Bad indoor air quality may affect eye health. When the eyes are directly exposed to airborne irritants, you could experience itchiness, swelling, dry eyes, or pink eye. Chronic effects could also include glaucoma or macular degeneration.
If you notice that your eye symptoms consistently improve when you leave your home and worsen when you return, it may be an indication that your indoor air quality is the source of the problem.
You can take steps to improve air quality indoors where you live. An eye doctor or eye care professional may also be able to help guide you on specific eye health concerns, preventative measures, and care plans.
Research suggests that air quality, both indoors and outdoors, can affect your eye health and lead to both immediate and longer-term chronic effects.
This 2022 research review analyzed the issue after the COVID-19 pandemic, when many people were indoors. It reinforced the findings and pointed to possible eye effects related to air quality issues within homes.
The
| Eye condition | Symptoms |
|---|---|
| General irritation, eye discomfort | Stinging, burning, itching, excessive watering (tearing), or a feeling of grittiness or a foreign body in the eye |
| Dry eyes | Redness, blurred vision, eye fatigue, and chronic discomfort. Poor air quality can make dry eye worse by causing tears to evaporate too quickly or damaging the glands that produce tear components |
| Pink eye (conjunctivitis) | Inflammation and redness of the clear layer over the white of the eye and the inner eyelid (conjunctiva) |
While the immediate symptoms are usually irritation, long-term exposure to certain air pollutants may be associated with more serious conditions, including:
- Cataracts: The gradual clouding of the eye’s lens that may include symptoms such as blurry vision, light sensitivity, and difficulty seeing at night.
- Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD): A condition that damages the macula and can lead to loss of central vision.
- Glaucoma: A group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve.
There isn’t clear evidence showing a direct cause, but the research indicates that chronic air pollution — particularly outdoors, but not necessarily limited to that setting — may contribute to these health issues.
These long-term risks are often linked to the chronic inflammation and oxidative stress that pollutants induce on the ocular surface and within the eye.
Research also shows that air pollutants and air quality indoors can worsen various eye conditions, including glaucoma and diabetes-related retinopathy.
People’s specific eye health issues due to air quality issues inside their homes can depend on many factors, including the specific substances or
Pollutants that may affect your eyes include:
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs): Gases emitted from common household products like paints, cleaning supplies, aerosols, air fresheners, furniture, and building materials can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation.
- Particulate matter: These tiny solid or liquid particles from sources like smoking, cooking fumes, and dust can settle on the eye’s surface, causing irritation and inflammation.
- Smoke: Tobacco, vaping, smoke from wood-burning fireplaces or unvented cooking can contain fine particles and chemicals that are direct eye irritants.
- Mold spores: In damp environments, mold releases spores that can float in the air and trigger allergic reactions, leading to red, itchy, and watery eyes.
- Low humidity: While not a pollutant, low indoor humidity, often caused by heating or air conditioning systems, contributes significantly to tear evaporation, directly causing or worsening dry eye symptoms.
You can take steps to improve the air quality in your home. This may include:
- Limit exposure to and the presence of different pollutants where you live
- Use an air purifier with a high quality filter
- Make sure your air ducts are cleaned regularly
Indoor air quality can be a source of pollutants and irritants that may affect your eye health.
This can lead to immediate symptoms, including itchy or red eyes, pink eye, and dry eyes. Air quality concerns indoors can also potentially lead to chronic effects later on, such as glaucoma or macular edema.
If you notice that your eye symptoms consistently improve when you leave your home and worsen when you return, it may be an indication that your indoor air quality is the source of the problem.
You can take steps to improve air quality indoors where you live. An eye doctor or eye care professional may also be able to help guide you on specific eye health concerns, preventative measures, and care plans.