I feel like a bonafide cyclops.

April 1, 2013 9:13 AM

My eye is giving me troubles. What's going on here?

Something is up with my tear duct. Blergh.

Issue: My eye (just one) is consistently weeping and has been for about 2 weeks now. It's not puss and there is no bump, just a constant flow of tears. I have extreme soreness in my tear duct area and after I apply a warm compress to it, there's a slight ting of dull pain every time I blink. Pushing on the duct ramps up the weeping. The past two days the side of my nose and eye socket area has been giving me dull but constant pain.

Relevant facts: I've been experiencing what I'm 99.8% certain is blephartis over the past year or so but that's always manifested differently from this. Also, about a month ago I dropped a mannequin from up high and it hit me right on the bridge of my nose. This happened at work and the only pain resulting from that (aside from the original "GODDAMMIT OW!") is this. I'm not sure if those two things are related to what I'm experiencing.

No bumps on the tear duct and the issue is not visible in any way, just highly annoying. My work is computer based and staring at a screen all day doesn't help, obviously.

Any thoughts on what this might be? I can't really afford a doctor's visit right now (I'm uninsured in small town rural America, where our land is devoid of any kind of free or reduced fee clinic) but I'll certainly go if it's necessary.

posted by youandiandaflame to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

Best answer: I wouldn't mess with my eye.

That said, it could be seasonal allergies. I had this last year when we had ridiculous high pollen counts. One eye swelled up, teared and really hurt. I got some expensive allery eye drops and it helped.

See if you can't see a doctor to rule out anything serious.

Some Wal-Marts have an Opthomologist in their Eye Centers, it's pretty inexpensive to see one, and well worth it. (Like $35) Explain that you're short of cash and that you're having this problem. He/She may give you some special drops and they might be free samples.

Another option would be a Doc-in-the-box, like at CVS-Minute Clinic. Again, the fee should be decent, and you'll see a Nurse Practitioner or a PA.

You want to avoid the Emergency room, which is so much more expensive than the other options.

Good luck.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:22 AM on April 1, 2013

Best answer: My husband, who is an ophthalmologist, but not your ophthalmologist, and is not dispensing actual medical advice without having examined you, says:

It sounds like it may be dacryocystitis (inflammation/infection of the lacrimal sac). This definitely requires antibiotics. See an ophthalmologist if you can (NOT an optometrist or optician) (though a non-ophthalmologist MD can prescribe antibiotics), and sooner rather than later, as this kind of infection can be serious.
posted by mothershock at 10:20 AM on April 1, 2013 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Did you get checked out after injuring your nose? It seems likely that you could have an injury to your nose or blockage in your sinuses that's putting pressure on your eye.

A long time ago I injured my nose, and had a lot of pain for a while afterwards that felt like soreness, as if someone had punched me in the eye. Part of the issue was that my sinuses couldn't drain properly.

I know nothing about worker's compensation law, but since the pain you are experiencing could be due to an injury that you sustained while you were working. Do some research--you might be covered under worker's comp.
posted by inertia at 10:22 AM on April 1, 2013

Response by poster: Did you get checked out after injuring your nose?

I did not. My boss' response to my letting her know I'd injured myself was "Glad we don't have to workman's comp that!". I'm thinking maybe we do.

Another little side effect (that's new today) is sort of a dull headache, kind of like a tension headache.

Ugh. I should probably take mothershock's advice and see a doc. I'll most likely see a regular ol' MD but will mention dacryocystitis and see what he says...
posted by youandiandaflame at 10:33 AM on April 1, 2013

Do not put off medical help. If your MD does not recognize the possible diseases mentioned above, find an ophthalmologist. If you need to make payment arrangements, so be it. But continuing to neglect treatment for your eye is not a good decision.
posted by Cranberry at 11:55 AM on April 1, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Anecdotally: Years ago I had a car door slam on the bridge of my nose. I was a grad student at the time, had no insurance, and didn't think it was that big of a deal. The cut on my nose healed, I had a tiny bump on my nose, no biggy right? Months passed. I kept having issues with my sinuses, and had terribly weeping eyes from allergies, sometimes developing allergic shiners. I had sinus issues just like you described, where I would go through periods of intense eye and front of my face pain, and then I developed a persistent cough due to the amount of sinus drainage. When I finally talked to a doctor and had a CAT scan, it turned out that the damage to the nose had really affected my sinuses, and I ended up having to have a septoplasty and turbinectomy to correct the damage. I'm mostly fine now, but am still prone to sinus infections.

I really wish I had seen a doctor sooner. Go see a doctor right away, and see if they will take a look at your sinuses as well.
posted by gemmy at 5:34 PM on April 1, 2013

Response by poster: Marked everything as best answer. EVERYTHING!

Went to a GP yesterday who sent me on to an eye specialist. For now, it looks like this is wholly related to the incident at work -- I've either fractured something (which scheduled x-rays should find) or I've...I don't know, disconnected some important shit my eye needs by busting my face with a mannequin.

Thanks for all the help, y'all. Glad I went to the doc on all the advice given...
posted by youandiandaflame at 6:22 AM on April 3, 2013