Rapid Emergency Care For Your Eyes
Experiencing an eye emergency can be frightening and requires prompt attention. At Space Center Eye Associates, we can handle urgent eye care situations with speed and expertise. Whether you have suffered an eye injury, a sudden onset of symptoms, or a foreign object in your eye, our dedicated team provides the immediate care you need.
Emergency 101: Trust Us To Protect Your Eye Health & Vision
An eye emergency involves any sudden or severe condition that affects the eye or vision. It requires immediate medical attention to prevent lasting damage to eye health or loss of sight.
Why Choose Us for Emergency Eye Care?
- Rapid Access: We offer same-day emergency appointments to ensure you receive care when it's most critical
- Expert Team: Our eye care professionals have training to handle various eye emergencies, from eye infections to acute vision changes
- Advanced Technology: We use the latest eye care technology to diagnose and treat emergency conditions quickly, minimizing the risk of long-term damage to your vision
Clear the Way: Dealing with Foreign Objects in the Eye
Foreign objects in the eye, such as dust, sand, or metal shavings, can cause discomfort, redness, and potential harm to the eye's surface. If the object is small and superficial, blinking or rinsing the eye with clean water or saline solution may be sufficient to remove it. However, larger objects or those embedded in the eye require professional medical attention to avoid scratching the cornea.
Corneal Abrasions Caused by Foreign Objects
When a foreign object causes a corneal abrasion, this can result in significant discomfort, redness, sensitivity to light, excessive tearing, and a gritty feeling in the eye as if something is under the eyelid. Our treatments for corneal abrasions typically involve keeping the eye closed to allow it to heal, applying prescribed antibiotic eye drops or ointment to prevent infection, and sometimes using lubricating eye drops to ease discomfort.
Sudden Vision Loss: Act Fast to Protect Your Sight
Sudden vision loss can be a frightening experience and is considered a medical emergency. This condition can occur in one or both eyes. It might result from several causes, including retinal detachment, blockage of the arteries or veins serving the eye, acute glaucoma, and even a stroke. Symptoms of this eye emergency include a complete blackout, loss of a visual field, or seeing flashes of light.
Immediate assessment and treatment are crucial to diagnose the underlying cause and commence appropriate treatment to restore or preserve vision.
Eye Infections: Spot the Signs Early
Bacteria, viruses, or fungi can cause eye infections, which often lead to discomfort, redness, swelling, and discharge. Common types of eye infections include conjunctivitis (pink eye), styes, which are infections of the eyelid glands, and keratitis, an infection of the cornea often related to improper contact lens use. Treatment depends on the cause of the infection and might include antibiotic or antiviral eye drops, creams, or oral medications.
What to Do When Faced with An Eye Emergency
1. If an object like dust or sand gets into your eye, do not rub it. Try to blink to encourage tears, which can help flush out the particle. If the object doesn’t come out with blinking, flush the eye with clean water or saline solution.
2. Do not wash out the eye or attempt to remove any objects in the eye. Avoid applying pressure to the eye and cover the eye with a rigid shield like the bottom half of a paper cup.
3. Any sudden loss of vision or dramatic changes in vision (like seeing flashes of light, new floaters, or a curtain coming down over your vision) require an immediate medical evaluation to determine the cause and begin appropriate treatment.
Remember, treating eye emergencies promptly and properly can help save your sight. Our readiness and commitment to your eye health will never waver, so trust us to tackle any eye emergency with the utmost professionalism and care.