Common Eye Injuries and Symptoms - Legacy ER

While your body does an excellent job of protecting most of your organs, the same isn’t true for your eyes. Because they’re so vulnerable, eye injuries are common and occur for various reasons. You might get dust in your eye while outside enjoying your yard or irritate your eye while working on a new woodworking project. With so many possibilities, it’s essential to learn more about these injuries and find out what to do if you’re hurt.

Common Eye Injuries

While you can injure your eyes in a myriad of ways, some are more common than others.

Some of the most common injuries include:

• Bruises
• Scratches
• Lacerations
• Bleeding
• Punctures
• Detached retinas
• Chemical burns
• Fractures of the eye socket

4 Ways to Prevent Eye Injuries

1. Wear protective eyewear

Wear glasses or goggles while participating in sports or activities that put your eyes at a higher risk of injury. Wear proper eye protection while using chemicals, doing yard work, or using power tools.

2. Store chemicals safely

Use proper eye protection when cleaning with chemicals. Keep all chemicals out of reach of children and ensure lids are secured when stored.

3. Wash hands thoroughly before touching your eyes

Wash your hands with soap and water before touching or rubbing your eyes. Dirt and debris can stick to your fingers and be transferred to your eyes and can cause irritation or infection.

4. Use caution with fireworks

Always wear eye protection when setting off fireworks and read all labels before handling. Fireworks should only be handled by adults.

Foreign Objects and Chemical Burns – What to Do If You’re Injured

If you have a chemical toxin or foreign object in your eyes, you need to find medical help. If your eyes have been exposed to chemical irritants, flush them with water before leaving your house. It’s important to understand that the irritants can impact your vision, so don’t drive yourself.

After arriving at the ER or urgent care, the team will assess you and begin treatment. You might need medication for pain and to reduce the chance of an infection. Also, medicated eye drops and lubricants can help you recover. However, you might need to stay overnight if your eyes are severely burned, which can lead to complications.

Foreign object injuries are a bit different. As much as you might want to remove the foreign body yourself, you could cause additional damage, so leave it in place while going to the emergency room. The doctor might be able to use irrigation to remove the object, although foreign body surgery is also a possibility.

When to Seek Medical Attention For Eye Injuries

A severe injury could impact your vision and cause long-term problems. With prompt treatment, you can prevent the condition from getting worse.

Go to the ER immediately if you have any of these severe symptoms or a significant injury:

• You are in significant pain
• You can’t control your eye movements
• Your eyes have changed in appearance
• You are bleeding from the eye
• There’s a foreign object in your eye
• You experienced a significant change in vision

Not all eye injuries are medical emergencies. Some are less serious but still require medical treatment. It can be hard to decide in your time of need if you need emergency or urgent care. Fortunately, you can alleviate the stress of deciding by going to a facility with an ER and urgent care under one roof.

Get Medical Help for Eye Injuries

Legacy ER & Urgent Care is here to meet your medical care needs by providing affordable pricing and quality care. As part of Intuitive Health’s innovative hybrid model ER and urgent care system, patients are only billed for the level of care they receive from professional and highly trained medical staff. With six facilities located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, emergent and non-emergent care are accessible and transparent, focusing on superb customer service.

Legacy ER & Urgent Care has six convenient locations in the DFW area:

• Allen – Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 1310 W. Exchange Pkwy Allen, TX 75013, and may be reached at 972-526-5819.
• Coppell – Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 330 S Denton Tap Rd Coppell, TX 75019 and may be reached at 469-702-9917.
• Frisco East: Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 16151 Eldorado Pkwy Frisco, TX 75035 and may be reached at 972-526-7009.
• Frisco West: Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 9205 Legacy Dr. Frisco, TX 75033, and may be reached at 972-526-7020.
• McKinney – Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 2810 Hardin Blvd McKinney, TX 75072, and may be reached at 972-573-6688.
• North Richland Hills: Legacy ER & Urgent Care is located at 8950 N. Tarrant Pkwy North Richland Hills, TX 76182, and may be reached at 817-663-1247