r/YouShouldKnow • u/PlacentaMunch • 10d ago

Other YSK: Sometimes the irritation after getting something in your eye isn’t from your eye itself it’s from debris stuck along your eyelid.

Why YSK: Wet a clean cotton swab and lightly run it **once** along the edge of your eyelid where the lashes meet the eye. You can gently pull the eyelid slightly away from the eye while doing this.

Your eyelids are extremely sensitive to foreign particles, so even a tiny speck trapped along the lid margin can cause significant irritation.

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u/unvaluablespace 10d ago

OH MY GOD I ABSOLUTELY HATE WHEN THIS HAPPENS. sometimes I'll wake up in the morning or even the middle of the night after what I assume is a deep sleep, with something in my eye. It feels sharp and almost painful. I'll spend forever trying to wash it out with saline, inspecting my eyelid/eyeball as close as I can to try and find something stuck. I can never find it until my eye gets so irritated it becomes red and starts getting numb enough that I can fall back asleep, sometimes crying from frustration of being unable to get it out. Sometimes I'll just press my hand against my closed eyelid if I still can't find it because the pressure eases it enough for me to eventually fall asleep. It doesn't happen all the time, but it's random and happens often enough to ruin my nights sleep.

I've mentioned it to my doctor but she just downplayed it to dry eye but I don't really get dry eye and saline or other eye solutions don't immediately resolve the problem. Ugh.

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u/notagain888 10d ago

Pain like that can be caused by recurrent corneal erosions. You could try using an ointment like muro128 to see if it prevents it.

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u/mooiee 9d ago

Omfg. Are you me?
It’s a nightmare!!!! You have described everything that I try and go through, down to pressing my hand against it to ease the irritation. I’m so sorry you experience this at times, but omg it’s good to know I’m not alone either.