other conditions). The eyes can get red for numerous other reasons such as hangover, fever, allergies, hay fever, and other causes.

» Review Causes of Red eye: full list

Causes of Red eye:

The following medical conditions are some of the possible causes of Red eye. There are likely to be other possible causes, so ask your doctor about your symptoms.

• Conjunctivitis
• Hangover
• Marijuana - a form of cannabis
• Cannabis
• Eye infection
• Chlorinated swimming pool
• Eye rubbing
• Pinkeye
• Keratitis
• Keratopathy
• Iritis
• Acute iritis (see Iritis)
• Glaucoma
• Acute glaucoma
• Subconjunctival hemorrhage
• Allergies
• Pollen allergy
• Fever
• Virus
• Common cold
• Flu
• Scleritis
• Episcleritis
• Meningitis
• Corneal ulcer
• Uveitis
• Ophthalmia neonatorum
• Trachoma
• Conjunctival allergy
• Hayfever

See full list of 175 causes of Red eye

» Review Causes of Red eye: full list

Causes of Types of Red eye:

Review the causes of these more specific types of Red eye:

• Bloodshot eyes (18 causes)
• Conjunctivitis (89 causes)
• Red eyelids (4 causes)
• Conjunctival Injection (21 causes)

More types of Red eye

Red eye: Multiple Symptom Checker

Listed below are some combinations of symptoms associated with Red eye, as listed in our database. Visit the Multiple Symptoms Checker, to add and remove symptoms and research your condition.

Multiple Symptom Checker - Other Symptoms

• Red eye: Multiple Symptom Checker

Multiple Symptom Checker Combinations

• Red eye and Eye symptoms (118 causes)
• Red eye and Pain (108 causes)
• Red eye and Nerve symptoms (103 causes)
• Red eye and Sensations (103 causes)
• Red eye and Head symptoms (77 causes)
• Red eye and Skin symptoms (62 causes)
• Red eye and Face symptoms (60 causes)
• Red eye and Conjunctivitis (56 causes)
• Red eye and Eye pain (54 causes)
• Red eye and Vision changes (54 causes)
• Red eye and Visual problems (54 causes)
• Red eye and Respiratory symptoms (53 causes)
• Red eye and Impaired vision (51 causes)
• Red eye and Vision distortion (50 causes)
• Red eye and Swelling symptoms (48 causes)
• Red eye and Skin problems (47 causes)
• Red eye and Fever (46 causes)
• Red eye and Digestive symptoms (44 causes)
• Red eye and Headache (42 causes)
• Red eye and Temperature symptoms (42 causes)

See full list of 1187 Multiple Symptom Checker combinations related to Red eye

Home Diagnostic Testing and Red eye

Home medical tests possibly related to Red eye:

• Vision & Eye Health: Home Testing:
  • Home Eye Tests
  • Home Vision Tests

Causes of General Symptom Types

Research the causes of these more general types of symptom:

• Eye symptoms (2203 causes)

Causes of Similar Symptoms to Red eye

Research the causes of these symptoms that are similar to, or related to, the symptom Red eye:

• Eye pain (203 causes)
• Eye discharge (27 causes)
• Eye symptoms (2203 causes)
• Eyelid symptoms (435 causes)
• Puffy eyes (89 causes)
• Eye swelling (50 causes)

Diagnostic Guides for Red eye

Medical Books Excerpts Read excerpts from published book sections related to Red eye from the following published medical books for more detailed information about Red eye. Free access (no registration): read all online diagnostic book sections about Red eye

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic tests for Red eye:

Various tests are used in the diagnosis of Red eye. Some of these are listed below :

• Eye inspection
  • Note the nature of the red eyes i.e. localized or diffuse redness - e.g. conjunctivitis has clearly defined vessels that covers the entire sclera (white of the eye); episcleritis and scleritis have larger blood shot vessels and are concentrated towards the cornea (coloured area of the eye); iritis has a parallel arrangement of vessels around the periphery of the cornea that are not clearly defined; subconjunctival hemorrhage is a beefy red localized hemorrhage with a definite margin.
  • If pain is present and is relieved by local anesthetic drops, this suggests a surface problem such as a corneal ulcer. If eye pain is unrelieved by the anesthetic drops, a deeper problem must be suspected such as iritis
  • View iris for any irregularity which may suggest intraocular foreign body
  • Stain the surface of the eye with fluorescein eye drops to view the cornea for any foreign bodies and defects. Note any dendritic (branching) ulceration typical of herpes simplex infection

See full list of 12 diagnostic tests for Red eye

Diagnosis Checklist: Questions your doctor may ask (and why!)

During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in their assessment of Red eye. Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information you can share with your doctor about your symptoms may help them with their diagnosis. Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:

• How long have you noticed the red eye? - to determine if acute or chronic.
• Is it one or both eyes? - if only one eye is red, consider trauma, foreign body, corneal ulcer, iritis, viral conjunctivitis, acute glaucoma. Bacterial conjunctivitis usually starts in one eye but quickly spreads to the other eye.
• What was the manner of onset i.e. sudden or acute - e.g. conjunctivitis or iritis usually has a gradual onset; small foreign body will produce a rapid blood shot eye.
• Is the patient less than one month old? - suggests neonatal conjunctivitis and possible causes include Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhea, herpes simplex type 2 and other common bacterial organisms. Both parents must be tested for venereal disease and treated accordingly.
• Is the patient elderly? - elderly patients have an increased risk of acute glaucoma, iritis and herpes zoster of the eye.

