Five-Year-Old Complaining of Eye Pain

Ask an Eye M.D. Answer Archive

Question:
My 5-year-old daughter has been complaining of intermittent eye pain for the last 3 weeks. There is no redness, puffiness, allergies or anything associated with it, and most of the time she is lying down when she says her eyes themselves hurt or the socket bone hurts. Is this a common complaint—could it be growing issues? I am afraid she may have cancer as it runs in our family.      

Answer:
Your child's problem is not likely to be due to a growing issue. Eye pain can be due to a serious problem or can be due to minor, self-limiting problems. If pain persists, and/or if there are other associated problems, evaluation by an Eye M.D.  is very important. The potential causes of eye pain are too numerous to list here.

Answered by: David K. Coats, MD

Categories: Eye Conditions, Children's Eye Health

Have a question that hasn't been answered yet? Ask it!