Can the emergency room treat eye problems?

While some may opt to visit an emergency room for an eye injury, research shows that most emergency room visits for eye emergencies could have been treated by an experienced optometrist.

When should you go to the ER for eye problems?

We recommend seeking immediate medical attention anytime you experience swelling, redness, or pain in your eye, especially if it occurs after an injury or having a foreign object or chemical in your eye. When left untreated, these injuries can damage your eye even more, leading to partial and/or permanent blindness.

How would you treat an eye emergency?

How to treat an eye injury at home

1. wash your eye with clean water if there’s something in it.
2. follow the advice on the packaging if any cosmetics or household products get in your eyes.
3. take painkillers like paracetamol or ibuprofen to help ease any pain or discomfort.

Should I go to ER for retinal detachment?

If you experience any symptoms of retinal detachment, go to your eye doctor or the emergency room right away. Early treatment can help prevent permanent vision loss. It’s also important to get comprehensive dilated eye exams regularly.

Does urgent care do eye injuries?

Visit an urgent care center or emergency room if you experience any sudden vision loss or bleeding in the actual eye itself.

Why would you need emergency eye surgery?

All ocular emergencies, including a penetrating globe injury, retinal detachment, central retinal artery occlusion, acute angle-closure glaucoma, and chemical burns, should be referred immediately to the emergency department or an ophthalmologist.

Does the ER have an ophthalmologist?

Many emergency room physicians receive little or no formal training in ophthalmology, yet they commonly see and treat acute ophthalmic injuries.

Should I go to ER for eye flashes?

Flashes or floaters – this is a sign that the retina is being disturbed and could mean a retinal detachment is happening. Call or visit your eye doctor immediately. If there is an after hours number, contact them but if you are unable to reach your eye doctor, go to the emergency room.

Should I go to the ER for a detached retina?

Should you see an eye specialist before going to the ER?

On the other hand, those who had been seeing an eye specialist — an optometrist or ophthalmologist — on a regular basis before their eye-related ER visit were much less likely to seek emergency care for an uncritical eye problem.

Should you go to the ER for Pinkeye?

Researchers highlight the trend — and better options. Pinkeye isn’t a medical emergency. Neither is a puffy eyelid. But a new study finds that nearly 1 in 4 people who seek emergency care for eye problems have those mild conditions. The work recommends ways to help those patients get the right level of care.

Should insurers and eye care professionals work together to curb ER visits?

“Our findings suggest that eye care professionals, insurers and emergency providers should work together to help people get the care they need for emerging eye issues, in the right setting.” Stagg hopes insurers and health providers can use the findings to curb ER visits for issues that don’t need that level of care.

Is the emergency room the best place to treat your eye condition?

The results are published in Ophthalmology. “Depending on the eye condition, the emergency room is the right choice for some patients, but not the best place for many others,” says Brian Stagg, M.D., the study’s lead author and a clinical scholar at the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.