Minor irritation in the eyes may be common, but pain is uncommon unless the eye has been injured. Also, sensitivity to light may be natural, but a more severe and sudden sensitivity to light that is long lasting may be a sign of a more serious problem such as glaucoma or an inflammation of the muscles that control the pupil.

Conjunctivitis, or pinkeye as it commonly called, may have a number of different causes. Pinkeye may be caused by a bacterial infection, a viral infection, irritants (dust, soap, etc.), or allergies (dust, pollen, etc.). When caused by bacteria or virus, Conjunctivitis may be very contagious, so practicing good hygiene when around a person infected with pinkeye may be the best way to prevent the condition. Patients may experience redness in the white of the eye, a teary eye, discharge from the eye, itchy or burning in the eye, blurred vision or an increased sensitivity to light.

An infection in the oil glands along the edge of the eyelid is called a stye. It may look similar to a pimple as it develops. A stye may develop from rubbing the eye or using products that may irritate the eye. A stye may go away on its own, but home treatment may be effective in treating the condition. Warm compressions to the eye, taking over-the-counter medication and avoiding makeup and other products that are applied around the eye may help treat a stye.

Colorblindness may be present at birth. It may occur when the color-sensitive pigment in the cone cells of the retina are absent. People with colorblindness may have trouble seeing reds, blues and greens. Colorblindness may have no effective treatment, as it may be an inherited disorder. Other eye problems may include cataracts (cloudy area in the eye), macular degeneration (damage to the retina that causes vision problems), night blindness and uveitis (inflammation or swelling in the eye).

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