How to treat eye emergencies

An eye emergency requires professional treatment. This means anyone who is experiencing an eye emergency should not try to treat their emergency at home. The only exception is when someone comes into contact with certain chemicals. If the chemicals get in the eyes, the patient needs to immediately rinse the eyes out before calling us.

Even a small cut or scratch to the eye is considered to be an emergency situation and requires treatment by a professional. Upon calling us, Dr. Sumati Deutscher and our team will go over how to proceed and see you as soon as possible.

What you need to avoid

It is crucial to understand what not to do during an eye emergency. The wrong action can actually make the situation worse. When someone has an eye injury, they should not:

• Rub their eyes
• Apply pressure to their eyes
• Try to remove a foreign object stuck into their eye
• Use any tools like tweezers to address the problem
• Put any type of ointment into the eye

What can happen when patients forego emergency services

Emergency services are necessary to treat any trauma to the eyes. When patients do not go in for emergency services, it can potentially lead to permanent eye damage. Permanent eye damage can include a partial, temporary or a permanent loss of vision. While many people will associate emergency eye care with going to their local emergency room, understand that emergency room doctors may not be able to provide the specific care the patient needs.

Why an optometrist is preferred

Using an optometrist to treat an eye emergency is the preferred option instead of walking into an emergency room or making an appointment with one’s primary care provider. An optometrist is a medical professional whose entire focus is on diagnosing, treating and managing any diseases and/or disorders related to the eye.

As an optometrist, we can examine patients for vision problems and then write any necessary prescriptions if vision problems exist, e.g. glasses, contact lenses. An optometrist not only understands how to address an eye emergency better than other medical professionals, but they also have access to the special equipment that can help them better treat their patients.

How to prevent eye injuries

No one wants to experience an eye emergency. Many people do not realize that many things can cause injury to their eyes until it is too late. This makes it necessary for people to take preventive measures in order to reduce the chances of injuring their eyes. These preventive measures include, but are not limited to:

• Wearing protective eyewear when playing sports
• Carefully following instructions when dealing with certain chemicals
• Keeping sharp objects out of children’s reach
• Keeping a safe distance when cooking with hot oil
• Maintaining a safe distance when setting off fireworks