Eye injuries are not something that most people really spend a lot of time thinking about. Unfortunately, once an eye injury does occur, it is often the only thing you can think about. There are a lot of different ways that these types of injuries can occur, just as there are a variety of different injuries involved.
In some cases, the only thing that happens is mild irritation of the eye, and maybe the use of a few minutes of your time to deal with the problem. In other cases, the injury is so severe that it can adversely impact your vision. For a worst-case scenario, there is a permanent decrease in vision or even loss.
Types of eye injuries
The most common type of injury is something that almost every person has experienced at one time or another. It involves having something that works its way into the eye where it embeds. In some cases, it can be an eyelash, a speck of dirt or practically anything else.
It usually isn’t too serious but in some cases, it stays there long enough to scratch the surface of the eye. If that is the case, it is time to seek treatment, especially if flushing the eye doesn’t correct the problem right away. Eye injuries can also be far more serious, including blunt force trauma, penetrating eye injuries, chemical burns, and even radiation exposure. These types of injuries require emergency treatment and should not be ignored.
How injuries occur
More often than not, they are the direct result of some type of accident. Sometimes, those individuals who hold certain jobs are far more likely to experience these types of injuries than others. For instance, welders or those who work with certain chemicals may have a greater chance for experiencing some type of injury that affects their vision. The same is true for anyone who is around radiation or other hazardous materials, including first responders.
Treatment
In most cases, simply flushing the eye will get the job done. This involves rinsing the eye until the object is flushed out. If that doesn’t work it is time to seek medical treatment, especially if there is a great deal of pain or you find it impossible to focus on things normally. By the same token, make sure you get checked out if you have double vision, things are generally blurry, or things appear to be dimmer than usual.
If you have any doubts whatsoever about your eye health, do not hesitate to seek help. There are cases when getting proper treatment quickly makes all the difference in the world between being able to see or being blind in the affected eye later on.
In closing, eye injuries are nothing to play around with. They usually aren’t serious enough to cause long-term problems, but when they are, serious complications can occur. Your vision is precious, so it is imperative that you do everything you can to take care of it.
Related Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnRt3JZwdYc
FACT CHECK
https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/eye-injuries.htm