Here’s why your eye pain might actually be an STI

Perhaps they should be called STeyes.

Sexually transmitted infections impact 1 in 5 people in the United States — and while symptoms in the nether regions are widely known, the eyes also provide a window to sexual health. 

“Eye pain and redness is usually one of the initial first signs,” Abbas Kanani, head pharmacist at the UK’s Chemist Click, told the Sun.

“However, because this is common and can be [due] to a number of different reasons, it can be easily overlooked.”

The nine most common signs of an STI in the eye are pain, redness, swelling, discharge, irritation, blurry vision, floating spots, sensitivity to light and sensitivity to touch. 

Here are the ways some common STIs can present in the eyes.

Chlamydia

Chlamydia is the most frequently reported STI in the US.

However, many people don’t know they have chlamydia because many people don’t have symptoms, or the symptoms they experience are very mild, according to Mayo Clinic. 

Kanani explained that chlamydia can sometimes be found in eyes.

“Irritation, pain, swelling and discharge, which usually affects one eye only, could be signs of chlamydia in the eye,” he said. 

Eye chlamydia is highly contagious and can spread from “genital fluid to eye contact, or even eye to eye contact,” Kanani said.

“It occurs when Chlamydia trachomatis — the bacteria that causes the infection — makes direct contact with the mucous membrane — the wet part of the eye,” he explained.

“It is also known as chlamydia conjunctivitis, or ocular chlamydia. Symptoms of early-stage chlamydia eye infections can be slow to develop.” 

Chlamydia can be treated with antibiotics, but left untreated it can cause a host of health issues such as pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, prostate gland infection, testicle infection, reactive arthritis, as well as ectopic pregnancy and infections in newborns, explained the Mayo Clinic. 

“Doxycycline is the first-line treatment, as it is more effective. Tablets are usually taken orally,” Kanani said.

“It is important to have an accurate diagnosis, because using eye drops for standard eye infections, not caused by chlamydia, will not help and can delay the recovery timeframe,” he added. “It is important to finish any course of antibiotics that you are prescribed, to ensure the infection is completely treated. Most cases clear up within a few weeks.”

Chlamydia is easily diagnosed by swabbing the affected area and can be prevented with condoms, regular screenings, and limiting sexual partners. 

Gonorrhea

Gonorrhea is the second-most commonly reported sexually transmitted disease in the country behind chlamydia.

While gonorrhea, caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae, is a treatable infection, antibiotic-resistant strains of gonorrhea are causing a public health crisis. 

The common STI can cause several ocular disturbances. 

“Both men and women can develop an infection, not only in the eyes but also in the rectum or throat, by having unprotected anal or oral sex,” Kanani said.

“Adults can [contract] it if their eyes come in contact with infected fluids.”

In addition to sensitivity to light, the infection can cause discharge, conjunctivitis, swelling of eye membranes, known as chemosis, and swelling of the lymph nodes. 

Left untreated, gonorrhea can cause serious and permanent health problems in women such as infertility, scar tissue that blocks fallopian tubes, pelvic pain and ectopic pregnancy. In rare cases, the STI can spread to blood or joints. An infection of the tubes attached to the testicles can cause infertility in men, according to the CDC.

Syphilis

While far less common than chlamydia and gonorrhea, syphilis cases are on the rise. Last year, there was a 26% rise in cases.

Caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum, syphilis can cause genital, anal and mouth sores, and if it affects the eyes and is left untreated it can lead to blindness.

“If you notice floating spots in the field of vision, sensitivity to light and changes in vision such as blurry vision, this may be an indication that you have contracted ocular syphilis,” Kanani said.

“If you think you may have an STI, including in the eye, you should seek treatment as soon as possible and inform recent sexual partners so that they can test too,” he added.

If not treated, it can lead to heart damage, damage to the nervous system, and skin, bone, or liver tumors, according to Penn Medicine.

Beyond potential STIs, symptoms of diabetes can present in the eyes, and regular eye-doctor visits can also clue doctors in about your dementia risk.