Many people experience eye pain when coughing. While often temporary and not serious, this symptom can sometimes indicate an underlying health issue. Understanding its causes and when it might be more than fleeting discomfort can help manage the symptom.
How Coughing Affects Your Eyes
Coughing involves a forceful expulsion of air, rapidly increasing pressure throughout the body. This intra-abdominal and intrathoracic pressure builds as abdominal and chest muscles contract and vocal cords briefly close.
This sudden pressure surge transmits through the vascular system, impacting blood vessels and tissues in the head, including those surrounding the eyes. The elevated pressure can cause small blood vessels in the eyes to strain or even rupture, leading to visible redness or, in some cases, a subconjunctival hemorrhage—a harmless bruise on the eye’s surface. The pressure can also temporarily affect nerves around the eyes, resulting in pain or discomfort.
Common Causes of Eye Pain When Coughing
Many factors contribute to eye pain when coughing, most of which are benign. Dry eyes, for instance, can become more irritated during a cough due to temporary pressure changes and increased eye movement. Prolonged screen use or other activities that strain the eyes can also make them more sensitive, leading to discomfort when coughing.
Common causes include:
- Allergies, such as hay fever, which cause eye irritation, itching, and watering that intensify with coughing.
- Sinus pressure from conditions like sinusitis, where inflamed air cavities near the eyes cause pain exacerbated by coughing.
- Conjunctivitis (pink eye), an inflammation of the eye’s surface causing pain, redness, and discharge, which coughing can aggravate.
- Muscle strain around the eyes or head from forceful coughing.
- A foreign body sensation, like a small particle in the eye, becoming more noticeable with the jarring motion of a cough.
When to Seek Medical Attention
While eye pain when coughing is often harmless, certain accompanying symptoms suggest a more serious underlying condition that requires medical evaluation. If the pain is severe or persistent, seek professional medical advice. Vision changes, such as blurred vision, double vision, sudden vision loss, new floaters, or flashes of light, warrant immediate attention.
Other red flag symptoms include significant eye redness or discharge, especially if thick and colored. The presence of a fever, a severe headache, or increased sensitivity to light (photophobia) alongside eye pain should also prompt a visit to a healthcare provider. An eye injury, regardless of how minor, combined with pain when coughing, also necessitates medical assessment.
Relieving Eye Discomfort
For eye discomfort when coughing that is not accompanied by concerning symptoms, several practical measures can help alleviate the irritation. Staying well-hydrated supports overall eye moisture and tear production, reducing dryness. Over-the-counter lubricating eye drops (artificial tears) can provide immediate relief by moistening the eye surface.
Consider these measures:
- Resting your eyes, especially after prolonged screen time, to reduce strain.
- Applying a warm compress to soothe discomfort and relax eye muscles, or a cool compress to reduce swelling and pain.
- Avoiding rubbing your eyes, which can worsen irritation or introduce infection.
- Managing the underlying cough with measures like cough drops or a humidifier to indirectly lessen eye discomfort.
These approaches aim for symptomatic relief and are not a substitute for professional medical advice if more serious symptoms are present.