Suddenly, my eyes are sensitive to sweat?

mkculs
mkculs Posts: 316 Member
edited November 29 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm a world-class sweater, and always have been. In the past week or so, my eyes have started to burn when the sweat gets into them. It's cooler now and I'm sweating less, but my eyes are reacting more. They are also super itchy and just "not right." I'll be seeing my doctor but I am just wondering if anyone has any thoughts? We have basically no pollen right now--too cold. Heat has been off and on; that's the only other change in the recent past that I can think of. Oh, and they've been itching despite my regular use of 24-hour antihistamine for seasonal allergies, which I won't be taking after a couple more days of the colder weather.

TIA for any ideas or suggestions.

Replies

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Are you ingesting anything new?
  • mkculs
    mkculs Posts: 316 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    Are you ingesting anything new?

    No. The symptoms, and heat on and off over the past few days, are the only changes that I can identify. I think the symptoms started before the heat went on, though. Can't say for sure.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    My eye doctor told me that sometimes when people don’t know why their eyes are dry, it can be because they spend a lot of time sitting near a vent or fan. The air blowing from the vent can dry your eyes out. If you just turned the heat on, maybe that’s something to consider.
  • mkculs
    mkculs Posts: 316 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    My eye doctor told me that sometimes when people don’t know why their eyes are dry, it can be because they spend a lot of time sitting near a vent or fan. The air blowing from the vent can dry your eyes out. If you just turned the heat on, maybe that’s something to consider.

    Thanks; that could certainly be related. I'm right under a vent at my new work site.

  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    Any skincare changes? I started having issues like that a while back, and it turned out my sunscreen was sliding down my skin when I sweat and got into my eyes.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    My eyes always burn when I get sweat in them.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    Any change in your sodium intake? I've noticed if my sweat is super salty, beyond normal, it burns like heck when it drips into my eyes.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    mkculs wrote: »
    apullum wrote: »
    My eye doctor told me that sometimes when people don’t know why their eyes are dry, it can be because they spend a lot of time sitting near a vent or fan. The air blowing from the vent can dry your eyes out. If you just turned the heat on, maybe that’s something to consider.

    Thanks; that could certainly be related. I'm right under a vent at my new work site.

    You can get some 'artificial tears' OTC at a nearby drug store. That might help.
  • mkculs
    mkculs Posts: 316 Member
    RelCanonical wrote: »
    Any skincare changes? I started having issues like that a while back, and it turned out my sunscreen was sliding down my skin when I sweat and got into my eyes.

    Nope. I know better than to put anything on my face before running :) and use hats/sun avoidance techniques to prevent more sun damage to my face.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited October 2018
    mkculs wrote: »
    RelCanonical wrote: »
    Any skincare changes? I started having issues like that a while back, and it turned out my sunscreen was sliding down my skin when I sweat and got into my eyes.

    Nope. I know better than to put anything on my face before running :) and use hats/sun avoidance techniques to prevent more sun damage to my face.

    Do you wash your face before running? Do you use a sweatband to keep sweat from your scalp from running onto your face? It could still be something from your skin or hair care products. There can be residue from skin care for more than 24 hours and hair products often will stay until washed off.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    I was running in the 110 heat in Albuquerque and due to the extremely low humidity the sweat evaporating as fast as it came to my skin. Not being from there I got lost and stopped to pull up a map on my phone. It was only then that I started sweating and one drop hit my eye. The salt concentration was so high it burned like it was acid. Very uncomfortable.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    mkculs wrote: »
    I'm a world-class sweater, and always have been. In the past week or so, my eyes have started to burn when the sweat gets into them. It's cooler now and I'm sweating less, but my eyes are reacting more. They are also super itchy and just "not right." I'll be seeing my doctor but I am just wondering if anyone has any thoughts? We have basically no pollen right now--too cold. Heat has been off and on; that's the only other change in the recent past that I can think of. Oh, and they've been itching despite my regular use of 24-hour antihistamine for seasonal allergies, which I won't be taking after a couple more days of the colder weather.

