When you blow your nose, your eyes may water. This common physiological response is due to the interconnectedness of your facial anatomy, specifically the pathways linking your nasal passages and tear drainage system.
The Connection Between Your Nose and Eyes
Your eyes and nose are directly linked by a specialized drainage system known as the nasolacrimal apparatus. Tears, produced by the lacrimal glands, spread across the eye’s surface with each blink, keeping the eyes moist and clear. After lubricating the eye, tears collect at the inner corner and drain through two tiny openings called puncta. These puncta lead into small canals that merge into the lacrimal sac, located near the bridge of your nose.
The lacrimal sac then funnels tears into the nasolacrimal duct. This duct extends downward through a bony canal and opens into the nasal cavity, specifically into the inferior nasal meatus. This anatomical connection explains why your nose might run when you cry, as excess tears drain directly into your nasal passages. It also forms the basis for how pressure or irritation in one area can influence the other.
Why Your Eyes Water
When you blow your nose, the eyes can water due to a combination of mechanical pressure and a reflex response. Forceful nose blowing increases air pressure within the nasal cavity. This elevated pressure can push against the nasolacrimal ducts, potentially causing tears that are already within the drainage system to back up and overflow onto the eye’s surface. In some instances, this pressure can even force air or mucus from the nasal passages back up through the tear ducts and into the eye.
Beyond mechanical pressure, eye watering can also be triggered by a reflex mechanism involving the trigeminal nerve. This nerve has branches that innervate both the nasal passages and the eyes. When irritation occurs in the nasal cavity, such as from mucus, allergens, or the act of blowing, sensory signals are sent along the trigeminal nerve to the brain. The brain then initiates a protective reflex that stimulates the lacrimal glands to produce more tears, which helps to flush out irritants.
Conditions that cause nasal congestion and increased mucus production, like colds, allergies, or sinus infections, often exacerbate this effect. The inflammation and excess fluids in the nasal cavity increase the likelihood of tear overflow and more readily activate the reflex tearing mechanism, leading to more pronounced eye watering when the nose is blown.
When to Seek Medical Advice
While eyes watering when blowing your nose is typically a normal response, there are circumstances when it might signal an underlying issue. If the watering is persistent or excessive, a medical evaluation may be beneficial. Unilateral watering could indicate a localized problem such as a partially blocked tear duct.
Additional symptoms that warrant a doctor’s visit include pain, redness, or swelling around the eye or tear duct area. The presence of eye mucus discharge, crusty eyelashes, or any changes in vision should also prompt medical attention. These signs might suggest an infection, inflammation, or another condition affecting the tear drainage system or eye health.