Is this your symptom?
- Injury to the eye, eyelid, or area around the eye
Types of Eye Injuries
- Cut or Scratch of Eyelid. Small cuts heal on their own. Deep cuts or ones that go through the edge of the eyelid need sutures.
- Bruise of the Eyelids. Also called a "black eye." The swelling and bruise get worse for a few days. Then it will go away on its own over 2 -3 weeks. It's normal for the bruise to change colors as it heals.
- Subconjunctival Hemorrhage is a flame-shaped bruise of the white part (sclera) of the eyeball. It's bright red. It's caused by a scratch to the sclera. This mild injury will go away on its own over 2 weeks. It will start to turn yellow as it gets better.
- Corneal Abrasion is a scratch of the clear part (cornea) of the eye. The main symptoms are severe eye pain, tearing and constant blinking. Some people will just hold their eye closed because it is too painful to open. Caused by a scratch from a branch of a tree or bush. Can also be caused by a foreign object stuck under the upper eyelid, such as a speck of sand blown into the eye. Most scratches are minor and heal in 2 days. This is the most common eye injury that needs to see a doctor.
- Acute Hyphema (serious) is bleeding in the space between the cornea and the iris. The blood often layers out at the bottom of the cornea. It's caused by a blunt injury.
- Punctured Eyeball (serious). It means a sharp object has torn the cornea or sclera. Can happen with tiny objects thrown by a lawnmower. Seek care right away. This could save your vision.
- Retrobulbar hemorrhage (serious). After an injury to the eye, there can be bleeding behind they eye. The blood collects and pushes the eyeball forward, causing severe pain and loss of vision. You may not be able to move the eye. It is an emergency and needs treatment right away to prevent permanent vision loss.
- Orbital Fractures (serious) can occur with blunt injury. There will be pain and swelling around the eye. The eye may appear sunken and there may also be double vision.
- Detached retina (serious) can occur for many reasons. It can occur at the time of an injury or months to years later. You may see floaters or flashes of light in the eye and sudden loss of the edge (periphery) of the vision. It is often described as a dark curtain, which affects most of the visual field (apart from the very center), if untreated. This needs an urgent exam and treatment to restore vision.
Vision
- The main concern is whether the vision is damaged.
- Some injuries need emergency treatment to prevent permanent vision loss.
- Tell your doctor if your vision is blurred or out of focus. You can test this at home. Cover each eye in turn and look at a distant object.
- If you have an eye injury, you usually need an exam, even if the injury seems minor. Having an exam is the only way to know your vision is okay.
When to Call for Eye Injury
Go to ER Now
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
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Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
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Self Care at Home
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Go to ER Now
- Severe eye pain
- Vision is blurred or lost in either eye
- Nonstop tears or blinking
- Bloody or cloudy fluid behind the clear part of the eye (cornea)
- Object hit the eye at high speed (such as tennis ball or stone thrown from a lawn mower)
- Sharp object hit the eye (such as a metallic chip or flying glass)
- Skin is split open or gaping and may need stitches
- A large or deep cut
- Seeing double and can't look up
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
- Any cut on the eyelid or eyeball
- Bruising around both eyes
- Bruises near the eye and eye pain
- You have cut or scratch and No past tetanus shots
- You think you have a serious injury
- You think you need to be seen, and the problem is urgent
Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
- Eye pain is more than mild
- Eyelids are very swollen
- Wound is dirty or hard to clean and it is MORE than 5 years since your last tetanus shot
- Clean minor wound and have NOT had a tetanus shot within the past 10 years
- You think you need to be seen, but the problem is not urgent
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
- You have other questions or concerns
Self Care at Home
- Minor eye injury
Care Advice for Stomach Pain
What You Should Know About Stomach Pain:
- Mild stomach pain can be caused by something simple. It could be from gas pains or eating too much.
- Sometimes, stomach pain signals the start of a viral infection. This will lead to vomiting or loose stools.
- Watching your child for 2 hours will help tell you the cause.
- Here is some care advice that should help.
Lie Down:
- Have your child lie down and rest until feeling better.
Clear Fluids:
- Offer clear fluids only (such as water, flat soft drinks or half-strength Gatorade).
- For mild pain, offer a regular diet.
Prepare for Vomiting:
- Keep a vomiting pan handy.
- Younger children often talk about stomach pain when they have nausea. Nausea is the sick stomach feeling that comes before they throw up.
Pass a Stool:
- Have your child sit on the toilet and try to pass a stool.
- This may help if the pain is from constipation or diarrhea.
- Note: for constipation, moving a warm wet cotton ball on the anus may help.
Do Not Give Medicines:
- Any drug (like ibuprofen) could upset the stomach and make the pain worse.
- Do not give any pain medicines or laxatives for stomach cramps.
- For fever higher than 102° F (39° C), acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) can be given.
What to Expect:
- With harmless causes, the pain is most often better or gone in 2 hours.
- With stomach flu, belly cramps may happen before each bout of vomiting or diarrhea. These cramps may come and go for a few days.
- With serious causes (such as appendicitis), the pain worsens and becomes constant.
Call Your Doctor If:
- Pain becomes severe
- Constant pain lasts more than 2 hours
- Mild pain that comes and goes lasts more than 24 hours
- You think your child needs to be seen
- Your child becomes worse
Extra Help - Worried Stomach:
- Help your child talk about events that trigger the stomach pain. Talk to your child about how to cope with these the next time around.
- Help your child worry less about things she can't control.
- To treat the pain, help your child get very relaxed. Lying down in a quiet place and taking slow deep breaths may help. Make the belly go up and down with each breath. Then try to relax all the muscles in the body. Think about something pleasant. Listening to audios that teach how to relax might also help.
- Make sure your child gets enough sleep.
- Make sure that your child doesn't miss any school because of stomach pains. Stressed children tend to want to stay home when the going gets rough.
- Caution: your child should see her doctor for an exam. Do this before concluding frequent stomach pains are from worrying too much.
