The Most Common Eye Emergencies and How to Handle Them En Route to Our Office

An eye emergency can happen in seconds: a splash of cleaner in your eye, a flying piece of debris, or sudden blurry vision. What you do in the next few minutes can protect your vision while you’re on your way to get help.

At Cooper Optometry in Santa Monica, California, Dr. Donna Cooper and Dr. Sarah Chung provide same-day urgent eye care for infections, injuries, red eyes, pain, and floaters. We’re here for the routine and the unexpected. 

Here’s how to handle the most common eye emergencies before you arrive.

1. Something in your eye

In your eye, dust, sand, a tiny piece of metal, or an eyelash can feel huge. If you experience redness, sharp pain, tearing, or blurry vision, you likely have something in your eye or a corneal scratch.

On your way to our office:

• Don’t rub your eye; rubbing can push the object deeper or worsen a scratch
• Rinse gently with clean water or sterile saline
• Remove contact lenses if you can

If the object doesn’t rinse out easily, leave it alone and let Dr. Cooper or Dr. Chung remove it safely. Trying to pinch, dig, or tweeze it out on your own can cause more damage than the original injury.

2. Chemical exposure

Speed matters in the case of household cleaners, gardening solutions, sunscreen, and other chemicals that seriously injure the eyes.

In the event of chemical exposure, instantly flush the affected eye with clean water or a sterile saline solution, and continue for at least 20-30 minutes. That may seem like a long time, but it’s necessary to thoroughly irrigate your eye in hopes of removing all the chemicals. 

Don’t delay rinsing, but if you wear contact lenses, remove them as soon as you can.

After washing out your eye for half an hour or so, come straight to our office. Chemical injuries are urgent situations, and we need to evaluate the surface and internal structures quickly to prevent complications.

3. Sudden symptoms

Not every emergency occurs due to an accident or injury, or involves trauma. Sometimes your eye becomes sensitive to light, bloodshot, or painful without warning. You may also notice discharge or cloudy vision.

These symptoms could point to an infection, inflammation, corneal abrasion, or elevated eye pressure. While en route to our office on Wilshire Boulevard:

• Take out your contact lenses
• Stay out of bright light
• Skip over-the-counter drops unless we’ve advised you by phone to use them

If you’ve struggled with dry eye in the past or are being monitored for glaucoma, let us know when you call. Your eye history helps us determine how urgently we need to see you and how to prepare for your visit.

4. Floaters, flashes, or vision changes

If your vision suddenly becomes fuzzy and distorted, or you see flashes of light or a deluge of floaters, reach out to our team. These can indicate a developing retinal problem that requires prompt expert evaluation.

If possible, have someone bring you in so you don’t have to drive. With certain retinal problems, time is of the utmost importance. The sooner we examine your eyes, the better your chance of protecting your long-term vision.

When in doubt, contact us

Call us at 310-879-1423 if you believe you or a loved one is experiencing an eye emergency. We can help you determine whether you need to come in for an evaluation. For non-emergency eye care, you can request an appointment online.