Discharge too disgusting? Health status at a glance

When people wake up in the morning, they often have "eye boogers" in their eyes. This is a very normal thing, but I don't know if you have ever observed the specific color and characteristics of your eye boogers when you wake up in the morning. Because different shapes of eye secretions may also indicate whether you have a disease. Let’s learn how to identify whether your eye secretions will cause you to suffer from illness.

The normal eye secretions of a person mainly come from the lacrimal glands, meibomian glands, mucus secreted by ocular surface cells, and desquamated ocular surface epithelial cells. Most of them are transparent or light white and are usually not easy to detect. Because the amount of secretions is small and can be discharged from the tear duct in time, it will not cause eye discomfort. When certain eye diseases occur, the amount or nature of eye secretions will change. Usually, people notice a significant increase in secretions and feel a series of discomforts, such as difficulty opening their eyes in the morning and blurred vision. In this case, the secretions will contain, in addition to the above, more shed tissue cells, inflammatory cells, vascular exudates, pathogens, etc.

Depending on the viscosity, color and other properties of the secretions, they can be divided into watery, viscous, mucopurulent, purulent, bloody secretions, etc. Secretions of different natures can help us preliminarily determine the approximate nature of eye diseases so that we can take appropriate treatment measures.

Watery discharge

It is a thin, slightly viscous watery liquid. Increased secretion often indicates viral keratoconjunctivitis, early tear duct obstruction, foreign bodies on the ocular surface, minor trauma, etc. Since the bridge of the nose in children is not fully developed, some children may have epicanthus and inverted eyelashes, which often cause eye irritation symptoms and increased watery secretions. If the eyelid position of the elderly is abnormal, such as entropion or ectropion, it will also cause an increase in watery secretions.

Sticky secretions

It often occurs in patients with dry eyes and acute allergic conjunctivitis, and often manifests as a sticky white filamentous substance, which is very similar to the properties of commonly used glue. Patients may also have symptoms such as foreign body sensation and itchy eyes. Especially for children with allergic conjunctivitis, when they wake up in the morning, they often say that they can pull out threads from their eyes, which are often sticky secretions.

Mucopurulent secretions are relatively viscous, slightly yellowish substances. If this type of secretion increases, the possibility of chronic allergic conjunctivitis and trachoma should be considered.

Purulent discharge

This is the issue that should be taken seriously! The appearance of purulent secretions often indicates bacterial infection and you must go to the hospital for treatment in time. If a large amount of purulent secretions are found in both eyes of a newborn within 3-4 days after birth, it is highly suggestive of gonococcal conjunctivitis, commonly known as "pus discharge from the eyes." Patients with purulent dacryocystitis often have purulent secretions, which are generally concentrated in the inner corner of the eye.

Bloody discharge

If you find that your eye discharge is light pink or obviously blood red, you should consider eye trauma. If the eye secretions are light pink or slightly bloody, acute viral infection should be considered. At this time, the patient will also have symptoms such as red eyes and swollen preauricular lymph nodes.

Crying for no reason

In addition, if myopia or astigmatism is not corrected in time or the glasses are not suitable, watery secretions will increase after reading for a long time, accompanied by eye fatigue. It should be emphasized that if parents find that their child's eyes have increased watery secretions, are always "tearful", and have larger pupils, they should go to the hospital for examination to rule out congenital glaucoma.

It is particularly important to identify your physical health status through eye secretions. In addition, do not rub your eyes with dirty hands and pay attention to eye hygiene. Anyone with eye discomfort should go to the hospital for treatment promptly.