Emergency Eye Care in Wichita

Know What to Do During an Eye Emergency

Accidents happen, and when they do, you can trust the care and treatment you’ll receive from our compassionate eye care team at The Eye Gallery. With a combination of experience and advanced diagnostic technology, we can quickly and effectively treat many different eye emergencies and injuries.

Call us when you or a loved one has sustained an eye injury. Although some eye injuries are minor and easily treated at home, even the smallest injury can lead to long-term consequences. Many eye emergencies can also only be diagnosed during a thorough eye exam and treated by an optometrist.

Symptoms of an Eye Injury

If you’ve recently injured your eye and are noticing any of the following symptoms, please call us immediately:

Changes in vision

Sudden hazy or blurred vision

Seeing black spots or flashes of light

Sudden vision loss

Red, crusty, or swollen eyelids

Pain in or around the eye

Blood in the clear parts of the eyes

Difficulty seeing

Cut or torn eyelid

Unusual pupil shape or size in the affected eye

One eye doesn’t move as well as the other

Feeling that something is in the eye

Seeing halos or rainbows around lights

Types of Eye Emergencies

The eyes are delicate organs, and so there are many types of eye emergencies you may experience. Below are some first aid steps you can take if you or a loved one have sustained an eye injury to protect your eyes from further damage before you seek medical help.

Scratches & Corneal Abrasions

Playing sports, doing housework, cooking, playing with your pets or kids, or working: there are many different ways to scratch your eye. You may experience symptoms immediately, or they may take a few hours to arise. Symptoms include:

Pain
Redness
Excessive tearing
A feeling like something is in your eye
Blurry vision
Sensitivity to light
Headache

While most scratches are minor and will heal on their own, you should always seek diagnosis and treatment from a trained optometrist to ensure your ocular health. To reduce the risk of infection, you may be given antibiotic eye drops.

Do not rub your eye or touch it with anything, like fingers, cotton swabs, other foreign objects. Instead, rinse the affected eye with cool, clean water or saline solution to help flush debris. Remember to blink as well! Then call us.

Foreign Objects

Small foreign objects like sand, dust, dirt, eyelashes, hair, and other particles are common eye irritants and constantly enter the eyes. The eyes are usually effective at removing these items, but you can help the process by flushing your eyes with cool, clean water.

Larger and sharper objects, like glass or metal, can become embedded in the eye and present a more serious risk.

Remember not to touch or rub your eye. Try blinking to help remove the particle(s) from your eye, or flush your eyes with cool, clean water or saline solution.

Then call us, visit the nearest emergency room, or call 911 immediately.

Ocular & Orbital Trauma (Hit to the Eye)

A hit to the eye from an accident or fall can injure the eye or its surrounding structure. Symptoms include:

Bruising and swelling around the eye (black eye)
Bleeding
Facial numbness
Pain in and around the eye
Cuts on the eyelid
Blurry or double vision

If you or a loved one has been struck in the eye, do not apply pressure. However, you can gently apply a cold compress to the area to help reduce swelling and pain, but don’t use meat or other food items that may carry bacteria.

Even a light blow can cause significant damage, so please call us immediately or visit your nearest emergency room if we are not available.

Chemical Burns

Chemical exposure to sensitive eye tissues can lead to chemical burns. While most chemical burns occur in industrial settings, they can also happen at home. Always check the product to find out what chemical caused the burn.

Acid Burns

Household products like toilet cleaners, batteries, and bleach contain acid and burn when they splash into the eyes.

If an acid has splashed into your face and eyes, Immediately flush the area with cool, clean water for at least 15 minutes. Then call us or visit your nearest emergency room if we are not available.

Alkali Burns

Drain cleaners and industrial cleaning solutions, household cleaning solutions, fertilizers, cement, and plaster all contain alkali and are responsible for alkali burns.

In the case of an alkali burn, immediately flush your eyes with cool, clean water for at least 15 minutes. If you wear contact lenses, remove them as soon as possible.

Alkali burns can cause severe and extensive ocular damage and require immediate attention. Call us or visit your nearest emergency room.

Reduce Your Risk of Eye Injuries with Protective Eyewear

Sport and safety eyewear can help reduce the risk of eye injuries while you’re at work, playing sports, or even performing household chores. We carry a wide selection of specialty eyewear in our eyeglass boutique. Our experienced and friendly opticians and frame stylists can help you find the perfect style for your work, favorite hobby, or sport!

Testimonials

I am very pleased with my experience from entry to exit. I’m so happy I followed through with my friend’s referral to see Dr. Baldwin. Dr. Baldwin was very thorough and efficient and so friendly and listened to my concerns and wishes regarding contacts. The staff is great as well. Anna is very patient and understanding! She listened to my concerns from a few past experiences and took everything into consideration to best fit my needs for Rx sunglasses. For me, ordering Rx sunglasses is very difficult. I’m very happy to be a patient at The Eye Gallery.

Sandra

Megan Baldwin always does an amazing job with my kids! She is always super friendly, patient, and understanding and makes them feel comfortable! I highly recommend her and her wonderful staff!

Rori

Everyone in the office is friendly and professional. I needed help to choose a frame and they all helped me with good advice. The office is clean and working with COVID requirements to provide protection to all customers and workers there.

Emergency Eye Care in Wichita

Know What to Do During an Eye Emergency

Symptoms of an Eye Injury

Types of Eye Emergencies

Reduce Your Risk of Eye Injuries with Protective Eyewear

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