Why are my eyes red?

Symptoms: You’re in your 60s and one of your eyes has gone suddenly red, your eyeball feels painful.

Your eye has become inflamed, and when you look at a light the image is fuzzy and your eye hurts.

Your eyes and the edges of your eyelids where the eyelashes grow are sore, red and scaly.

It could be: Glaucoma (red eye), which is due to an increase in pressure in the eyeball due to fluid within it being blocked from draining away.

Conjunctivitis (pink eye), an inflammation, usually due to infection of the transparent membrane (conjunctiva) that covers the whites of your eyes.

Blepharitis, when the tiny oil glands at the base of the eyelashes become clogged. This leads to irritated eyes. It doesn’t usually affect your eyesight. You may have a red, scaly dermatitis in your eyebrows and around your nose.

Stop it:

This is a medical emergency because the high pressure within your eyeball can damage your eyesight. Go immediately to A&E.

You need antibiotic eye drops, so go to you chemist where the pharmacist will probably make a diagnosis and give you the proper treatment.

This kind of blepharitis is part of seborrheic dermatitis can be treated with steroid creams or ointments which you can get from your doctor.