What are the symptoms of eye infections?
Eye infection symptoms include redness, watery or yellow-green discharge that crusts the lashes, itching or burning, a gritty foreign-body feeling, eyelid swelling, and excess tearing. Pain, light sensitivity, or blurred vision are warning signs that the cornea may be involved.
The Common Symptom Picture
Most eye infections share a recognizable set of surface symptoms:
- Redness — the white of the eye or the inner eyelid looks pink or red as irritated blood vessels dilate
- Discharge — watery, yellow, green, or crusty fluid that can glue the eyelids shut after sleep
- Itching or burning — a gritty, scratchy feeling, common with allergic and viral conjunctivitis
- Eyelid swelling — puffy lids, or a tender red lump on the lid edge (a stye)
- Excess tearing — the eye waters as it tries to flush out the infection
- Foreign-body sensation — a persistent feeling that something is stuck in the eye
What the Type of Discharge Suggests
Thick yellow or green discharge that keeps returning after you wipe it points toward a bacterial infection. Thin, watery discharge with a lot of redness and a recent cold or sore throat is more typical of a viral infection, which is very contagious. Stringy, ropey discharge with intense itching in both eyes, often seasonal, suggests allergy rather than infection. This distinction guides whether antibiotic drops will help.
The Symptoms That Signal Danger
Some symptoms mean the infection has moved beyond the surface and may be threatening your sight. Treat these as warning signs, not routine:
- Eye pain beyond mild grittiness
- Light sensitivity (photophobia) — real discomfort in bright light, which can mean the cornea is involved
- Blurred or decreased vision that does not clear when you blink away discharge
- Deep aching or a red eye in a contact-lens wearer, who is at higher risk for corneal infection
If any of these appear, the situation is no longer a simple case of pink eye. Learn which symptoms map to an ER visit on our related pages, and for the full clinical picture, see our eye infections page.
When You’re Not Sure
Symptoms can overlap, and a mild-looking eye can hide a corneal problem. If your symptoms are worsening or you have pain, light sensitivity, or vision change, walk in to Bellaire ER at 5302 Bellaire Blvd or call (713) 660-0001 any time — we are open 24/7 with on-site diagnostics.