See Diagnosis Checklist for Red eye (24 listings)

Diagnosis Checklist: Associated symptoms your doctor may ask about (and why!)

Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse your condition. The symptoms your doctor may ask about (in association with Red eye) may include:

• Vision disturbance? - acute glaucoma causes haloes around lights; may have blurred vision with contact hypersensitivity, herpes simplex keratitis, corneal ulcer and acute iritis.
• Eye pain? - Eye pain occurs with iritis, scleritis, episceritis, keratitis, foreign body, glaucoma, cluster headache and herpes zoster. If absence of eye pain may suggest conjunctivitis, marijuana use or alcohol hangover.
• Discharge from eye? - Pus -like discharge with lids sticking together in the morning is typical of bacterial conjunctivitis; watery discharge in viral and allergic conjunctivitis and contact hypersensitivity; reflex wateriness with herpes simplex, corneal ulcer, acute iritis and acute glaucoma.
• Photophobia (intense dislike of light)? - may suggest herpes simplex, corneal ulcer, iritis, welding flash burn and acute glaucoma.
• Watery eyes for sometime beforehand? - suggests viral conjunctivitis that may later become bacterial conjunctivitis.

See Diagnosis Checklist for Red eye (24 listings)

Stories from Users for Red eye

Real-life user stories relating to Red eye:

• Surgery for red eyes????
• I can't get rid of my Bloodshot eyes
• Red bloodshot eyes that hurt!
• painful bloodshot eyes
• bloodshot eyes
• Red small spots under the eyes????
• One eye red, not irritated
• red spots under the eyes
• Red Irritated Eyes - For Over 4 Years
• Bloodshot eyes
• Sore throat,red neck, red eyes,fatigue etc and ideas ?
• Red Eye
• Neighbor's parrot causes redness around the eyes
• Red eyes only in morning when rising ++
• daughter w/ redness in inner corner of both eyes
• Bloodshot Eye and Head Pain
• red spots in the blues of my eyes
• One eye red, but not irritated
• bloodshot eye
• red sores under eyes

Symptom specific forums: The following patient stories in our interactive forums and message boards relate to Red eye or relevant symptoms:

• Eyes (218)
  • Sudden blackout in vision??
  • Halo around the streetlights, glaucoma or something else?
  • Flashers, floaters, and more
  • Seeing spots
  • Flashes of almost lightning type light with sound
  • More user stories
• Integumentary (Skin) (244)
  • Itchy red bumps all over body? Hives?
  • Sensitive Skin to Touch
  • Painful skin and no answers!!!
  • Pinprick red dots, itchy skin, wrongly diagnosed
  • Skin blisters, joint & muscle pain, Photos..
  • More user stories
• Allergic/Immunologic (88)
  • Chronic hives
  • Spontaneous flushing and redness of face and body.
  • Non-stop itching, no rash
  • Swelling & itching
  • Problems with my scalp can anyone help me
  • More user stories

Videos for Red eye

Patient Surveys for Red eye

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Causes of Red eye listed in Disease Database:

Other medical conditions listed in the Disease Database as possible causes of Red eye as a symptom include:

• Acute angle-closure glaucoma
• Ataxia telangiectasia
• Bimatoprost
• Cavernous sinus thrombosis
• Choroidal melanoma
• Corneal abrasion
• Dacryocystitis
• Dendritic ulcer
• Diphtheria
• Ectropion (eyelid)
• Endophthalmitis
• Glaucoma, secondary
• Herpes simplex
• Herpes virus 2
• Ophthalmia neonatorum
• Pinguecula
• Pterygium of eye
• Recurrent corneal erosion
• Rubeosis iridis
• Salzmann's nodular degeneration of cornea

See full list of 175 causes of Red eye
- (Source - Diseases Database)

Medications or substances causing Red eye:

The following drugs, medications, substances or toxins are some of the possible causes of Red eye as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

• Marijuana - a form of cannabis
• Cannabis
• Pilocarpine
• Salagen
• Neutral Pilocarpine Eye Drops

See full list of 91 medications causing Red eye

Organs affected by Red eye:

The list of organs typically affected by Red eye may include, but is not limited to:

• Eye

Detailed list of causes of Red eye

The list below shows some of the causes of Red eye mentioned in various sources:

• Acanthamoeba infection - red eyes
• Acanthamoeba infection of the eye - red eyes
• Acanthamoeba keratitis - red eyes
• Acute angle-closure glaucoma
• Acute glaucoma

See full list of 175 causes of Red eye

How Common are these Causes of Red eye?

This information refers to the general prevalence and incidence of these diseases, not to how likely they are to be the actual cause of Red eye. Of the 175 causes of Red eye that we have listed, we have the following prevalence/incidence information:

• 7 causes are "very common" diseases
• 4 causes are "common" diseases
• 3 causes are "uncommon" diseases
• 3 causes are "rare" diseases
• 12 causes are "very rare" diseases
• 152 causes have no prevalence information.

See the analysis of the prevalence of 175 causes of Red eye

Conditions listing symptoms: Red eye:

The following list of conditions have 'Red eye' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.

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Causes of Red eye Based on Risk Factors

This information shows analysis of the list of causes of Red eye based on whether certain risk factors apply to the patient: