Common Eye Injury Questions Answered
Posted on: 11 February 2015
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Your eyes are among the most important and sensitive sensory organs that you possess. Unfortunately, there is a strong chance that your eye can suffer anyone of a seemingly endless number of injuries. Sadly, when your eye is injured, you may not know what to do to have the damage corrected.
Understanding a couple of answers to common questions will help you make more informed decisions about how to help your eye heal as quickly as possible:
Do All Scratched Eyes Need Professional Treatment?
Scratching the surface of your eye can be an excruciating injury to suffer. Luckily, these are usually relatively minor injuries that do not require professional medical care to heal. After suffering this injury, you should immediately flush the eye with cool running water for several minutes to ensure that there is no debris left in the eye that can cause further damage.
Once this has been done, you should apply generous amounts of eye drops for at least a full day, and this will help keep the eye lubricated which can expedite the healing process.
Usually, these injuries will heal relatively quickly, and you should notice substantial improvements within a few hours to a day. However, if you do not notice an improvement or if the condition appears to be worsening, you should immediately schedule an appointment with your eye doctor.
How Should Eyes That Have Been Exposed To Chemicals Be Treated?
Another common source of injury is chemical exposure. Whether it is from handling hazardous substances or simply using a cleaning product, there are many substances that can cause profound irritation to the eye.
If you suspect that you have been exposed to a damaging chemical, you should wash the eye with cool water, and you should immediately contact a medical provider. These professionals have the equipment and knowledge needed to neutralize and remove the chemicals in the eye, and they can perform tests that will determine whether there is any of the chemical left behind.
If even a small amount of these substances remain in the eye, it can cause long-term damage to your vision, and it may lead to chronic eye discomfort.
Your eye has a remarkable ability to heal itself after suffering an injury. However, depending on the severity of the injury, you may require professional help from an optometrist to treat it, and understanding these commonly asked questions and answers about eye injuries will help you make more informed decisions when it comes to recovering from an eye injury.