Emergency Eye care

Emergency Eye care

Our eyes are delicate organs. Unfortunately, this makes them vulnerable to damage that can impair our ability to see. Eye emergencies cover a wide range of incidents, including trauma, cuts, scratches, foreign objects in the eye, burns, chemical exposure, photic retinopathy, and blunt injuries to the eye or eyelid.

When these incidents occur, seeking immediate help can prevent long-term damage to the eye. Without proper treatment, they can lead to a partial loss of vision or even permanent blindness.

Likewise, certain eye infections, medical conditions such as blood clots or glaucoma, and eye problems like red eye or vision loss unrelated to injury also require urgent medical attention. As a comprehensive eye care practice, our licensed specialists offer emergency treatment to protect your vision, no matter what your eye health concern is.

Emergency Eye care

Emergency Eye care

Our eyes are delicate organs. Unfortunately, this makes them vulnerable to damage that can impair our ability to see. Eye emergencies cover a wide range of incidents, including trauma, cuts, scratches, foreign objects in the eye, burns, chemical exposure, photic retinopathy, and blunt injuries to the eye or eyelid.

When these incidents occur, seeking immediate help can prevent long-term damage to the eye. Without proper treatment, they can lead to a partial loss of vision or even permanent blindness.

Likewise, certain eye infections, medical conditions such as blood clots or glaucoma, and eye problems like red eye or vision loss unrelated to injury also require urgent medical attention. As a comprehensive eye care practice, our licensed specialists offer emergency treatment to protect your vision, no matter what your eye health concern is.

How to Identify an Eye Care Emergency

Knowing the signs of an eye emergency can help you respond quickly, getting you access to the right care when you need it most. Contact one of our specialists immediately if you experience these symptoms in or around your eye:

  • Bruising
  • Bleeding or discharge around the eye
  • Double vision
  • Loss of vision, total or partial, in one eye or both
  • Pupils of unequal size
  • Eye pain
  • New or severe headaches
  • Itchy eyes
  • Redness or bloodshot appearance
  • A sensation of something in the eye
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Stinging or burning in the eye
  • One eye is not moving like the other
  • One eye is sticking out or bulging
  • Nausea or headache occurring with eye pain (this may be a symptom of glaucoma or stroke)
  • Bruising
  • Bleeding or discharge around the eye
  • Double vision
  • Loss of vision, total or partial, in one eye or both
  • Pupils of unequal size
  • Eye pain
  • New or severe headaches
  • Itchy eyes
  • Redness or bloodshot appearance
  • A sensation of something in the eye
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Stinging or burning in the eye
  • One eye is not moving like the other
  • One eye is sticking out or bulging
  • Nausea or headache occurring with eye pain (this may be a symptom of glaucoma or stroke)

What to Do in an Eye Emergency

In case of eye injury do NOT:

  • Rub or apply pressure to your eye
  • Remove foreign objects that are stuck in any part of your eye
  • Use tweezers or any other tools in your eye (cotton swabs can be used, but only on the eyelid)
  • Put medications or ointments in the eye

The first thing to do in an eye emergency is to contact an eye care emergency specialist, who will instruct you on the next steps you can take to protect your vision.

While you should avoid touching or applying pressure to your eye, taking immediate action in some cases can protect your eyes from sustaining further damage when incidents do occur.

Black Eye

Black eyes result from physical trauma to the eye that forms a dark bruise on the surface of the skin. In many cases, bruising can indicate more severe damage to the tissue around the eye and within the eye itself.

Without placing pressure on the eye, apply a cold compress to the area around the socket. A cold compress will relieve inflammation in the tissue and numb the pain, preventing excessive swelling around the eye. This will keep the eye open until specialists can evaluate the damage and treat your injury.

Chemical injuries can occur at home or at work, when products containing toxic chemicals get into the eye. Common irritants include cleaning solutions, solvents, fertilizers and pesticides, fumes, aerosols, drain cleaners, sodium hydroxide, and industrial chemicals.

Once in your eye, these chemicals can burn the cornea, leading to permanent damage to your vision. In case of a chemical injury, immediately flush your eye with large amounts of clean water or salt water (saline) to remove the irritant from your eye before contacting an eye care specialist.

Photic retinopathy is damage caused to the eye by prolonged exposure to intense light or solar radiation (the sun, light bulbs, lasers, arc welders, etc.). Often caused by staring directly into a source of light, the intensity of the light waves can cause lasting damage to your retina.

When this occurs seek immediate evaluation by your doctor. To relieve discomfort and prevent the condition from worsening, cover your eyes or wear sunglasses to avoid further exposure to light until you speak with a specialist.

For contact lenses wearers, attempting to remove your contacts can make an injury worse. The only exceptions are with chemical injuries—if the lens does not come out on its own when you flush your eye with water, remove it carefully. Chemical irritants can become trapped behind the lens, increasing the likelihood of chemical burns to your retina.

How To Prevent Eye Injuries

Eye injuries can happen anywhere, even when you least expect them.

To decrease your risk of eye injuries, wear protective eyewear when using power tools or engaging in high-risk sporting events, carefully following directions when working with chemicals or cleaning supplies. Keep scissors, knives, and other sharp instruments away from young children, and ensuring proper distance from amateur fireworks.

To decrease the chances of developing permanent eye damage, immediate medical evaluation is necessary in the event of an eye injury.

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