I know it is so easy to say that it won’t happen to you. There are things you can do to protect your eyes and help your eyes if an injury was to occur.
Protecting your eyes is so important. I have written a few blogs that cover how to protect your eyes during physical activities. This can prevent eye cuts, objects in your eye, elbows to the eye, and other possible life altering injuries. So, what can you do if an injury occurs?
1. How to care for cuts: there are several injuries that would require immediate attention from your eye doctor. If your eye or eyelid has been cut or punctured, DO NOT WASH THE EYE or try to remove anything in the eye. Why? You could make the damage worse. So, what can you do? -Avoid rubbing your eye (in or around)
-Protect the eye by covering it, something that usually will work is a paper cup (if the object is longer than the cup, simply cut a hole in the top)
-Don’t put pressure on the eye, it could cause more damage
-Call your eye doctor immediately
2. How to remove objects from the eye: if the object in the eye is a small particle (and the eye is not punctured) you can remove it.
-Do not rub your eye, this can scratch your cornea
-Use a dampened cotton swab to try and gently remove the object
-Allow for tears, this is your body’s natural response to remove the object
-Try using an eye wash or rinsing your eyes
3. What is the safest way to remove cleaning chemicals from the eye?
-Use water to flush the eye out immediately
-Do not cover or put anything on the eye
-Stand under a shower and allow the water to flush the eye
-Flush the eye for at least 15 minutes
-Call your eye doctor immediately
4. What happens if I get a blow to the eye?
-Hold a cold compress or ice pack on the eye, but don’t put pressure on it
-Keep your head elevated
-Go to the doctor or emergency room if there is pain or vision impairment
-It is always a good idea to visit the eye doctor for a checkup if you have any sort of injury to the eye, even if you do not lose vision
Eye injuries can be scary, so ensure you are using protective eye wear. If you have questions, contact us now!
