Why Allergies Affect Your Eyes

Nasal Allergies Affecting Your Eyes? They're Connected.

It's a beautiful spring day for a family picnic. The children are playing frisbee, and you are just happy to spend time outside after a long, gloomy winter indoors. You sneeze once or twice and shrug it off to a dose of bright sunshine. Shortly thereafter, you are sniffling, have a stuffy nose, and feel like your head will explode. By the time the children are finished, you look like you have been crying all night and probably feel like it too. Why do nasal allergies commonly affect our eyes?

It's All Connected

Tears collect at the lower inner corners of our eyes in a pouch known as the lacrimal sac. When the pouch is full, overflow empties into channels or canaliculi. Ending points for these channels are located in our nose.

The Eyes and Nose are Entry Points for Many Substances

Our nose serves as the entry point for most of the air we breathe and has a built-in filtration system to keep harmful particles from entering our windpipe and lungs. The lining in our nose has direct communication with our immune system to release fighting agents when irritating or harmful substances are detected.

Our eyes are covered by a very similar type of lining known as the conjunctiva. This lining along with our eyelashes and blinking reflexes protect our eyes from particles and objects that can damage our eyes potentially affecting our vision. Much like the nose, the conjunctiva has its own means to trigger the immune system to fight off damaging substances.

An Overly Protective Immune System

Once an irritant or potential allergen is detected by the linings in our eyes and nose, fighting agents known as histamines are released into our systems. Histamines are not very selective, so both eyes and nose can be affected. These agents hasten blood flow to the areas causing swelling, redness and congestion. Our bodies produce more tears and mucous to help cleanse itself of the culprit. Our eyes become swollen, itchy, and red. Tears empty into our nose, which becomes congested, and our sinuses can swell creating pressure and fullness in our heads.

Nasal allergies can affect our eyes, and eye allergies can affect our noses. It's all connected.