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Original poster

Hair growing out of conjunctiva of eye??

24 replies

Eyehelpplease · 08/02/2021 20:09

I have had a mildly sore eye for a couple of days. It hurts if I press on the outer corner of the eye but I couldn’t tell if it was the eyelid or eyeball that was hurting.

On closer inspection it is a bit red and there is a small hair in the conjunctiva. It doesn’t shift if I try to move it with a cotton bud so I think it’s either attached or buried in the tissue.

I’m guessing this hair is causing the pain by rubbing on the eyeball.

Shall I try to tweezer it out or is that a bad idea? If not, who shall I see? Optician, GP..? Anyone had experience of this?

Hair growing out of conjunctiva of eye??
OP posts:
withmycoffee · 08/02/2021 20:11

I'd pluck it

LunaHeather · 08/02/2021 20:13

Argh
Don't go near it with tweezers
See the optician

Norwester · 08/02/2021 20:13

GP! Do not put rub cotton buds on your eye and deffo no tweezers!!

Original poster
Eyehelpplease · 08/02/2021 20:28

Thanks guys.

I hate the doctors and am quite tempted to pluck it rather than have to try to get an appointment - though I appreciate it’s probably not the sensible option!! I just don’t understand where it’s come from and scared it’ll grow back worse!

OP posts:
helpfulperson · 08/02/2021 20:28

I would go ad and see your local optician. Better for anything eye related than a GP.

HerNameIsIncontinentiaButtocks · 08/02/2021 20:35

Optician, as soon as possible - that can cause damage.

Over in the "weird shit you never ask about" thread recently there were loads of people who said they had this, by the way.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4155019-stuff-you-think-must-happen-to-other-people-but-can-t-risk-asking

maggiso · 08/02/2021 20:45

It’s hard to tell from the photograph, is it at the inner or outer corner of your eye? Do you think it is attached to the skin of your eye lid ( inturned lash) or Does it look like a fine loose lash that has drifted into the corner of your eye?

WaltzingBetty · 08/02/2021 20:47

Distichiasis is the abnormal growth of eyelashes. You can pluck it out but it will likely grow back so best to see an optician at some point

Thedot90 · 08/02/2021 20:48

Just pluck it? What do you think the optician will do other than remove it...

maggiso · 08/02/2021 20:59

If you think it is an inturned lash ( a fine lash just curling towards the eyeball not away from it) then the first thing to do is pull the lid down slightly so that the lash comes away from the eye- it might just persuade it to curl correctly, and be more comfortable. If it won’t stay out of the way then you may need to remove it. My mother used to get the occasional inturned lash from time to time so they just needed to be removed, to stop it irritating. Your Optometrist can probably check for you and show you what to do in future if that’s what it is.

Original poster
Eyehelpplease · 08/02/2021 21:06

maggiso it’s not attached to the eyelid skin edge like a normal eyelash. It’s entirely within the conjunctiva, but attached at one end. I don’t know if it’s growing from there or a loose one that’s got stuck.

OP posts:
Original poster
Eyehelpplease · 08/02/2021 21:08

HerNameIsIncontinentiaButtocks Thank you! I don’t know how I missed this thread It’s fascinating!

OP posts:
mineofuselessinformation · 08/02/2021 21:10

OP, it's on the edge of your eyelid. (What's know these days as the waterline.)
I grow several eyelashes there, and find that plucking them out removes the irritation immediately.
If you have a lot, there is a small operation you can have to remove them.

StanfordPines · 08/02/2021 21:11

I don’t see how it could be growing there, that part of your eye doesn’t have any hair follicles I don’t think.

maggiso · 08/02/2021 21:19

It’s difficult to tell from the photo so I can only advise seeing your optometrist. If it’s a loose lash that’s fallen in your eye, it might wash out with a lubricating drop or eye wash if you have any, but best not to use anything else.

Paulinefowler · 08/02/2021 21:51

I have this. I pluck it and then every couple of months I feel it's grown back and have to pluck it again. Going that close to your eyeball with tweezers is pretty unpleasant, but you do get instant relief though...

MrsDrudge · 08/02/2021 21:55

Distichiasis - an eyelash growing in the wrong place. It needs removing or it will make your eye very sore. Suggest optician or even better your local eye casualty.

dontputitinyourmouth · 08/02/2021 22:55

I had it once, it looked like a blackhead! I took the tweezers to it and very gently almost scraped the lid to un embed it then tweezed it out. The sensible thing to do would be to call the optician though!
I’ve never had any problems since and it only happened once.

Original poster
Eyehelpplease · 09/02/2021 10:27

I pulled it out!!

There was no resistance so I don’t think it was growing out of there, but it was longer than it looked. I think a lot of it was embedded in the conjunctiva. I did it last night and it feels a lot better this morning.

OP posts:
MrsDrudge · 09/02/2021 10:55

@Eyehelpplease so glad you’ve sorted it!

Original poster
Eyehelpplease · 09/02/2021 11:43

Appreciate all the advice! Love MN!

OP posts:
withmycoffee · 10/02/2021 22:23

That's not the conjunctiva

LucaTheHunterO8 · 15/09/2021 14:52

Have you fixed it? I have one in my eye and I don't know what to do.

Jpeluca89 · 28/04/2025 21:49

Eyehelpplease · 08/02/2021 20:09

I have had a mildly sore eye for a couple of days. It hurts if I press on the outer corner of the eye but I couldn’t tell if it was the eyelid or eyeball that was hurting.

On closer inspection it is a bit red and there is a small hair in the conjunctiva. It doesn’t shift if I try to move it with a cotton bud so I think it’s either attached or buried in the tissue.

I’m guessing this hair is causing the pain by rubbing on the eyeball.

Shall I try to tweezer it out or is that a bad idea? If not, who shall I see? Optician, GP..? Anyone had experience of this?

Forget about it. It's nothing wrong with it. Instead focus. On how beautiful your eyes are. How beautiful they are. That is where you came from. They show you your origen . Look into them. You'll see

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