Dry Eyes vs. Allergies

They look the same in the mirror. They're treated completely differently. And in Kerry, we see plenty of people who've been treating one when they had the other for years.

The quick test

| Symptom | Dry Eye | Allergy | |---|---|---| | Itching | Mild | Intense | | Worse in wind / A/C | Yes | Sometimes | | Worse in pollen season | Sometimes | Yes | | Better with antihistamines | No | Yes | | Better with warm compress | Yes | No | | Gritty / burning | Yes | Rare | | Stringy mucus | Rare | Yes |

If your itch is the loudest symptom, think allergy first. If burning and grittiness lead, think dry eye.

Why the confusion happens

Chronic allergies dry the eye out. Chronic dry eye triggers histamine. So you can absolutely have both — and treating only one leaves you miserable.

What to do

• Allergy-dominant: over-the-counter olopatadine drops + oral antihistamine for the season
• Dry-eye-dominant: warm compress + preservative-free drops, and a professional assessment if it doesn't clear
• Both: get imaging. IRPL treats the dry-eye component and reduces the inflammatory load that worsens allergies

Take our quiz — it separates the two in six questions.