Eye Emergencies: What to Do First

Flush the eye with clean water continuously for at least fifteen minutes before doing anything else, including phoning. Hold the eyelids open. The damage from most chemical exposures happens in the first minutes, so irrigation time is the single most important variable in the outcome.

Then call the office, or go to an emergency department if it is outside opening hours.

If something is embedded in the eye, leave it exactly where it is. Removing it can cause far more damage than it caused going in. Shield the eye without applying any pressure, using a cup or similar taped over it, and go to an emergency department immediately.

Sudden loss of vision in one eye, without pain, is treated as a vascular emergency until proven otherwise. It can indicate a retinal artery or vein occlusion or a retinal detachment, and all of those are time critical. Seek care immediately rather than waiting to see whether it improves.

A sudden shower of new floaters, new flashing lights, or a dark curtain moving across part of your vision can indicate a retinal tear. A tear caught before the retina detaches is a straightforward laser repair. A detachment is major surgery with a far less certain outcome. This needs same day assessment.

Remove the lenses immediately and keep them, because they may be needed for testing. Do not put them back in. Contact this practice promptly. This is treated as a corneal infection until it is shown not to be, because contact lens related infections progress quickly and early treatment determines the outcome.

A loose eyelash or speck can be flushed with clean saline. Anything embedded should be left alone and seen the same day. Rubbing or picking at an embedded foreign body causes considerably more damage than the object itself.

During opening hours, call the practice. Outside them, and for any severe trauma, suspected globe rupture or chemical injury, go to an emergency department. The office is open Monday to Friday and eye emergencies do not wait for Monday.