Eye "Pressure" what could it mean?

[vivian3090]

I have been having this feeling in my left eye as if it's either swollen or that there's a slight pressure. (when I say pressure, I feel that something is pushing against the outer part of my left eye)

I have been on Flarex for about a month, but when they checked my pressure last month,
My eye pressure is in normal range (13 in my left, 14 in my right).

I've experienced this feeling before I was on Flarex, but it went away, but now probably a week before i have my follow up with my cornea specialist, my eyes have decided to act up again.

I was just wondering your opinions on exactly what is causing this? I know "dry eyes" cause it, but what exactly is going on that is causing this feeling? If it's something that can be fixed, what helps you make the feeling not as prominent?

[jenny2008]

i dont know if this will help you but my left eye a lot of times feels like there is something in it or a type of presuure on it... It could just be the ext dryness.of course please ask your doc.. i have asked and i am always told the same thing-its the dryness... but i would def get it checked out but i too a lot of times feel like my eye or eyes are going to "pop outa my head.... ope u feel better ..

[vivian3090]

Yeah it could be! I hadn't had it in awhile.
I think it could be linked to me using restasis. the other day I took a dose for the first in a a few weeks. The next day (yesterday) my eyes were really red and irritated and had that pressure feeling. Today it was the pressure feeling and they feel EXTRA dry today. UGH. I hate that feeling!

[zuzu70]

I'm not much help but I know I get that feeling when I've had my contacts in too long...but I only get that feeling in one eye. I always thought it was hypoxia (not enough oxygen), from my eyeball needing to "breathe" without the contact covering it, but maybe I was wrong all along and it was the dryness. Although, installing artificial tears never seems to help the pressure feeling for me. I would be very interested to learn if anyone has a definitive answer on what causes that pressure feeling.

For me it's always been in the upper medial quadrant of my right eye. I have noticed that that pressure feeling is much much worse since I've begun having a dry eye (in my case very easy to define since it started with my punctal snip surgery). In which case I feel really really stupid because snipping my puncta was probably the worst possible thing I could have done for myself. Why don't we get mulligans in life like on the golf course?

[abbygirl]

Zuzu70,
I don't know if this will help you but when I have that pressure/dry feeling up under my eyelid I use a thicker PF drop (I use Optive) and I lie down, tilt my head back and lift my upper lid and instill a drop so that it gets up under your upper lid. Keep your eye closed for awhile and let the drop cover your upper eyeball. If this feels too "sticky" then start off with a thinner drop.

Be sure your feeling of pressure isn't really high eye pressure. Have you had your pressure taken at the doc's lately??

[zuzu70]

Thanks, I will try that under-the-upper-lid technique. I last had a regular eye exam last October. The "pressure" feeling just seems to correlate so directly to my contact wearing. Before the surgery I would get that feeling after 12 hours of contact wearage, in which case I'd know it was time to take 'em out. Now since the surgery I start to get that feeling after maybe 5 hours.

[Tankie]

Here's some info about eye pressure.

Ocular Hypertension:
- Eye pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).
- Normal eye pressure ranges from 10-21 mm Hg.
- Ocular hypertension is an eye pressure of greater than 21 mm Hg.

Ocular Hypertension Symptoms:
- Most people with ocular hypertension do not experience any symptoms. For this reason, regular eye examinations with an ophthalmologist are very important to rule out any damage to the optic nerve from the high pressure.
- Any feelings of "high pressure" in your eyes is probably something else. I'm not saying that you can't possibly have high pressure, but what I am saying is that there's really no way you could know that you had high pressure simply from a "heavy feeling" in your eyes. The only way to know your pressure is to have it tested... yours was 13 and 14 which is totally normal.
- I personally have been as low as 9 before, and has high as 20. The variation is pretty much entirely based on the different drops I've been on. I hit 20 when I was on steroid eye drops for about a month. Generally speaking, my eyes are in the 11 to 13 range.

What Happens if your Eye Pressure is Too High?
- Generally speaking, you'll be at risk of acquiring glaucoma or cataracts.
- Glaucoma is damage to your optic nerve. This can lead to blindness.
- Cataracts is when the lens of your eyes gets cloudy. Generally speaking, cataracts can be removed by a cataract surgeon, but it's still better to avoid it.