Consultation If a speck gets into your eye

What to do if something gets in your eye

If a speck gets in, it is very important to follow the rules of hygiene and perform all procedures correctly. Initially, you need to wash your hands thoroughly, gain confidence and calm. Then take a comfortable position. First of all, you should determine the location of the speck.

The lower and upper eyelids must be pulled back alternately. It is better to do this in front of a mirror. If nothing is visible, then there is probably a speck stuck to the eyelid. It must be opened with caution and the interior inspected. If the examination is difficult, you should ask your loved ones for help.

Methods for removing debris:

• Basically, the body is able to get rid of foreign particles on its own. To do this, it is enough to blink often and move your eyes in different directions. This will help the speck reach the corner of the eye. It can then be removed with clean hands.
• Using a clean finger, you need to move it over the eyelid, but it should be closed. Then try to move the particle to the desired corner using movements. If it works, it won't be difficult to get it.
• Another effective method is to rinse your eyes with clean water. It must be boiled or peeled. Do not use tap water. It contains chemical elements that irritate the mucous membranes.
• If the speck adheres tightly to the mucous surface, additional items must be used to remove it. For example, a cotton swab. Sharp objects are strictly prohibited.
• You can do without using third-party items. To do this, you need to bend your face in front of a container of warm water. After getting used to it, you need to blink your eyes intensively. In this case, the speck will fall out on its own.
• If lime or other construction particles get into your eyes, make a sweet solution. A small amount of sugar is diluted in warm water and the eyes are washed.
• If metal particles get into your eyes, they can be removed using a magnet. But it's best to see a doctor.
• If your eyes do not water, you can use moisturizing drops and purified water.

It is very important not to rub your eyes if foreign particles get into them. This may damage the mucous membrane. If you manage to remove the speck, then you need to evaluate the condition of the eye. If it continues to water, redness appears, and visual acuity is not restored, then this indicates that the particle was not completely removed. Therefore, you cannot continue to self-medicate. You should consult a doctor as soon as possible.

Doctor's advice: What to do if a foreign object gets into the eye?

Ophthalmologists at Hospital No. 15 spoke about cases from their practice

Cases when debris gets into the eye - from fine dust to large construction debris - occur quite often. Every day, an average of 20 people turn to the city clinical hospital No. 15 named after O.M. Filatov on Veshnyakovskaya Street with similar complaints, which is about 50% of all emergency calls.

How to pull out the wire?

So recently, a 35-year-old man was admitted to Hospital No. 15 with bristles from a metal brush in his eye. It turned out that the patient was doing repairs, but did not protect his eyes during this work.

As a result, a sharp and thin wire 9 millimeters long sank into the anterior chamber of the eye. Doctors diagnosed the man with a swelling traumatic cataract, lens displacement and iris rejection. All this threatened the patient with blindness.

“Our specialists, using tweezers and a strong magnet, removed the wire from the patient’s eye,” says the head of the ophthalmology department of hospital No. 15 named after. O.M.Filatova Tatyana Eliseeva. — After some time, another operation followed - surgeons reconstructed the anterior chamber of the eye: the traumatic cataract was removed, and the lens was replaced with an artificial one. Fortunately, the man’s vision was preserved.

See a doctor anyway

“This case can be called exceptional,” notes Sergei Zhavoronkov, an ophthalmologist at Hospital No. 15, “most often foreign bodies are small, they do not pierce the eye and do not cause serious damage to health. But if the membranes or internal structures of the eye are damaged, then doctors are rarely able to minimize the harm and restore vision.

According to the ophthalmologist, if you get something in your eye, you should consult a doctor in any case. It may seem to the victim that nothing terrible has happened, but a non-specialist cannot independently assess the danger, because the person does not know exactly what got into the eye. Even a small insect can cause a serious toxic or allergic reaction.

You can't rub your eyes!

“Any foreign body can lead to the development of an infection in the eye,” continues Zhavoronkov. — The doctor must examine the patient, remove the foreign body and prescribe treatment aimed at preventing the infection from developing.

If it is not possible to see a doctor right away, then you need to put an antibiotic or antiseptic in your eye and still try to get to the doctor. Do not rub your eyes under any circumstances, this may make the situation worse.

“Even the alarm turns out to be false, don’t worry, we’d rather spend a few minutes on an examination than spend days, weeks or months trying to save your vision,” says the ophthalmologist.

Wear safety glasses!

Ophthalmologists at Hospital No. 15 say that most often they are contacted by people carrying out repair work with grinding machines and those who mow lawns with a trimmer. Among those who receive injuries associated with a foreign body entering the eye, mostly young men.

