There could be many reasons why you experience a burning and irritated sensation in your eyes. In most cases this will clear up with the right treatment and cause no lasting damage to your vision, but if it progresses rapidly or becomes unbearable then it's important to seek more urgent medical attention. Typically, burning eyes will be a symptom of another underlying condition such as Dry Eye Syndrome or blepharitis (an inflammation of the eyelid).

Burning sensations in the eyes can also be a result of conjunctivitis or pink eye, which is an inflammation or infection of the clear membrane lining the eyelids. However, burning eyes could also be a sign that something in your environment is irritating you. This could be secondhand smoke, dust or other pollutants in the air. In this case, moving away from the source of irritation or eliminating it from the air will usually resolve the symptom. Sometimes, being exposed to bright lights or putting your contact lenses in can also cause your eyes to feel as if they are burning.

Burning eyes may also be accompanied by wateriness, redness, discharge and eye pain.Treating burning eyesAs a first step of treatment, you can try applying cool compresses to your eyes to see if this alleviates any of the sensation. If you have crusty discharge built up on your eyelids, use a warm compress to soften and remove it from the eye.

If the burning feeling is caused by a bacterial infection, it's important not to touch your eyes any more than you have to. Ensure your fingers are clean before you move them to the eye area. Burning eyes may also be eased by putting artificial tears in - however, do not use other types of eye drops as this may be more irritating. If you notice your vision is decreasing or see any thick greenish discharge, you need to talk to your doctor right away. Light sensitivity or eye pain should also be significant warning flags.