Sudden Eye Swelling

Last night I noticed a sudden swelling of my left eye. This has happened once before, where one eye suddenly swells up, seemingly without any reason. The swelling is concentrated in my lower eyelid, and there is only mild discomfort due to the swelling. I have not noticed any itching or pain, and the swelling has mostly disbursed by this morning.

Both times I was sitting in front of a computer screen at night, but this is the only correlation I can think of. I cannot remember if the swelling was in the same eye both times. I used Visine drops, applied a cold compress and slept with extra pillows to elevate my head. I am just wondering what the possible cause could be so I can avoid future occurrences.

[Michael J Kutryb, MD]

It seems like you took a pretty common sense approach to treating it.  It could be an allergic phenomenon most likely but there are other possibilities that are less common.  Fluid retention due to heart or kidney problems should be considered.  Try taking an allergy drop everyday even when doing well - something like Zaditor over the counter.  See an ophthalmologist in the meantime. Avoid rubbing your eyes as it will worsen things.

Michael Kutryb, MD