“This could be avoided if you protect your eyes with special glasses,” warns the head of the ophthalmology department. — Glasses should also be worn by those who ride a bicycle or a motorcycle. At speed, insects, road surface particles, and other foreign bodies can get into the eye.

Tatyana Eliseeva also recalled that their hospital accepts all applicants, but high-tech care can only be provided to those who have a compulsory health insurance policy.

Source of information: “Eastern District Online”

The correct algorithm for removing specks from the eye

Before starting the procedure, it is important to know how to remove the speck correctly. Friends can give a lot of advice, but few of them will be correct. It is worth considering that you can only remove small specks on your own that do not cause other dangerous symptoms. It is best to contact an ophthalmologist for professional help.

If this is not possible, then useful recommendations should be taken into account. If the eye shell is damaged by a foreign body, you cannot take independent action. In this case, you should definitely consult a doctor. If the speck is small and located under the eyelid or on the surface of the mucous membrane, then it can be removed using the methods described above. The main thing is not to use sharp objects for this and remember about hygiene.

When and where to seek help

You need to seek help when discomfort has changed to pain. This may mean that the speck has scratched the mucous membrane of the eyeball or is stuck in the eye. In the event that a foreign body gets into the eye of a small child, it is better not to take risks, but to immediately seek help from a medical institution.

Which doctor should I contact? An ophthalmologist will help you. He is the one who will quickly diagnose and provide assistance. When you are about to go to the doctor, be sure to put an eye patch over your eye to protect it. If it is not possible to see a doctor, then you will be helped to cope with the problem at a first aid post or at an ambulance station.

Even if the speck has been removed, but the discomfort remains, it means you should still consult a doctor. Most likely, she injured her eye, which is what caused the pain. For diagnosis, you will be given a special solution that glows in ultraviolet light and will help you find the location of the damage. The wound may be deep, which may negatively affect vision. So don't take risks!

For minor scratches, antibiotic drops or eye ointments are prescribed.

If a speck gets into your eye outside the house

If such a nuisance happened on the street, then it brings the person even more unpleasant sensations. It is strictly forbidden to rub your eyes or try to pull out specks in the wind. To eliminate it, you need to find a room. You can go straight to the emergency room if it is not possible to carry out the procedure in hygienic conditions. This decision will be the most correct.

If you are near the house or housing of friends, you can turn to them for help. It is much easier and safer to remove debris indoors. While a person is outside, he needs to cover the affected eye with a scarf. This will help prevent other particles from getting in and causing inflammation.

If a child gets sand in his eyes on the street, they can be washed with purified water. You can buy it in any store.

How to get a speck out of your eye

To pull out (get) a speck from under the upper and lower eyelids, the eyeball and the conjunctiva of the eyelids, you need to perform the following steps:

• Ask the victim about the circumstances of the eye injury;
• If sand or small debris gets into your eyes, you should immediately rinse them with running water under a tap or from a bottle so that the water flows in the direction from the nose to the temple;
• Carefully examine the affected eye, move the lower eyelid down, carefully use your fingers to turn out the upper eyelid and examine the entire conjunctiva of the eyelids and eyeball;
• If there is a superficial foreign body on the conjunctiva, you should try to carefully remove it using a sterile napkin or a clean, ironed handkerchief;
• After removal, instill eye drops with a solution of albucid or antibiotic;

• If the sensations of eye irritation go away, lacrimation decreases, and vision is not impaired, you need to use eye drops for another 3-4 days until the symptoms disappear completely;
• If shavings, sawdust, fragments of metal or wood, or other sharp objects are tightly fixed in the shells, you need to drop albucid or an antibiotic into the eye, cover it with a dry sterile bandage and urgently take the victim to the hospital.

It must be remembered that in any case, even after successful removal of a foreign body from the eye, an examination by an ophthalmologist will never hurt. Even minor trauma to the eye membranes always has a certain degree of risk of developing inflammation and associated complications.

Help a child

Such cases occur more often in children than in adults. This is due to knowledge of the world and insufficiently developed defensive reactions. Playing in the sandbox, strong winds, all this can cause foreign particles to get into your eyes. You can immediately understand that something is bothering the child. He begins to cry, does not open or covers his eye with his hand.

Initially, the child must be reassured. He must sit down and open his eye. Adults need to determine the location of the speck as soon as possible. This will help you get rid of it faster. You can help a child or another person using language. Open the affected eye wide and run your tongue over it. This must be done carefully to treat the entire surface of the mucous membrane. Especially if it was not possible to determine the location of the particle.

In most cases, the tongue can sense the presence of a foreign body. This method is considered safe. This does not cause pain or discomfort to the person. There is also no risk of injury.

