Burning Eyes, Discharge and Swelling

Dear Ask The Doctor: Dear dr. i have eye boogers every morning i can hardly open my eyes but through out the day they burn alot !!! its hurts every time i blink and i get eye boogers constantly. What can i do and what can be the problem

Dear Giselle: Your symptoms could be due to conjunctivitis. Pink eye or conjunctivitis, is a form of eye infection (it is also called infectious conjunctivitis). Symptoms include a painful "gritty" feeling in the eye, eye drainage, blurry vision, and redness of the white part of the eye. In adults most cases of pink eye are caused by various viral infections. These tend to be self resolving and do not need any specific medication to speed up healing. Generally, they are treated with warm compresses to the eye and good hand hygiene (the drainage from the involved eye is full of virus and can easily spread the infection to your other eye or to another person). However, there are some cases of conjunctivitis that are caused by bacteria, and these should be treated with an antibiotic, usually just a topical antibiotic eye drop or eye ointment. Typically the conjunctivitis that is caused by a bacteria infection results in larger amounts of thick eye drainage and increased redness and pain. You should see your primary care doctor about this issue. They will be able to examine your eye and help determine whether or not your infection would benefit from a prescription for antibiotics. Good luck, and I hope you are feeling better soon!