Sustaining an eye injury, enduring an eye infection, or experiencing sudden vision issues or loss is grounds for contacting your optometrist, or the eye doctor closest to you, right away.
If you or a loved one are currently facing an eye emergency and looking for urgent eye care near me in the greater Columbus and Mount Vernon areas, contact the doctors at iCare Vision immediately. Our on-call doctor has more than 30 years experience in treatment of eye injuries and infections.
24-Hour Emergency Eye Care
Call 866-231-8381
Eye Emergency Symptoms
Eye injuries are never one-size-fits all situations. Because of this, the symptoms can vary greatly.
If you have something in your eye that you’ve been unable to remove on your own, or if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, you should seek emergency eye care near you right away.
Signs of an eye injury and symptoms that require emergency service include:
- Sudden loss of vision
- Sudden double vision
- Sudden redness/irritation/pain in the eye
- Sudden burning or stinging
- Different sized pupils
- One eye moving differently than the other
- One eye bulging or sticking out
- Decreased vision
- Severe light sensitivity
- Severe itching
- Discharge from the eye
- Bleeding from the eye
- Blood in the white part of the eye
- Bruising or swelling around the eye
- Pink eye
- New onset flashes and/or floaters
- Foreign body in the eye (especially metal or chemicals)
- New or severe headaches with sensitive vision
In any eye emergency situation, the absolute best thing you can do is see an optometrist as soon as possible.
Think You Need Emergency Eye Care? Call iCare Vision Immediately:
24-Hour Emergency Eye Care
Call 866-231-8381
An eye emergency can happen unexpectedly and at any time. Because of this, we’re here to help you whenever you need an emergency eye doctor, regardless of time of day or night.
Eye emergencies are better treated by an eye doctor than by urgent care or the emergency room (ER). Most emergency rooms call optometrists with referrals because they’re not equipped to handle most eye emergencies. Calling an emergency eye doctor first will save you time and provide you better assistance.
Our team of top-rated optometrists are highly experienced in a wide-array of acute and vision-threatening eye emergencies.
Once we have the situation under control, we will support you throughout recovery and treatment through personalized follow-up appointments at our office. It is our utmost mission to return your vision to the best state it can be in.
While Waiting for our Professional Help, DO NOT do the Following:
Eye emergencies heavily rely on appropriate treatment in a clinical care setting. To avoid serious complications, and to prevent exacerbating the issue, it’s crucial to your ocular health to not perform any of the following actions while waiting for urgent eye care:
DO NOT:
- Rub your eye
- Apply pressure to your eye
- Attempt to remove foreign objects from your eye
- Use tools (like tweezers) in or around your eyes
- Apply ointment or medications in your eye
- Remove contact lenses
- If you think you have sustained an eye injury, trying to remove your contact lenses can make the injury worse. One concession: If chemicals got in your eyes and the contact lenses didn’t flush out with the water, you can try to remove your contact lenses if you cannot receive immediate medical help to do so.
Don’t try and evaluate the severity of the eye emergency symptoms yourself. Call an emergency eye doctor near me to lessen the risk of hurting your vision.
Eye Emergencies: What You Need to Know
In some instances, an eye injury may not initially seem like an emergency. Here are some quick tips and info for common emergencies.
Keep in mind that it’s always safe to err on the side of caution and seek the opinion of an eye doctor if you’re unsure how severe your injury is or if it can be classified as an emergency.
Chemical Eye Injuries
If a cleaning product or garden/industrial chemical entered you eye(s), or if your eyes got too close to aerosols and fumes, you could suffer from chemical eye burns.
Early treatment is crucial. If you got chemical in your eyes, immediately:
- Wash your hands with soap to remove any residual chemicals.
- Flush your eye(s) in the shower or sink by:
- Turning your head to the side with the injured eye down and to the side.
- Hold your eyelid open and flush the eye for 15 minutes with clean, cool tap water.
- If your contact lenses are still in your eye after flushing, try to remove them.
- Call an emergency eye doctor to see them right away.
- If you can, continue flushing the eye if you’re waiting for an ambulance or while you’re traveling to the doctor’s office.
Small Objects in the Eye
Any object that gets in the eye can damage your vision.
Even if you feel the object is only a dust particle or a piece of sand, walk through the following steps:
- Instead of rubbing your eye, try continuously blinking to see if the object clears.
- Thoroughly wash your hands, look into a mirror, gently lift the eye lid on the irritated eye and try to see if you can locate the object. Do the same thing with your lower lid by gently pulling it down.
- If you can locate it, try flushing your eye or under your eye lid with cool water.
- If you cannot remove the object, or you cannot locate it altogether, and your eye remains irritated, contact an urgent care eye doctor.
Large Objects in the Eye
More serious than a small object, if a large object – like metal or glass – got in your eye, or an object entered your eye at a high speed, leave it alone and contact an emergency eye doctor immediately.
It’s imperative you do not try to remove it or apply pressure to your eye.
While waiting for medical attention, try not to move your injured eye. Covering one or both of your eyes with a clean, cool cloth (without applying pressure to your eyes) can help reduce this movement.
Cuts and Scratches
Scratches and cuts on your eye or eyelid are another situation where you should seek immediate medical attention from an optometrist.
Black Eyes
Because black eyes appear from a blow to the eye, it’s advised to see your eye doctor should you or anyone in your family sustain one. Black eyes can damage the inside of the eye, or cause more serious problems such as retinal detachment and concussions. A quick, comprehensive examination can help ensure no additional recovery steps are necessary.
Preventing Eye Emergencies
The vast majority of the time, eye injuries happen quickly and out of the blue. They can happen to anyone, too, like children during sporting events, adults at work, or while you’re cleaning the house.
Always be sure to take precautionary steps to prevent eye injuries, such as:
- Wearing protective eyewear while cleaning, working, playing sports, or doing or watching high-risk tasks/activities
- Following directions when working with chemicals
- Using caution while cooking with grease and oil
- Watching children while they play, especially with toys to can fly toward their eyes
- Childproofing your home
- Much more
Because prompt recognition and timely management of eye emergencies is so critical, we want to further stress that if you are experiencing any eye emergency symptoms, or have been dealing with eye pain and irritation for a longer than normal time period, we highly suggest you contact iCare Vision’s emergency helpline – available anytime, day or night.
Urgent eye care can mean the difference between restoring your vision and permanently losing your vision.
24-Hour Emergency Eye Care Near Columbus & Mount Vernon, Ohio
Call 866-231-8381