    TIA for any ideas or suggestions.
    mkculs wrote: »
    apullum wrote: »
    My eye doctor told me that sometimes when people don’t know why their eyes are dry, it can be because they spend a lot of time sitting near a vent or fan. The air blowing from the vent can dry your eyes out. If you just turned the heat on, maybe that’s something to consider.

    Thanks; that could certainly be related. I'm right under a vent at my new work site.

    I often have problems when the heat first comes on in the fall because of 6 months accumulated dust burning off the vents. A few weekends ago I asked my OH to vacuum the vents and have the heat on for a few hours while I was at my mothers'. He decided to use the leaf blower and blow off the vents. Yes, he succeeded in getting the dust off the vents, but then there was dust EVERYWHERE else >.<
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,638 Member
    Sweat does burn, IME. Have you thinned or trimmed your eyebrows?

    Another thing, much lower probability: I got itchy eyes, then a sort of mini-rash next to one, following weight loss (don't know if it was related). Turned out to be something called peri-orificial dermatitis. It's a little mysterious, but my dermatologist put me on antibiotics (??!?) for a couple of months, and it cleared up. They don't seem to know what really causes it, or why the antibiotics work.
  • Torxa
    Torxa Posts: 61 Member
    mkculs wrote: »
    apullum wrote: »
    My eye doctor told me that sometimes when people don’t know why their eyes are dry, it can be because they spend a lot of time sitting near a vent or fan. The air blowing from the vent can dry your eyes out. If you just turned the heat on, maybe that’s something to consider.

    Thanks; that could certainly be related. I'm right under a vent at my new work site.

    When you next go into work, you should adjust the vent so it doesn't blow directly on you. If you can't do that for whatever reason, you should call maintenance (or whoever) and have it done. If someone at your job protests, please bring up the vent at your appointment and try and get a note requiring the vent to not be aimed at you.
  • funjen1972
    funjen1972 Posts: 949 Member
    My eyes BURNED earlier this week from sweat. It was so bad had to stop running and flush them out. I finally figured out the cause - I changed the brand of hair product and it was running into my eyes. Manufacturers change ingredients all the time so you could be sensitive to a new ingredient, not just a new product.
  • DoubleUbea
    DoubleUbea Posts: 1,115 Member
    The air vents could be something, with the colder weather the AC is off and the heat is now coming on. Dust, mold or whatever that was in that area of the unit is now being blow around.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    collectingblues wrote: »
    Any change in your sodium intake? I've noticed if my sweat is super salty, beyond normal, it burns like heck when it drips into my eyes.

    I second this. I know, back when I had hair, if I used any kind of product... ie gel, hairspray ect.. if I would sweat heavy it would burn my eyes like crazy.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    funjen1972 wrote: »
    My eyes BURNED earlier this week from sweat. It was so bad had to stop running and flush them out. I finally figured out the cause - I changed the brand of hair product and it was running into my eyes. Manufacturers change ingredients all the time so you could be sensitive to a new ingredient, not just a new product.

    I learned my lesson about that. I am allergic to formadehyde. No problem unless you work in a biology lab or mortuary, right? Nope. It is a common byproduct of the preservatives used in hair and skin products and also is a hardener in nail polish. I used a formaldehyde free brand of polish for years. Bought a new bottle and within a day I was developing hives all over my face and neck. Turns out they started using formaldehyde resin. They could still call it "formaldehyde free" but I am just as allergic to the resin. I also make my own "lotions and potions" so I can avoid the preservatives as well as pre-wash all clothing and sheets before using because formaldehyde is the most common fabric treatment during manufacturing.

    OP, start with the easiest things to test: wash your face with water only before running and use something to absorb the sweat from your hair. See if that makes a difference. if not, try something else. Often, figuring out what is causing the issue is nothing more than the process of elimination.
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