Gritty, Dry, Painful Eyes, & Red around the Iris

For about a month now I have been experiencing a gritty feeling in the outer corners of my eyes. My eyes have been very dry and painful and just recently I noticed that they were red around the iris. I don't wear contacts. I also want to ment that about 3 months ago I noticed that the white part of my eye which is normally white, white had a bluish-gray tint that is still there, then shortly after that I started having problems with this gritty eye corners, over all dryness and very painful eyes. It hurts to blink. And not to mention they feel like there on fire. And I'm getting a very intense glare off of lighted objects ...  it's a pain to drive at anytime of the day between blinking signs and cars lights. What could be going on and should I be making the call to my opt?

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

Please see an ophthalmologist.

Dr. O.