Key Takeaways
- Wash your hands with soap before you touch your face.
- Flush the area with clean water or saline drops.
- Keep your fingers away from the irritated area to protect your cornea.
- Watch for sudden vision changes or extreme pain.
- Visit an eye doctor in Pleasanton if discomfort lasts more than a day.
Fast Relief for Eye Debris
You can resolve most eye irritation caused by foreign objects by flushing the debris with clean water and keeping your fingers away from your face. Acting promptly helps prevent what is usually a minor annoyance from turning into a more serious issue like scratched cornea.
If symptoms persist despite flushing your eyes out, you should pay a visit to our team at Total Vision Pleasanton.
Respond Immediately
Wash Your Hands First
You touch countless surfaces throughout the day. Those surfaces leave invisible dirt and bacteria on your skin, so you’ll need to clean your hands thoroughly with soap before you touch your face. Clean hands help keep dirt away from your eyes.
Inspect the Area Carefully
Use a mirror in a space with good lighting to locate the debris. Gently pull down your lower eyelid to check for trapped particles.
Blink two or three times to help move the object naturally. Your natural tears act as a defense system to wash away foreign material. Debris often floats to the corner of your eye after a few blinks.
Safely Flush Your Eye
Use Clean Water & Saline
You can rinse the foreign object away with lukewarm tap water from a clean glass. Tip your head to the side and pour the water gently over the affected area. You can also apply sterile saline drops instead.
Another option is to let a gentle trickle from the shower run over your forehead and then into your eyes, where it can wash out the offending particles. This method works well if you have multiple grains of dust or sand in your eye.
Handle Contact Lenses Properly
You’ll need to take out your contacts before you rinse your eyes. This is because contact lenses trap dust and chemicals against the surface of your eyes.
Keep your lenses out until your eye heals completely. Instead, wear your glasses for a few days to give the area time to recover, just as you would after an eye infection. Your lenses can go back in once the irritation disappears.
Avoid Touching Your Eyes
Keep Hands Away From Eyes
You might feel a strong urge to rub the itchy spot, but you’ll need to keep your fingers away from your irritated eye. Rubbing can push objects deeper into your cornea and create harmful scratches.
A scratched cornea can lead to intense pain and may develop into a painful corneal ulcer. So it’s best to keep your hands at your sides.
Leave Embedded Objects Alone
Sometimes a sharp piece of material becomes embedded in the tissue of your eye. If that happens, you’ll need professional help. Never pull on an object that’s stuck in your eye, as you risk causing severe damage to your vision.
Visit an Eye Doctor in Pleasanton
Signs of a Serious Eye Injury
If you experience any of the following symptoms after an eye injury, you should seek immediate medical attention:
- Sudden vision changes or blurry sight
- Extreme pain or sensitivity to bright lights
- Bleeding or blood visible inside your eye
Watch for Persistent Discomfort
A minor scratch often feels like a trapped object even after the debris is washed away. If this sensation lasts for more than 24 hours, you should seek medical assistance.
Handle Chemical Emergencies
Flush the Area Immediately
Household cleaners and yard chemicals burn the tissue of your eye. You’ll need to rinse for 15 minutes continuously and then seek immediate medical help. Constant flushing dilutes the chemical in your eye, thereby helping to protect your vision.
Bring the Product Label
You should bring the label of the chemical with you when you seek treatment. This information helps your care team choose the right treatment.
Keep Your Eyes Safe
Accidents happen at unexpected times. That’s why, at Total Vision Pleasanton, we’re to help you and your family recover from unanticipated events. Call our team today to schedule an appointment.
