Eye emergencies

Some eye problems cannot wait for an appointment. Here is what they are, what to do in the first minutes, and who to call.

Do not wait. If any of these is happening now, call 0712 665 6666, any hour, or come to the emergency department.

An Arihant Netralaya ophthalmologist at the slit lamp with a patient

Sudden loss of sight is always an emergency.

In a chemical splash, rinse first and ask later.

Never rub, press or pull at an injured eye.

Come at once if

Sight dims or is lost in one eye, even for a few minutes.
A shadow, like a curtain, comes across your vision.
You see flashes of light, or a sudden shower of new floaters.
Your eye is very painful and red, with a headache or sickness.
Anything has splashed into your eye, or hit it, or a firecracker has gone off close to it.
There is blood in front of the pupil after a blow to the eye.
You are over fifty, and have a new headache with pain in the jaw when you chew, or sudden vision loss.

What to do first

1
Chemical in the eye
Rinse with plenty of clean running water for at least fifteen minutes. Do this first, on the way, and tell us what it was.
2
A blow or an injury
Do not press on the eye. Cover it loosely with a clean shield, such as the bottom of a paper cup, taped around the bone.
3
Something stuck in the eye
Do not try to take it out. Cover the eye and come.
4
Do not rub
Rubbing can turn a scratch into a wound.

A red patch is not always an emergency

A bright red patch on the white of the eye, from a tiny vessel that has burst, is common and usually clears by itself in a week or two. Blood that collects in front of the iris after a blow is called a hyphema. It can raise the pressure in the eye and damage it, and it needs an eye specialist the same day.