What Is Considered an Eye Emergency?

What Is Considered an Eye Emergency?

An eye emergency happens any time you have chemicals in your eye, an injury, a foreign object in your eye, or a burn in the area. You should get medical attention right away if you have redness, pain, or swelling in your eyes. If you do not have the right treatment, then the eye damage can cause your vision to be lost permanently.
 

Symptoms of Eye Injuries

There are many incidents and conditions that eye emergencies can include. Each one has its own symptoms. You should contact the eye doctor if you have one of these symptoms or have something in your eye. The symptoms include:

• Vision loss.

• Eye pain.

• One eye is bulging.

• Pupils are different sizes.

• Sensitivity to light.

• Bleeding around the eye.

• Severe itching.
   

If you have sudden vision loss, you should visit an emergency room. These injuries can have serious complications. You should not try to treat the problem by yourself. You might be tempted to rub your eye but try to avoid doing this. Do not remove objects that are stuck in your eye or place medications around your eye. You should also avoid using tools, such as tweezers, around your eye. If you have contact lenses, you should avoid trying to take them out.
 

The only exception to the rule is if you have a chemical injury. If the object did not flush out with water, then you can remove the contact lens. If you cannot receive immediate medical help, then you can remove the contact lens as well. The best thing to do in an eye emergency is to visit your eye doctor as soon as you can.

Foreign Object

If you have something in your eye, then it can cause serious harm to the eye. You might even lose your vision. It is important to take care so that you do not irritate the eye further.
You should first try blinking to see if the eye feels better. However, you should avoid rubbing your eye. If you need to touch your eye, wash your hands first to remove dirt and oil from it.
You can look in a mirror to see if you can see the object. You can gently pull down your lower lid to look behind it. If you place a cotton swab on your upper lid and flip the lid over it, you can look under that one too. If you can, use artificial eye drops to rinse out your eye. If there is a foreign object on one of your eyelids, then flush out your eye using water.

You should use cool water if the object is in the eye itself. These steps can remove minor foreign objects from your eye. However, if your eye is still irritated, then you should contact your eye doctor at once.

If you have questions about eye emergencies, please feel free to make an appointment at Lifetime Vision and Eye Care in Miami Gardens, Florida.