If the pain persists, book an appointment with your optometrist as soon as possible. If you’re experiencing sharp eye pain it could be due to debris in the eye - try to flush it out with lubricating drops. When should I be concerned about eye pain? Regardless of what you feel may be the cause of pain behind your eye, it’s always important to visit your optometrist for peace of mind. There are treatments available for these conditions, so it’s important not to ignore the symptom and to get your eyes tested as soon as possible. But there are occasions where pain behind the eye may indicate a more serious problem, such as scleritis (inflammation of the white part of your eye), optic neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerve), or acute angle-closure glaucoma. Migraines and, occasionally, sinus infections can be two common causes of pain behind one or both eyes. 1 What does a sharp pain behind your eye mean?

Some types of headaches, like cluster headaches, can result in painful, sudden experiences that can have eye-related symptoms such as eye swelling, light sensitivity, constricted pupil and eye redness. If you can’t see anything in your eye but pain persists, it’s a good idea to see your optometrist, to get to the bottom of what’s going on. They might recommend you pop in and see us for some help. If there is something sharp visible in your eye, don’t try to remove it yourself, but call your optometrist for advice. If you wear contact lenses, remove them and rinse them out with the cleaning solution. To resolve this at home, try flushing your eye with lubricating drops. When dirt, dust, or a foreign object gets into the eye, it can cause irritation and sharp pain. A common cause of sudden sharp pain in the eye is if a foreign body goes into your eye.

Pain behind eyeballs