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Eye injuries can happen
to anyone, and are quite common.
Particle of dust or speck
of dirt in the eye
- Do
not rub your eye, as it may cause scratching and other injury to your
cornea.
- Gently
lift your upper eyelid down over your lower one, allowing your eye to
flush the particle of dirt out. Hold your eyelid like this for a minute
or so or until you feel the object has been removed. This may be
repeated as necessary.
- Blink
your eye several times to help remove the object.
- You
may also try to flush it out of your eye using a little bit of cool
clean water. (this may be more effective for dust, smoke, and heat burn
to the eyes as opposed to dirt particles.)
- Try
not to remove it with your fingers as you may do damage to your eye.
- If
object remains in the eye, keep it closed and go see your doctor.
If something has become
embedded in the eye, cover both eyes with a clean sterile pad and go to the
doctors. Do Not try to remove the object or touch the eye.
A hit or blow to the eye
- Quickly
apply a cold compress to the area around the eye, not the eye itself,
for about 15 minutes. This will reduce pain and swelling.
- A
black eye or blurred vision may indicate eye damage and should be looked
at by a doctor.
Cuts to the eye or eyelid
- Bandage
the eye area gently with gauze and medical tape and get the person to
the doctor as soon as possible.
- Do
not attempt to remove any objects on the eye, or touch the eye.
- Do
not apply pressure to the injured area, and do not rub the affected
area.
Chemical burns to the eye
- Immediately
flush the area with water, using your fingers to hold open your eyelids.
Make certain that your fingers and clean and have no chemicals on them
to avoid further damage and possible reactions. Continue to flush eye
for at least 15 minutes. You may want to move your eye around while
doing this to help assure the removal of all chemicals.
- Make
sure the head is tilted so the chemicals and water do not flow into the
unaffected eye.
- These
burns should be looked at by a doctor as soon as possible to make sure
no damage was done to the eye.
Remember,
eye injuries are usually preventable if the proper gear is worn. In labs
always wear protective gear and goggles, and when playing sports make sure
that you wear a mask or eye guard. When playing outside watch for branches
and other things which might bring about an eye injury.
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