How to get a speck out of a newborn's eye

Removing a foreign body from a newborn's eye is easier than in older children. Parents can easily notice the presence of speck in the baby's eyes. Especially if it is on the surface of the mucous membrane and moves. To eliminate this, you need to wash your hands. Then fix the baby’s head and pull down the lower eyelid.

Determine the location of the foreign particle. If it moves freely, then it can be easily eliminated. Babies explore the world and often put different things in their mouths; due to carelessness, fluff, dust particles and other objects can get into their eyes.

A small amount of warm, boiled water should be dropped into the eye. Then close your eye and make several circular movements along the eyelid. Try to direct them to the corner that is closer to the bridge of the nose. In this way, you can move the speck towards the exit. It can come out on its own or with the help of a cotton swab. After this, it is recommended to treat with albucid. If your eye condition does not improve, you should definitely consult a doctor. This will help avoid unpleasant consequences.

Symptoms of the presence of a foreign body in the eye

The lining of the eyeball is very sensitive; when a speck gets into the eye, characteristic symptoms immediately appear.

However, depending on the type of damage and the nature of the foreign body, the intensity of symptoms can range from barely sensitive discomfort in the eye to severe pain.

We list the main symptoms when a foreign body gets into the eye:

• discomfort, pain and burning, sensation of a foreign body in the eye;
• redness of the cornea;
• lacrimation;
• photophobia;
• difficulty opening the eyelid;
• decreased vision;
• bleeding from the superficial ophthalmic vessels.

1 Help with foreign body entry and removal from the eye

2 Help with foreign body entry and removal from the eye

3 Help with foreign body entry and removal from the eye

If the speck in the eye is not removed

In most cases, motes do not pose a serious threat. Usually you can pull them out yourself. But there are times when it is impossible to do without medical help. If you cannot remove a particle from under the upper or lower eyelid on your own, you should go to the emergency room.

The cause may be more dangerous foreign objects. Of particular danger are:

• ingress of metal and glass particles;
• solution of lime, alkaline and chemical substances;
• sharp foreign objects.

In such cases, you should consult a doctor immediately. All of these items can cause serious injury. After their removal, drug therapy will be required.

Recommendations

1. If, after removing the speck, the feeling of discomfort persists, put a bandage on the child’s eye and go to the doctor.
2. If you see that a grain of sand has penetrated the cornea, do not try to remove it yourself.
3. Explain to your child that you should not blink, as this will only increase irritation.
4. Remember the entire sequence of your actions. A situation may arise that you still have to see a doctor, who will need to know what and how you did.
5. There is no need to press or rub your eye.
6. Do not apply cream or ointment to your child's eyes.
7. It is not allowed to use tweezers to remove debris.

Now you know what to do when sand gets into your child’s eyes. The main task of parents is not to get confused, remain completely calm and provide first aid to the baby in a timely manner. Do not forget that you should not touch your child’s eyes with dirty hands, as this greatly increases the risk of introducing pathogenic microflora. Be sure, after removing the speck or sand, to instill eye drops with an antibiotic, which reduce the inflammatory process and prevent the development of infection. Remember that if alarming symptoms occur, you should immediately contact a doctor and not waste time waiting for complications to appear.

Procedures after removing specks from the eye

If the foreign object was successfully removed, then you should take care of the health of the eye. The mucous membrane may suffer from irritation and swelling. A decoction of chamomile and oak bark will help relieve discomfort. They are used to wash the eyes. These components produce an antibacterial and soothing effect. Regular black tea is also suitable for such purposes.

To use, you will need used tea bags, at room temperature. They are applied to the eyes to relieve pain, redness and swelling. If the particle damages the integrity of the mucous membrane, then the use of antiseptics will be required. Drops with chloramphenicol are perfect. In such cases, you need to visit a doctor to monitor the condition of the eye. It is important to carry out the procedures correctly. The well-being of the result depends on this.

Symptoms of the pathological process

The membranes of the eye contain a huge number of nerve endings, so the entry of debris, sawdust, shavings, scale and debris into the eye is accompanied by a complex of pronounced symptoms, these include:

• Pain and burning sensation in the eye;
• Burning sensation;
• Profuse lacrimation;
• Redness and swelling of the eye;
• Photophobia;
• Involuntary blinking and spasm of the eyelids;
• Decreased vision of varying degrees - a feeling of “fog”, blurred contours, dark spots, loss of visual fields.

It is typical that the strongest sensations are caused by foreign bodies in the superficial membranes, and when they are located in the deep layers, signs of visual impairment prevail.