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Eye emergencies are always scary. If you are ever placed in the unfortunate position of experiencing some kind of trauma which may impact your eyesight, the best thing that you can do to help retain as much vision as possible – and preferably to make a full recovery – is to remain calm and contact our practice or the emergency services as soon as possible.
If you have a chemical burn on your eyeball from any acid or alkali, you must rinse the eye immediately before doing anything else.
The problem with acid or chemical burns is that the substance may remain on the surface of your eye, doing continued damage, for a long time. Even if it means jumping into the shower fully-clothed, you need to run your eye under lukewarm, flowing water for 15 minutes continuously. Only then should you leave to contact or visit our practice or the emergency room.
This is particularly important for alkali burns as they can seep through the outer layer of the eye and cause serious, permanent damage inside.
This type of injury is commonly seen as a result of sports collisions or vehicle accidents. Even if you are not knocked unconscious or currently experiencing any abnormalities with your vision, you should arrange an appointment with one of our optometrists as soon as possible. The visual fallout of eye trauma is not always immediately apparent, but can be observed through examination by an experienced eye professional.
Instead, try to protect your eye with a solid cover, such as a plastic cup, before travelling immediately to the emergency room or our practice. As a rule, if the injury does not require immediate surgical attention – the pain is bearable or there is not any bleeding, etc – then try to arrange an emergency appointment at Twin Lakes Vision Clinic where we have the technology and experience to quickly assess the damage and recommend the best way to proceed.
Commonly known as “seeing stars”, flashes are an unnatural occurrence, usually the result of a trauma to the head or a symptoms of a retinal detachment. If you experience flashes of any kind you must arrange an emergency appointment with an eye specialist as this can be indicative of a severe underlying condition. If we are unavailable, then please contact another eye care specialist in your area to receive an exam as soon as possible.
Any sudden sight loss should be treated as your absolute, number one priority. Be sure to visit another eye care specialist if we are unavailable, as the chance of unrecoverable vision loss increases the longer your wait before seeking expert diagnosis and treatment.
Any pain of the eye, especially if seemingly without cause, requires investigation by an eye doctor. Eye pain can be a sign of serious eye diseases, including acute angle-closure glaucoma.
If you experience a chemical burn or blunt trauma to the eye, you know that you are dealing with an eye emergency. However there are many symptoms which could indicate an emergency without any obvious cause or trigger. If you have noticed any of the following, please get in touch to arrange an emergency appointment.
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