Any part of the body can become injured, including our eyes. Extremely delicate, our eyes can potentially be harmed by many things, from the slightest slither of a foreign object such as a piece of wood or glass, or by a blunt force trauma such as a blow to the face. While some injuries can be fairly minor and treatment can take place at home, there are scenarios in which the patient can require emergency care by a professional. We are delighted to be able to offer comprehensive emergency eye care to treat urgent problems and injuries affecting your eyes.

Common Eye Emergencies

There are some types of eye injuries that are more common than others. These include:

Chemical burns: these can be from perfumes, cleaning solutions, cosmetics, hair products, paint, and other household substances, and more.

Foreign body in the eye: it is very easy for a foreign body to get lodged in the eye. This can range in size and material, but all have the ability to cause abrasions and infections.

Blunt force trauma: this could be a blow to the face that impacts the eye and eye socket, such as coming into contact with knee or elbow of another person.

Sharp force trauma: this refers to penetrating injuries that cause cuts and abrasions.

All of these injuries could potentially be an eye emergency and require our urgent eye care service.

Symptoms of Other Eye Emergencies

Not all eye emergencies are directly related to an obvious injury. Eye emergencies can also occur as the result of a health or eye problem, such as the sudden onset of glaucoma or retinal detachment. As such, it is useful to be aware of the signs of this type of eye emergency, which include:

• Sudden loss of vision

• Sudden double vision

• Sudden severe eye pain or redness of the eye

• Pink eye

• New visual disturbances such as intense flashes or floaters
  
  

In these instances, it is still important that you speak to our team so that we can assess you and determine whether you need to be seen as an emergency.

What Should I Do if I Have an Eye Injury?

If your eye is injured in any way, it is important to seek the advice of a professional. In the first instance you should contact our team who will perform a telephone triage to determine if you need to come in or if we can give you treatment instructions over the phone. In the case of the latter, one of our expert team will guide you through what you need to do at home to take care of your eye. In some cases we may need you to take some initial steps at home before coming in for an emergency appointment – for example, if you have a chemical burn injury, whereby the best course of action is to rinse the eye as thoroughly as possible before seeing a professional.

Things Not to do Before Receiving Emergency Care

When you experience an injury, it can be easy to panic. When we panic, we sometimes don’t think clearly before we act, and this could lead us to doing something that actually puts our eyes and vision at greater risk. Therefore, it’s important to know what not to do while waiting for professional medical assistance. You should not:

• Rub your eye

• Press on your eye

• Try to remove a foreign body from the eye yourself, even if you think you can

• Use dry cotton on the eye

• Use sharp instruments, like tweezers, on your eye
  
  

Instead, contact our team who will be able to assess your condition and give you the support that you need.

If you would like more information about eye emergencies, or to contact our team to discuss your concerns, please contact our office in Ft. Mitchell, KY, and Dry Ridge, KY.