Eye Injuries

Summary

The structure of your face helps protect your eyes from injury. Still, injuries can damage your eye, sometimes severely enough that you could lose your vision. Most eye injuries are preventable. If you play sports or work in certain jobs, you may need protection.

The most common type of injury happens when something irritates the outer surface of your eye. Certain jobs such as industrial jobs or hobbies such as carpentry make this type of injury more likely. It’s also more likely if you wear contact lenses.

Chemicals or heat can burn your eyes. With chemicals, the pain may cause you to close your eyes. This traps the irritant next to the eye and may cause more damage. You should wash out your eye right away while you wait for medical help.

National Eye Institute

Children

• About the Eye National Eye Institute
• Black Eyes (For Parents) Nemours Foundation
• Corneal Abrasions (For Parents) Nemours Foundation
• Preventing Eye Injuries (For Parents) Nemours Foundation
• Sports and Eye Safety: Tips for Parents and Teachers National Eye Institute

Find an Expert

• American Optometric Association American Optometric Association
• Find an Ophthalmologist American Academy of Ophthalmology
• National Eye Institute National Eye Institute

Specifics

• Black Eye American Academy of Ophthalmology
• Blowout Fracture American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
• Corneal Abrasions American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
• Corneal Laceration American Academy of Ophthalmology
• Eye Safety at Home: Preventing Eye Injuries American Academy of Ophthalmology
• Macular Pucker National Eye Institute
• Prevent Workplace Eye Injuries American Academy of Ophthalmology
• What Is Hyphema? American Academy of Ophthalmology

Treatments and Therapies

• Black Eye: First Aid Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Chemical Splash in the Eye: First Aid Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Enucleation American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
• Object in Eye or Skin, First Aid VisualDX

Encyclopedia

• Blinking Medical Encyclopedia
• Corneal injury Medical Encyclopedia
• Fluorescein eye stain Medical Encyclopedia
• Slit-lamp exam Medical Encyclopedia

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Eye Injuries National Institutes of Health

Images

• Corneal Abrasion VisualDX
• Corneal Foreign Body VisualDX

Patient Handouts

• Corneal injury Medical Encyclopedia
• Eye – foreign object in Medical Encyclopedia
• Eye emergencies Medical Encyclopedia
• Hyphema Medical Encyclopedia

Diagnosis and Tests

• Dilating Eye Drops American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus

Statistics and Research

• Eye Health Data and Statistics National Eye Institute

Start Here

• Eye Injury and Safety American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
• Recognizing and Treating Eye Injuries American Academy of Ophthalmology

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Eye Injury Prevention American Academy of Ophthalmology
• Safety Glasses and Protective Eyewear American Academy of Ophthalmology

Symptoms

• Eye Symptoms American Academy of Ophthalmology

Reference Desk

• How the Eyes Work National Eye Institute
• NEI for Kids: Glossary National Eye Institute

Teenagers

• Never Buy Decorative Contact Lenses without a Prescription American Academy of Ophthalmology

Journal Articles

• Eye Injuries