Eye injuries are no laughing matter. Eyes are sensitive and easily damaged, so any injury requires a doctor’s care. Here are the best steps to take if you have an eye injury.
Seek Emergency Treatment
Many eye injuries require emergency treatment. If you’ve received a black eye, for example, it’s important to head to the emergency room if you experience loss or disturbance of vision.
Other eye injuries can be even more serious. If you have a foreign object in your eye, or have severe pain or burning, it is wise to seek emergency treatment right away. Head straight to the emergency room if your eye doctor’s office is not open.
Chemical burns are one of the most serious of eye injuries. Grand Rapids emergency rooms are equipped to handle treating these burns, and should be your first source of treatment.
Minor Eye Injuries
If you experience a minor eye injury and are not experiencing loss of vision, a bulging eye, or extreme pain or burning, it may be safe to wait until your eye doctor’s office is open to seek treatment. When you call to make an appointment, do let the office know you have suffered an injury so that they can see you more quickly, or recommend emergency treatment if they deem necessary.
What Not to Do if You Suffer an Eye Injury
Here are some important things to avoid if you’ve suffered an eye injury:
- Do not remove your contact lenses unless you have chemicals in your eye. Removing the lenses could result in more injury.
- Do not apply pressure to the eye. Cold compresses are fine, but no pressure.
- Do not put try to remove any foreign object that is stuck in your eye. Seek emergency treatment right away.
- Do not attempt to use tweezers or any other sort of tool in your eye.
- Do not put ointments or medications in your eye before being assessed by a doctor.
It is important to take special care with any eye injury. Grand Rapids has many eye doctors, so finding treatment should be easy. If no eye doctor is available, visit an emergency room for a serious eye injury. Failure to treat the injury quickly or trying to treat it yourself can result in even further injury. Your eyesight is critical, so be certain to seek the right treatment.
