Frist Aid For The Eyes

When an injury occurs to any part of the body, quick action is important.

Being prepared and acting quickly may mean the difference between recovery and blindness.

One of the most common at-home injuries is splashing something into the eye. If this happens, you should immediately begin rinsing your eye. You can put your head under the faucet or fill the sink and lower your face into it. The important thing is to irrigate the eye for a full ten minutes. Then call your eye care practitioner.

Another frequent accident is getting something into the eye. If normal tearing does not wash the material out, you might try gently flushing the eye. Do not dig in your eye trying to remove something that won’t wash out. Call your eye doctor. If a foreign object is protruding from the eye, do not try to pull the object out. Go to the emergency room or the ophthalmologist’s office immediately.

A home first aid kit might include a bottle of sterile eye rinse (non-medicated), sterile gauze or eye pads and tape, and artificial tear drops and ointment.

Jan Ledford, COMT
EyeWrite Productions

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