First Aid For Eye Injury

It is very important to keep our eyes healthy and safe. However, even after utmost protection, we might end up getting hit to the eye, or by any other way get the eye injured. The eyes can get injured in many ways that include:

• There can be a hit or a blow on the eye resulting in its injury.
• Any foreign body can enter and injure the eye.
• There can be an eye injury due to a chemical.
• Eye cut or punctured wound can cause eye injury.

Eye Injury if not taken care of immediately can affect the vision and can even lead to blindness. It is therefore important to know what to do when eye trauma or injury occurs.

Cuts or punctured wounds to the eye require immediate doctor’s attention. Till you reach the doctor, you can follow the below first aid tips:

• Do not attempt to wash the eye or remove anything which is stuck in the eye.
• Avoid rubbing the eyes.
• Cover the injured eye with a clean, circular object, which will help avoid rubbing the eye inadvertently.
• Do not put pressure on the injured eye while holding the covering.
• Immediately contact emergency room.

• We should know how to carefully remove any foreign object entering the eyes. If not done properly, we might end up hurting ourselves more.
• Do not rub the eyes.
• Do not try to remove the foreign object if it is embedded or penetrating the eye.
• Use a dampened cloth to remove the foreign object from the eye if not embedded.
• Allow the tears to flow, so that the foreign object flows out of the eye itself.
• Try washing the eye to flush out the foreign particle.
• If not sure whether you have removed the foreign object, consult a doctor ASAP.

How to clean out the chemical in the eye? The chemicals, if they enter the eye, can cause serious damage and require immediate first aid to prevent vision loss.

• Immediately flush or rinse the eyes with water.
• Do not cover the injured eye or put anything over it.
• Do not rub the eyes injured due to chemicals.
• Flush the injured eye with water for at least 15 minutes. Let the water flow keeping the eye wide open. You might need to use your hands to keep the injured eye open.
• After 15-20 minutes of continuous flushing, seek medical help.

• If there is a hit or a blow to the eye, follow the following first aid to treat it.
• Get an ice pack and put it over the eye. Never apply pressure on the injured eye while doing it.
• Keep the head elevated to minimize swelling in and around the injured eye.
• Take over-the-counter pain medication to ease the pain from the injured eye.
• If you experience excessive pain, bleeding, bruising, or if the vision is being affected, see a doctor right away.

In case of eye injury, it is always good to see a doctor even after the first aid has given relief, to rule out chances of any missed injury to the eyes. Always remember to safeguard eyes as much as possible. Wear eye protection to safeguard your eyes from injuries when playing contact sports. Wear eye protection when using chemicals.

References:

Also Read:

• Eye Injuries Which Can Lead To Blindness
• 5 Common Eye Injuries & Its Treatment
• Chemical Injuries of the Eye: Signs, Symptoms, Types, Grading, Treatment, Prevention