What causes red, bloodshot eyes after cycling?« Back to Questions List

Red, watery eyes after cycling may be related to environmental factors, eye strain, or dry eye, keratitis, or conjunctivitis, and usually require symptomatic treatment depending on the specific condition.

1.Environmental exposure: When riding a bicycle, the cool breeze, dust in the air, willow wool, etc. may cause irritation to the eyes, causing the capillaries on the eye surface to dilate and appear bloodshot. At this time, there is usually no need for special treatment, but you should wear goggles to protect your eyes when cycling in the future.

2.Excessive eye use: Looking at electronic devices such as mobile phones, computers and TV for a long time before or after cycling may lead to excessive eye use, causing visual fatigue and problems with the regulation of the ciliary muscles of the eyes, manifested by more red blood in the eyes and sore eyes. Patients should reduce the time spent with the eyes and pay attention to eye rest after looking at electronic screens for a long time to alleviate the situation of visual fatigue.

3.Dry Eye: It is an ocular disorder of tear secretion caused by a variety of factors, with dry eyes as the main symptom. When riding a bicycle, tears and other fluids in the eyes evaporate, which may aggravate the symptoms of dry eye patients, leading to insufficient tear secretion, making the tear film less stable, and excessive dryness of the eyes, causing redness, astringency and itching of the eyes. Patients may follow medical advice to use sodium vitreous acid eye drops, polyvinyl alcohol eye drops and other medications for treatment.

4.Keratitis or conjunctivitis: When the patient rides a bicycle, external substances such as cold wind will stimulate the eyes, causing discomfort in the eye area. If you rub your eyes with dirty hands at this time, it may cause bacteria and viruses to attack the cornea and conjunctiva of the eye, causing infection and inducing keratitis and conjunctivitis. Due to the stimulation of inflammatory factors, it will lead to more inflammatory secretions in the cornea and conjunctiva, causing the blood vessels in the eye to become inflamed and congested, resulting in red blood. Patients should practice good eye hygiene and avoid rubbing their eyes directly with their hands. They may also use tobramycin eye drops, chloramphenicol eye drops, ribavirin eye drops, and levofloxacin hydrochloride capsules for treatment.

If the situation of red blood in the eyes does not improve after cycling for a period of time, or even gradually worsens, patients are advised to visit the ophthalmology department of the hospital for ocular surface examination, fundus examination, etc., to clarify the specific situation and follow medical advice for active treatment.