Medical writer: Samantha Agcaoil
Although the most common Covid-19 symptoms are fever, fatigue, loss of smell, and coughing, some patients might develop eye problems. Occasionally, the virus affects the conjunctive and makes it red. However, many other triggers might cause watery and irritated eyes. It is important to be aware of them to know what to do and maintain basic hygiene to minimize the risk of infection.
COVID-19 and Your Eyes
The virus might get into the body through the eyes. Suppose you went to do your weekly shopping, and somebody who did not wear a mask sneezed into your face. It is highly unlikely, but a small drop of liquid might get into your eye and infect it. Even if an infected person just says something, an invisible drop might land on your eye’s membrane. But since during the pandemic everybody wears masks in public spaces, this infection mechanism is more likely to work when you are looking after somebody, and the patient does not wear a mask. In this case, wearing protective medical glasses is a good idea.
The chances are high to get an infection (not only Covid-19 but many others) into your eyes by rubbing them with dirty hands. You can infect the eyes with a bacteria or a virus, Covid-19 included.
Although it is not a very common way of becoming infected with Covid-19 (breathing the virus in is a more usual one), you need to remember that one could get infected through the eye membrane.
Medical goggles for those exposed to the virus and clean hands for everybody and everywhere are crucial.
Are Watery Eyes a Symptom of COVID-19?
Watery, irritated eyes could be caused by an infection or an allergy; so, this condition is not a specific symptom of COVID-19. Nevertheless, high fever and running nose often make eyes go watery and red. However, the same effect can be observed with a slight injury caused, for example, by a grain of sand blown into an eye or an uneven edge of a contact lens.
How Can Coronavirus Affect Your Eyes?
Regardless of how you got infected with the virus, red eyes might be an additional symptom giving extra discomfort to patients.
Coronavirus does not do any particular harm to a person’s vision, and the eye-related problems normally go away together with other viral symptoms.
Eye Care During the COVID-19 Outbreak
Some regular appointments are postponed or suspended because of Covid-19, but it is important to timely address all eye-related problems not caused by the coronavirus. Since a well-moisturized eye resists any infection naturally, a simple additional eye-care routine to consider is moisturizing drops. It is a particularly good idea taking into account an increased amount of screen time and eye strain the pandemic causes. Some eye vitamin supplements can be a good idea too.
How to Protect Your Eyes from the Coronavirus
Not touching your eyes with dirty hands, wearing a mask to protect others, and wearing protective glasses when exposed to the risk is the answer. In emergency cases, when dealing with an infected person who does not wear a mask, sunglass can work as a shield to protect your eyes from potentially dangerous drops of mucous.
But glasses might be a source of a potential danger too. When you are putting them on and taking them off, remember to sanitize your hands in advance. It is a good idea to regularly sanitize all personal belongings you carry around and use outside.
When to See a Doctor
You wake up one morning, and your eyes are red and watery. It could be all kinds of things, not necessarily Covid-19. It might be allergy, various infections, and even reaction to contact lenses if you wear them.
If you have some other worrying respiratory symptoms, you will probably contact your therapist anyway to check if they are Covid-related. If the only symptom you have is red and watery eyes and you never have an allergy before, the best way to deal with the problem is to make an appointment with an ophthalmologist. The doctor can see if there are any scratches on the eye membrane and do a test to check if there is an infection.
If the eyes are red and watery, you need to stop wearing contact lenses and switch to glasses. If you feel pain in your eyes, you need to visit a doctor immediately.
