Eye Injuries and Children

Children can get into all kinds of scrapes and situations, but one of the most terrifying kinds of injuries involves those that affect the eyes. Several types of injuries and conditions can traumatize or otherwise endanger children's eyes.

Environmental Irritants
The accidental introduction of an environmental irritant, such as dust, soap, or other particle, to the eye can cause pain, redness, and corneal abrasions.

Using water from the home tap to flush out the irritant represents the easiest and most effective way to deal with this issue. Use only lukewarm water, never hot, when flushing out the foreign body.

Never attempt to wipe the object off the eye with a towel or napkin. This could irritate, abrade, or damage the cornea and cause a more serious eye problem.

A more serious eye injury occurs when something penetrates the eye. Initially, cover the area with a cup to prevent anything else from irritating the eye and potentially causing an eye infection. Do not remove the object on your own. Bring the child to an emergency room where a trained medical expert can professionally apply the proper treatment.

Black Eye
Forcible contact from a blunt object to the eye area may cause a contusion, commonly known as black eye. Children may get black eyes from fights, sports skirmishes, or falling on a blunt object during play.

Treating a black eye depends on the situation and circumstances surrounding the injury. Many black eyes involve only superficial trauma to the eye area. However, it could also include a head trauma or a serious eye injury, such as hyphema, or bleeding in the eye area. Hyphema can result in serious damage to the cornea and vision problems. Consult with your pediatrician whenever your child has a black eye that causes significant pain. The trauma to the eye region that causes a black eye can also result in a condition known as glaucoma, or too much pressure in the eye. Left untreated, glaucoma can cause permanent vision problems and, possibly, blindness.

To make certain that the black eye is not more than a simple bruise, bring your child to a pediatric ophthalmologist as soon as possible. While waiting to see the doctor, applying a cold cloth to the affected area can relieve some pain and swelling. Create a cold cloth by wrapping a wet towel or washrag around a couple of ice cubes. Never apply the ice directly over the affected eye. Watch out for continuous eye pain, increasing redness, vision changes or a change in the appearance of the eyeball.

Giving your child acetaminophen may relieve some of the pain, but avoid ibuprofen or aspirin as these can exacerbate bleeding, if any.

Chemical Irritation
If any household chemical should get in contact with your child's eyes, flush the eyes with lukewarm water for a minimum five full minutes, then seek medical assistance to avoid eye infection or damage. The attending pediatrician can help your child more quickly and efficiently if you can provide the name of the chemical, or even bring a sample with you when you go to the emergency room.

First Aid
Knowing how to properly handle an eye emergency can save valuable time and possibly prevent vision loss.

Basic Eye Safety and Preparedness:

• Wear eye protection for all hazardous activities and sports at school, home and on the job.
• Stock a first aid kit with a rigid eye shield and commercial eyewash before an eye injury happens.
• DO NOT assume that you know the severity of any eye injury. When in doubt, see a pediatric physician immediately.

Eye Contact with Chemicals:

• Immediately flush the eye with water. Hold the eye under a faucet or shower, or pour water into the eye using a clean container. Keep the eye open and as wide as possible while flushing. Continue flushing for at least 15 minutes. DO NOT use an eyecup.
• If a contact lens is in the eye, begin flushing over the lens immediately. This may wash away the lens.
• DO NOT bandage the eye.
• Seek immediate medical treatment after flushing.

Specks in the Eye:

• DO NOT rub the eye.
• Try to let tears wash the speck out or use eyewash.
• Try lifting the upper eyelid outward and down over the lower lid.
• If the speck does not wash out, keep the eye closed, bandage it lightly and see a doctor.

Trauma:

• Apply a cold compress without putting pressure on the eye. Crushed ice in a plastic bag can be taped to the forehead to rest gently on the injured eye.
• In cases of pain, reduced vision or discoloration (black eye), seek emergency medical care. Any of these symptoms could mean internal eye damage.

Cuts and Punctures:

• DO NOT wash out the eye with water or any other liquid.
• DO NOT try to remove an object that is stuck in the eye.
• Cover the eye with a rigid shield without applying pressure. The bottom half of a paper cup can be used.
• See a doctor at once!

No parent wants to experience the fear and upset associated with a child's eye injury, but knowing what to do in case of eye trauma can save your child's vision. Talk to the healthcare professionals at your local pediatric clinic to learn more about caring for eye injuries in children.

 

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Samantha Gluck - About the Author:

Samantha Gluck is a writer who specializes in various topics, including pediatric healthcare, OB/GYN healthcare, business and much more.