When Do You Need Emergency Eye Care? (Six Common Conditions)

What is emergency eye care? Though our eyes are small parts of our face, they play the most vital role in our daily activity. With them, we can explore and go around freely. Unfortunately, we often take them for granted, not knowing that there are so many possible scenarios that can affect the condition of our eyes. This article will discuss what an eye emergency is and what to do in the given situation.
There are different eye emergencies that you can encounter. At any time, you can have a foreign object or chemicals in your eye, or you may go outside and meet an accident or injury that affects your eye area. No one can predict when an accident will happen. That is why it is essential to know when you need to go to an emergency room and seek immediate medical attention.

Remember, you should visit your doctor if you ever experience redness, swelling, or pain in your eyes. Without appropriate treatment, eye damage can prompt partial loss of vision or even permanent blindness.

Signs That You Need an Emergency Eye Care

Eye emergencies cover a series of incidents and situations. Each condition has its distinct symptoms. In any case, visit an emergency room or seek medical attention if you experience these warning signs:

• loss of vision
• light sensitivity
• severe itching
• eye burning or stinging
• severe headaches
• decreased or double vision
• discharge from the eye
• bruising or bleeding around the eye
• blood in the white of the eye
• one eye not moving like the other

Emergency Eye Care: Six Different Situations

In addition to the warning signs above, here are the six eye emergencies that require an emergency room and immediate medical attention:

Traumatic Eye Accidents

Though eye emergencies can cover a scope of incidents and conditions, most of them are due to accidents.

Generally, accidents mean something has gotten into the eye. However, a burn or injury affecting the eye area is also important to receive emergency eye care. Severe injuries can result in redness, swelling, double vision, light sensitivity, or pain. This condition can prompt partial vision loss or even total blindness.

After any injury to the eye, use a cold compress without placing any pressure on the eye to diminish swelling and pain. Extreme pain or reduced vision need immediate medical attention from an eye doctor.

If you cut your eye or eyelid, avoid washing out the eye and never try to take out an object infiltrating the eye. Cover the eye with firm protection, similar to the bottom half of a paper cup, and go to an emergency room or visit an eye doctor right away.

Foreign Body or Chemical Burn

If chemicals get into your eye, preferably, wash out your eye with water or saline solution for at least 15 minutes. In case you are wearing contact lenses, try to remove them first.

Remember that you should avoid neutralizing the chemical with some other substance. Also, do not even try to bandage it. Just wash your eye thoroughly, then get emergency eye care.

Furthermore, remember to do not rub your eye when there is a particle inside. Attempt to allow your tears to clean out the spot or rinse the eye with artificial tears or saline solution. A strong constant flow from the saline container directed at the foreign particle might have the option to eliminate it from the eye’s front surface.

If the foreign object does not clean out, keep the eye closed, wrap it gently and look for medical attention.

Noticeable Vision Changes

It would help if you addressed a noticeable or sudden change in the quality of your vision rapidly. Vision changes regularly demonstrate a retinal or corneal deformity that can cause permanent vision loss if neglected.

One of this condition is retinal detachment, where you can see floating spots or flashing lights from within the eye.

Vision change can also be an indication of nerve damage, stroke, or other neurological problems.

Additionally, corneal infection or swelling can result in sudden vision loss. For any of these situations, it is crucial to get a definite diagnosis and treatment. If you need a trusted ophthalmologist in Melbourne, you can click on this link to check out their services.

Red-eye

It would be best to visit an eye doctor if you have red eye with discharge. This condition needs an evaluation as soon as possible.

Most emergency room centers will naturally recommend an antibiotic that is only applicable for bacterial conjunctivitis. Pink eye or conjunctivitis is prevalent in little children and is frequently viral and contagious.

Approximately 80% of acute infectious conjunctivitis is viral. That is why immediate treatment is necessary.

At whatever point possible, eye redness should be assessed by a doctor who can identify the different types of conjunctivitis and recommend the proper treatment.

Different Size Pupils 

Also called pupil anisocoria, this condition can be inborn or grow later in life because of direct eye injury or an underlying illness.

Anisocoria can be a side effect of a few diseases, including head injury or other neurological causes like brain tumours or stroke.

Hence, if you notice a recognizable difference in pupil size, whether constant or discontinuous, you should visit your doctor and get a proper diagnosis.

Bulging Eyes

Many reasons can cause bulging eyes. Some conditions are more serious compared to others.

Along with an injury to the eye socket, abnormal veins behind your eye can make it swell. This condition can also demonstrate a thyroid condition called Graves’ disease or eye sock issues like bacterial infections or tumors.

Know that bulging eyes due to a bacterial infection require emergency eye care. If untreated, a condition that presents as an exceptionally swollen lid can permit the infection to spread from your eye socket and perhaps affect the brain, which is sight-threatening.

Immediate eye care is not similar to all eye emergencies. They have different ways on how to deal with them appropriately. One thing is for sure; only an eye doctor can address and treat your eye problem safely.