Allergies or Eye Strain

There is a condition called dry eye that makes eyes red and irritated, mostly in the evenings. I have this condition and natural oils such as fish oil help the eye to produce the lubricant it needs to stay healthy. You laughed at what is the appropriate first step towards treating this condition before moving to harsher treatments like steroid eye drops. Have him take fish oil pills (the good ones need refrigeration) and get some preservative free eye drops to help him feel more comfortable until the fish oil can do its job.

If he has any swelling or pain it could mean the ducts along the bottom eye lid are blocked and a warm compress can help relieve the pain and the blockage.

Any eye drop recommended for children?

Updated

I got him some allergy medicine yesterday. Should I give it to him in the morning? Hard to diagnose because he only get the red eyes in the afternoon and I gave him some medicine this morning so I guess I will see if anything changes today. However, it is raining today so not sure if that will impact on anything.

There's dry eyes but that's usually with older people or people who wear contacts. I get red eyes for example and usually later in the day.
My kids can be on electronics for a long time (if I don't notice) and they don't get red eyes - so I haven't seen this with eye strain myself. One of my kids is an avid reader and I have not noticed that either after he reads for a long time.
I don't get the fish oil, etc.
One of my kids (and my husband) has bad allergies. Red eyes for sure.
They don't always have to be itchy.
My son with allergies gets red eyes as the day wears on if he's around allergens. For him, it's pets. He also is to dust, and I believe (terrible I know) that he has some to pollen (I just know I have to not hang his bedding and clothes outside on line to dry).
Without having allergy tests, how do you know it's not allergies?

Added: none of my kids wear glasses but my husband just was prescribed reading glasses and bifocals. He definitely got sore eyes. I don't know if they were red. Might have been - from rubbing them if strained, not sure. Have you considered getting him an eye test? Maybe he needs glasses.

It still sounds like allergies. You may want to get him tested for allergies. He should be able to use eye drops.

I have bad pollen allergies and if I spend a lot of time outside by the end of the day my eyes can be red (and I get headaches). Do you notice it happening if he spent the day inside? My eye doctor recommends Systane eye drops for redness. I take zyrtec for allergies. I also take an allergy nasal spray daily. If you suspect allergies you can always take him to an allergist. Call your insurance first though to see what they cover. I had to pay $200 out of my pocket for the back scratch test to test all the different allergens. I would think an allergist can diagnose allergies without that scratch test though.

what does his pedi say? you mention the eye dr but not his regular dr. i would talk to the pedi to see what they say about this

Dry eyes. Use some eye wash drops in them a couple of times per day and see if that helps.

These work great. Other brands do too but these seem to be less expensive.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Thera-Tears-Lubricant-Eye-Drop...