Pulled Eye Muscle

September 8, 2007 10:15 AM

My left eye hurts. Is it serious, or nothing to worry about?

A week ago, I had a bad headache that began around my left eye. Not a big deal, as I get these often during the summer (I haven't determined if they're sinus-related or migraines). The headache passed, and then a few days later, my left eye started to ache when I looked to the left. The pain resonates to the left side of my nose, as well. There's no pain if I'm looking in any other direction. It feels like a pulled muscle, but there's no soreness or residual pain unless I move my eye to the left. I've had the pain for three days, and I can't tell if it's lessening.

I don't have insurance at the moment, so if anecdotal evidence indicates that this isn't a big thing, and will pass, I'd rather save the money.

Additional information: I wear contacts, but the pain is there with the contacts in or out. My vision is bad enough where contacts mostly correct it, but not completely. I'm in front of a computer each day, but rarely for several hours in a row.

(You are not my doctor, etc.)

Thanks for any help you can provide!

posted by Zosia Blue to health (5 comments total)

Sounds like allergies to me.
posted by infinitywaltz at 10:36 AM on September 8, 2007

(Don't know if it's relevant, but I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism/Hashimoto's. I'm not on meds yet, however.)
posted by Zosia Blue at 10:40 AM on September 8, 2007

Google iritis, and see an ophthalmologist.
posted by Loto at 10:54 AM on September 8, 2007

Ditto re: ophthalmologist.

I had continual eye pain that felt as if I had strained my eyes -- I had trouble focusing and went so far as to get OTC reading glasses to get some relief.

One day at work I leaned over in the darkroom and jabbed myself in the eye with a cardboard box I didn't know was there. I scraped my cornea and, after the initial injury, had multiple appointments with ophthalmologists. The whole time, I wondered about the pain in my right eye that existed before I scraped off a chunk of cornea. Vision tests showed that I still had excellent vision and didn't need corrective lenses.

During a followup, my doctor noticed that I had a cyst on a ligament that affected my ability to focus and put pressure on my eye. She said that it's not uncommon for patients with IBS to get these cysts. A course of steroid gel in the eye eventually eliminated it and the pain.
posted by bonobo at 11:13 AM on September 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

I would be concerned if it keeps up beyond the weekend. In the meantime, you really need to stop wearing your contact lenses. If there's something wrong with your eye, it doesn't need the added potential irritation & dryness that contacts provide. Put your glasses on and go see an eye doctor.
posted by tastybrains at 4:19 PM on September 8, 2007