Emergency Eye Care Service in Derry, NH & Surrounding Areas

Eye Injuries & Emergency Eye Care

Waiting too long to visit an emergency eye doctor can increase your risk of vision loss, infection, and permanent damage to your eye. An eye doctor at an urgent eye care facility can evaluate your injury or eye condition and determine how serious it is. At Spindel Eye Associates, we offer emergency eye care in Derry, Windham, Raymond, and Londonderry, NH. Our experienced ophthalmologists can quickly treat major and minor eye injuries, including scratches, abrasions, cuts, vision loss, and eye infections. We are available to provide emergency care after hours and on the weekends with our on-call emergency eye doctor.

What Is Considered an Eye Emergency?

It’s important to understand what constitutes an eye emergency to ensure you get the care you need as quickly as possible. Eye emergencies include:

• Scratches
• Glaucoma
• Blood clots
• Double vision
• Eye discharge
• Severe eye pain
• Orbital fractures
• Asymmetrical pupils
• Severe light sensitivity
• Bruising around the eye
• Full or partial vision loss
• A swollen or bulging eye
• Trauma to or near the eye
• Chemical exposure to the eye
• Cuts or abrasions on or near the eye
• Severe burning, stinging, or itching eyes
• Foreign objects or contaminants in the eye
• A new or sudden increase in eye flashes or floaters
• Blood in the white of the eye or bleeding in the eye
• A broken contact lens in the eye or a contact lens you can’t remove.
• Eye infections that threaten vision or could permanently affect the health of the eye.

Is an Eye Infection an Emergency?

Yes, an eye infection is considered an eye emergency. Without treatment, eye infections can cause permanent damage to your eyes and temporary or permanent vision loss. Here are just a few of the reasons it’s necessary to visit an emergency eye care center for eye infection treatment:

• Stop eye discharge and mucus.
• Prevent the spread of infection.
• Reduce your risk of vision loss or blindness.
• Reduce swelling and inflammation of the eye.
• Reduce eye pain, itching, redness, and discomfort.

What to Do if Something Gets Into Your Eye

If you get a foreign object in your eye, you can take measures at home before seeing an eye doctor to prevent the problem from getting worse and turning into an eye emergency. Here are the steps you should take:

• Do not rub your eyes. Blink repeatedly to see if you can flush the object out naturally.
• If that doesn’t work, wash your hands and pull your lower eyelid down while looking up. Look for signs of an eyelash, hair, or other foreign object. To inspect the upper lid, look downward and pull the upper eyelid up.
• If you see signs of a foreign object, flush your eyes with water, saline solution, or eye drops. If you are wearing contact lenses, don’t try to remove them yet, as the act of removing them might cause the foreign object to scratch or cut your eye.
• If your eye still feels like something is in it, or if you can see something on the white of your eye, pupil, iris, or the inside of your eyelid, and you can’t flush it out, do not proceed further. Poking at your eye or trying to push something out of your eye can damage your eye, put your vision at risk, or cause an infection.
• Visit an emergency eye care facility and tell them where the foreign object is and what you have done to try to flush it out.
• If you feel like you have a foreign object in your eye and you also have:
  • Red eyes
  • Eye trauma
  • A bulging eye
  • Light sensitivity
  • A drooping eyelid
  • Significant eye pain
  • Flaking, discharge, or a sore on your eyelid

Don’t take any self-care measures – go directly to a trained eye doctor at an eye care facility.

Most Common Types of Eye Emergencies

We treat all eye injuries, whether they are an eye emergency or not. We are fully equipped to diagnose and treat all urgent eye care problems, including:

• Scratches
• Flashers & floaters
• Swollen/red eyelids
• Conjunctivitis, or “Pink Eye”
• Foreign object(s) in your eye(s)

What to Do If You Have an Urgent Eye Care Need

For serious eye problems, you should visit an emergency eye doctor or urgent eye care facility. You can also make an appointment with an ophthalmologist or visit a hospital emergency room. The most important thing to remember is that you shouldn’t ignore an eye emergency or assume it will get better by itself. If you are in pain or experiencing significant discomfort that prevents you from sleeping, working, or focusing, you should visit an eye doctor as soon as possible.

Call Our Emergency Eye Doctor in Derry, NH

Call us today if you need to see one of our emergency eye doctors in Derry, Windham, Raymond, or Londonderry, NH. If you are experiencing an emergency, even if it’s after hours or on the weekend, our on-call doctor will be paged to address your concerns. We specialize in major and minor eye emergencies. It’s better to err on the side of caution and visit our urgent eye care center as soon as possible to avoid complications like vision loss, blindness, and infection.