4 Types of Ocular Injury That Need Immediate Care

Ocular injuries include all manner of bruises, punctures, burns, and scratches. They may be caused by a blow or traumatic accident, exposure to irritating chemicals, or foreign objects embedded in the eye tissue.

Any such injury can damage your eye, causing pain and vision loss, which may be either temporary or permanent. While some ocular injuries can heal on their own at home, others need urgent treatment.

At Retina Specialists, our team of board-certified ophthalmologists has the experience and expertise to diagnose and treat all types of eye trauma, no matter what its cause. If you’re in the Dallas, Texas, area and have suffered an eye injury, here’s what you need to know about the types that need immediate care.

What are signs indicating an ocular injury is potentially serious?

Just going by how your eye looks or feels may not tell you much about the seriousness of the injury, as you won’t be able to tell if the eye wall has been penetrated or not. If you’re at all in doubt, come into Retina Specialists and have an ophthalmologist check it out.

Look out for the following signs and symptoms to determine how serious the injury may be:

Eye bleeding

Bleeding, aka a hemorrhage, can occur in different parts of your eye. Bleeding can damage eye structures, like the light-sensing retina, so you should always have this checked out.

Vision changes

If you sustain an eye injury that affects your vision for more than a few minutes, it’s a sign you might have serious damage. Blurry or double vision can come from a blow to the head or a burn or scratch. If you see black, floating spots, flashes of light, or a curtain over your vision, you may have serious retinal damage. This is a medical emergency.

Changes in eye appearance

Notice if the injured eye appears different from the other eye. Examples include one eye looking crossed, a pupil that appears unusually large or small, a twitching eyelid, difficulty moving the eye in a given direction, or the entire eye appearing to stick out of the socket or sink into it.

Foreign bodies

If you get something in your eye and you can’t get it out with your tears, a doctor needs to remove it. Never go on a fishing expedition in your eye: You may cause more serious damage. If you have chemicals in your eye, flush the eye with water, then come into Retina Specialists for an emergency appointment.

Obvious eye trauma or deformity

If any part of your eye or its socket isn’t its normal shape, seek medical care. Cuts, burns, and fluids draining from your eye are clear signs of injury.

What types of ocular injuries need immediate care?

While it’s best to have any eye injury checked out by an ophthalmologist to be certain there’s no lasting damage, there are four types of ocular injuries that require immediate care:

1. Blunt eye trauma

Blunt trauma to the eye can cause an orbital fracture, and a blowout fracture causes the muscles supporting the eye to be damaged or become caught between bone fragments. When blunt force directly contacts your eyeball, it can dislocate, detach, tear, or break structures inside of your eye, this is known as a globe contusion or globe rupture. It’s a medical emergency.

2. Eye burns

If you’re exposed to chemicals, radiation, or extreme heat, these can burn the surface of your eye. A corneal flash burn is a minor thermal (heat) burn or a “sunburn” of your eye due to sudden, intense exposure.

UV (ultraviolet) radiation exposure usually occurs over a greater period of time and can cause permanent damage. Chemical burns can come from industrial chemicals or even household cleaning products. Always wear eye protection and treat these as a medical emergency.

3. Foreign body injuries

A foreign body can be anything like sand, dirt, grass, pieces of metal, or glass. These bodies don’t just irritate the eye, but they also scratch it when it moves, and they can lead to infections. If the body won’t come out on its own with tears, come into our office to have a doctor remove it.

4. Penetrating injuries

A penetrating injury occurs when something sharp — or a high-speed projectile — punctures your eye. Some common culprits are fishhooks, darts, tools, BBs, and paintballs. Not only do they get stuck in the tissue, but these objects can cause bleeding and damage important structures.

You only have one set of eyes, so treat ocular injuries as potential emergencies and never take risks with your sight. Give Retina Specialists a call at any of our locations (Dallas, DeSoto, Plano, Mesquite, and Waxahachie) to schedule an urgent appointment.