Eye emergencies can be scary if you don’t know what to do when they strike. Optical Masters provides patient education so that you can be prepared for whatever comes your way. Taking care of your eyes immediately and appropriately when accidents or injuries happen is essential for preserving your eyesight and visual acuity. Here is a list of some of the most common eye emergencies and information about each.

Trauma

When an eye injury transpires, have an ophthalmologist or other medical doctors thoroughly examine the eye immediately, even if you feel the injury is minor. Some serious eye injuries aren’t visually apparent. Delaying medical treatment can compromise your eye and result in irreversible damage, vision loss or blindness.

• A black eye. Direct trauma to the face or eye can result in bleeding under the skin. The tissue around the eye will go from black and blue to purple, green, and yellow over the course of several days as the blood leaves the tissue. Typically, the abnormal color will dissipate after a period of a couple of weeks. The swelling of the tissue and eyelid may also occur.

• A hyphema. Blood inside the front of the eye that results from a direct hit to the eye from a ball or object. Excess blood or fluid in front of or behind the eye can cause serious damage to the eye and should be addressed immediately.
  
  

Chemical Injury

Chemical injuries are serious and require you to flush out the eye with large amounts of clean water or salt water (saline) immediately. This kind of injury needs medical care right away.

• A chemical injury. Common household products, such as cleaning solutions, garden chemicals, solvents, or other types of chemicals or work-related chemicals can cause eye emergencies. Fumes and aerosols can also cause chemical burns to your eyes.

• Acid burns. With acid burns, the haze on the cornea often clears and there is a good chance of recovery. Seek attention immediately.

• Alkaline substances. Exposure to substances like lime, lye, drain cleaners, and sodium hydroxide can cause permanent damage to the cornea if left untreated.

Corneal Injuries or Objects in the Eye

The cornea is the transparent tissue covering the front of your eye. When debris such as dust, sand or other particles enter the eye they can cause injury to the cornea. If you have any of the following symptoms, you should seek treatment immediately: sensitivity to light, redness, and persistent pain. An object in your eye–regardless of size–can harm vision if the object enters the eye itself or damages the cornea or lens. Objects that enter the eye at high speeds are especially dangerous to the eye.

Call for a Consultation

If your eyes have sustained a recent injury or accident, don’t take any chances. Call our office for a consultation and to receive emergency advice. When you are prepared you are better able to handle emergent situations without panicking. Located at two convenient Denver locations–King Soopers Shopping Center off of South Monaco Parkway in Denver and at the Brentwood Shopping Center on Federal Boulevard–Optical Masters can offer you top-rate eye care services and help you with your eye health goals.