Epiphora (Watery Eyes)

right eye tearing up meaning
right eye tearing up meaning

How is epiphora treated?

How your watery eyes are treated depends on what’s causing them. Many people experience temporary epiphora that clears up on its own without any treatment.

Your provider will tell you which type of treatment you’ll need. The most common treatments include:

  • Medications: You’ll need medication to treat your watery eyes if the epiphora is caused by allergies or an infection. If you have a condition like dry eye syndrome, your provider might prescribe artificial tears or prescription eye drops.
  • Removing foreign objects: If there’s something in your eye or something hit your eye and damaged it, your provider will remove it or treat the damage. You might need surgery if a foreign object severely damaged your eye.
  • Clearing blocked tear ducts: If you have blocked tear ducts, your provider will open them. They can flush them with a saline solution to rinse away the blockage. They can use a probe to open your tear ducts manually if they need to. If your tear ducts are damaged or blocked by something your provider can’t remove with either saline or a probe, you might need surgery to open them.
  • Repairing your eyes or eyelids: If the physical shape of your eyes or eyelids is causing epiphora, your provider will repair the damage. You might need surgery to correct some issues.

How do I manage symptoms of watery eyes?

Your provider will tell you how to manage your epiphora symptoms. If they prescribe a medication, make sure to take it or use it as often as they say.

This is especially true if they give you antibiotics for an infection. You need to take antibiotics for as long as your provider prescribes, even if your symptoms improve. If you don’t take the full course of antibiotics, the infection might come back, get worse or spread to other parts of your body.

Don’t rub your eyes. Don’t touch your eyeball with anything like a tissue or towel if you’re using one to dry excess tears — you might damage your eye or aggravate the cause of your watery eyes.