In Case of an Eye Emergency, Call Your Optometrist

Eye Emergencies - Why You Should Always Call Your Optometrist Before Going to the ER or Urgent Care.

Imagine you woke up tomorrow, and your eye was crusted shut with dried discharge, and you couldn’t open it. Or maybe you are seeing flashes or floaters that weren’t there before, and they won’t go away. Or, scarier yet, you have lost vision in one or both eyes. What would you do, and who would you call regarding these eye issues?
 

What is an Eye Emergency or Urgency?

Eye Emergencies include cuts, scratches, objects in the eye, burns, chemical exposure, blunt injuries to the eye or eyelid, eye infections, sudden onset of persistent flashes and/or floaters, and loss of vision. Eye urgencies include broken or lost glasses or contact lenses necessary for you to go about your daily functions (work, drive, read, etc.). Urgencies also include red eyes, itchy eyes, styes, and the like. While not an emergency, we will still get you in as soon as possible.
 

What Should You Do if You Have an Eye Emergency or Urgency?

Call your Optometrist! The most important thing to remember is that your Optometrist is your primary eye care doctor. 

The second most important thing to remember is that most other doctors, nurse practitioners, or physician assistants do not like eyeballs. They don’t learn much about them in their medical training, and frankly, many feel that eyes are kind of gross. 

The third most important thing to remember is that ERs, urgent care facilities, and general medical offices are not set up to do eye exams. They just don’t have the proper tools to examine the eyes.

When you come into an eye doctor's office, you find retinal imaging, slit lamps, and phoropters, amongst many other tools used to better see what is going on with your eyes. Visiting your eye doctor will be faster and less expensive than going to the ER. For the most part, the doctor you see at the ER or urgent care will instruct you to follow up with your eye doctor anyway. We have seen many of those patients after they go to the ER or urgent care only to find that the diagnosis or the treatment was different than ours.

In our experience, many patients are diagnosed with bacterial conjunctivitis and given antibiotic drops. When we see the patient, we often find they have allergic conjunctivitis, viral conjunctivitis, or even worse, uveitis. None of those three conditions will respond to antibiotic drops. 


What to Know When You Call 

When you call your optometrist, the two most important questions we will have are: 

  • Has your vision suddenly changed? 

  • Are you in pain? 

Those questions are vital to our understanding of what you are going through.

Our office has after-hours numbers for our doctors, and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Ideally, you would call the office, tell us what’s happening, and even send a picture via text or email. If the issue is obvious to the optometrist, we can start a treatment plan immediately. If we are unsure of the problem and want a closer look, we will squeeze you in as soon as possible. If you contact us after-hours or on the weekend, the doctor on call will meet you at the office to conduct an exam. 

If the situation is emergent, we will connect you with an ophthalmologist who can best care for you. If it’s in the middle of the night, we will probably tell you to go to the ER, but we can call the ER and let them know what we think is going on so they can page the ophthalmologist on call without having to wait in the waiting room for hours.

We are your eye doctors, and this is why we are here.