Providing Emergency Eye Care Services in

Eye emergencies can happen when you least expect it, so it’s important to know what to do if you or someone you care about needs immediate eye care.

What comes first? Don’t worry! Staying calm will not only help you think clearly, but it will also help the people around you stay calm.

Second, you should never try to figure out how bad an eye damage is on your own. Instead, you should talk to your eye doctor to find out what to do in your case. At, we know how to handle eye problems and are always here for you.

Eye problems don’t always need to be taken to the emergency room. Studies have shown that almost all of the people who went to an emergency room for eye care could have been helped by an optometrist.

Still, you should use your own judgement. Don’t wait if you think you need to go to the emergency room near you.

What is an Eye Emergency?

An eye emergency is anything that puts your eyes or vision at risk of permanent damage.

The most common types of eye emergencies include:

• Eye infection
• Foreign object stuck in the eye
• Eye trauma
• Scratch on the eye
• Sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes
• Lost contact lens in the eye
• Shattered eyeglass lenses
• Sudden appearance of light flashes or floaters

Is an Eye Infection an Emergency?

While an eye infection like conjunctivitis (pink eye) usually doesn’t require emergency eye care, if you think you have an eye infection, it’s important to see your eye doctor as soon as possible for a diagnosis and treatment.

Symptoms That Require Emergency Eye Care

• Sudden loss of vision
• Sudden double vision
• Sudden eye pain
• New onset of light flashes and/or floaters
• Foreign body in the eye
• Chemicals in the eye
• Swelling or pain after eye surgery

What to Do if Something Gets Into Your Eye?

A foreign body can be anything from a hair or a grain of sand to a piece of metal, a blade of grass, or a piece of wood. No matter what the object is, you need to get rid of it as soon as possible to avoid major injury or infection.

Keep in mind that the eyes are very fragile, and if you don’t know how to safely remove the object, you could end up with problems that could cause you to lose your sight. If you can’t get the object out with water or salt solution, it’s always best to see a doctor right away.

If you think something has gotten into your eye or if you see blood or fluid coming from your eye, you should call your eye doctor right away. After you tell your eye doctor what happened, he or she may send you to the emergency room.

What To Do If You Have an Eye Emergency?

Contact in for an emergency eye care appointment. If you’re unsure whether your symptoms constitute an emergency, call us anyway — delaying treatment can put you at risk of serious complications that can result in vision loss.

Until you see your eye doctor or seek urgent care:

• Don’t press on or rub an injured eye
• Don’t attempt to remove a foreign body on your own
• Don’t use dry cotton (including cotton swabs) or sharp instruments (such as tweezers) on the eye
• Don’t attempt to remove an embedded object