Eye Injuries

Eye injuries are common and often preventable. In India, workplace injuries, cricket/squash, firecracker (Diwali), welding without shields, and chemical splashes are the main mechanisms. Most serious outcomes come from delay.

First aid by type

• Foreign body (dust, iron filing, insect, chilli splash) — don't rub. Blink several times; rinse gently with clean water or saline. If something is stuck or visible on the eye, don't try to remove — go to an eye doctor.
• Chemical splash (acid, alkali, cement, lime, battery fluid, detergent, capsicum spray) — wash the eye immediately with running tap water for 15–20 minutes, even longer for alkali. Hold eye open under a tap or pour jug after jug. Only then go to hospital. Alkali burns worsen over minutes — seconds matter.
• Blunt injury (cricket ball, cork, elbow, firecracker blast) — cover with a rigid shield (plastic cup, cardboard funnel), don't press, go to an eye hospital. Don't eat or drink in case surgery is needed.
• Sharp/penetrating injury (shard of glass, iron wire, nail, thorn) — do NOT try to remove the object. Tape a shield over the eye, don't bend forward, reach eye ER urgently.
• Welder's flash / snow blindness — severe pain 6–12 hours after exposure. Pain relief, dark room, lubricant drops. See an eye doctor — usually resolves in 24–48 hours.

Firecracker (Diwali) injuries

• Never hold lit crackers — especially flower-pots, rockets, chakri with loose base.
• Safety goggles for children if they're around crackers.
• Keep a bucket of water + sand ready.
• If a cracker eye injury happens — rigid shield, do not wash with water first (unless chemical), straight to an eye hospital.

Red flags — to hospital

• Any reduction in vision after an injury.
• Visible cut, laceration, or object stuck in the eye.
• Blood inside the coloured part of the eye.
• Chemical splash — even if it "feels better" after washing.
• Severe pain, light sensitivity, or double vision after blunt trauma.