What causes excessive eye mucus? 5 types of abnormal secretions that cause excessive eye mucus

In daily life, many people will find such a phenomenon, that is, there will be a lot of eye mucus when they wake up, which seriously affects their personal image. People with too much eye mucus may have diseases in some aspects. So do you know what is the cause of too much eye mucus? What is the situation when babies have too much eye mucus? Now follow the editor of Encyclopedia Knowledge Network to learn more about it!

What is the cause of excessive eye mucus?

Normal people also have "eye mucus"

When a normal person gets up in the morning or washes his face, he will find a very small amount of secretion in the corner of his eye. This is related to the reduced eyelid movement during sleep at night, reduced tear secretion, and slow discharge. Normal eye secretions mainly come from the lacrimal glands, meibomian glands, mucus secreted by ocular surface cells, and shed ocular surface epithelial cells. Most of them are transparent or pale white and are usually not easy to detect. Since the amount of secretion 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 will notice a significant increase in secretions and feel a series of discomforts, such as difficulty opening the eyes in the morning and blurred vision.

At this time, in addition to the above-mentioned components, the secretions will contain more shed tissue cells, inflammatory cells, vascular exudates, pathogens, etc.

There are 5 main types of abnormal secretions

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

1. Watery secretions

It is a thin, slightly viscous watery liquid. Increased secretions often indicate viral keratoconjunctivitis, early tear duct obstruction, foreign bodies on the ocular surface, minor trauma, etc. Children may have epicanthus and trichiasis due to incomplete development of the nasal bridge, which often cause eye irritation symptoms and increased watery secretions. Abnormal eyelid position in the elderly, such as entropion or ectropion, can also cause increased watery secretions.

2. Sticky secretions

It often occurs in patients with dry eyes and acute allergic conjunctivitis, often manifesting as a sticky white thread-like 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 in children with allergic conjunctivitis, when they wake up in the morning, children often say that they can pull threads out of their eyes, which are often sticky secretions.

3. Mucopurulent secretions

It is a relatively viscous, slightly yellowish substance. If this type of secretion increases, the possibility of chronic allergic conjunctivitis and trachoma should be considered.

4. Purulent discharge

This is the most important issue! The appearance of purulent secretions often indicates bacterial infection and should be treated in hospital 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 leakage eyes". Patients with purulent dacryocystitis also often have purulent secretions, which are generally concentrated in the inner corner of the eye.

5. Bloody secretions

If the eye discharge is light pink or blood red, eye trauma should be considered. If the eye discharge is light pink or slightly blood red, acute viral infection should be considered. At this time, the patient will also have symptoms such as red eyes and swollen lymph nodes before the ears.

Unexplained tears may be caused by inappropriate glasses

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

Eye secretions form eye mucus. We can judge the health of the eyes through these normal secretions, which can be regarded as a physical examination of the eyes. However, if there is discomfort in the eyes, it is recommended to go to the hospital as soon as possible. After all, eye diseases cannot be solved by just looking at eye mucus. So we must take good care of the window of our soul and give it the most comprehensive care.

Baby's eye mucus

1. Conjunctival inflammation

After the baby is born, many parents are afraid that the child will catch a cold, so the room temperature at home is often high, and bacteria are easy to breed. In addition, newborns will unconsciously rub their eyes with their hands, which can easily cause conjunctivitis symptoms such as increased eye secretions and conjunctival congestion. If it is a serious bacterial infection, or a cold or fever occurs, the symptoms such as increased secretions, increased tears, and eye congestion will be more obvious, and it may also cause redness and swelling of the eyelid skin.

2. Countermeasures

Topical antibiotic eye drops and ointments can improve symptoms, and conjunctival irrigation can help subside inflammation.

Neonatal dacryocystitis

Neonatal dacryocystitis is caused by blockage of the tear duct and nasolacrimal duct, which are used to discharge tears. Because the embryonic residual membrane at the lower end of the nasolacrimal duct has not degenerated, it blocks the lower end of the nasolacrimal duct, and tears and bacteria accumulate in the tear sac under the skin at the inner corner of the eye, causing secondary infection. About 2% to 4% of full-term newborns have this residual membrane, and most of them can shrink on their own within 4 to 6 weeks.

1. Symptoms

The baby's tears increase on weekdays, the tear river formed by tears on the lower eyelid margin widens, and a small lump appears on the skin at the inner corner of the eye. After squeezing out the liquid, the lump may disappear temporarily. If secondary bacterial infection occurs, yellow-white secretions often appear at the corner of the eye, and yellow-white purulent secretions may overflow from the squeezing bulge.

2. Countermeasures

Massage the lacrimal sac and nasolacrimal duct from the root of the nose to the tip of the nose to increase the pressure in the duct and promote the rupture of the residual membrane. If there is a bacterial infection, give anti-infection treatment.

Afterword: After reading this article, I believe everyone must have some understanding of the causes of excessive eye mucus. If your baby has excessive eye mucus, you must pay attention, because it may be conjunctivitis, so parents must be more vigilant. You should develop a good sleeping habit at ordinary times, which is very beneficial to your health!