Foreign Object Removal With Your Sandy Springs Optometrist

Everyone gets something in their eye at one time or another. Whether it's a shed eyelash or a sliver of metal, nothing feels so immediate as something landing on your eyeball. Your first instinct may be to rub your eye, trying to move the object out, but that's probably the worst thing you can do. Our Sandy Springs optometrist, Dr. George Shida, explains:

How Your Sandy Springs Optometrist Can Help With Foreign Object Removal

At Eye 1st Vision Center our optometrist has years of experience caring for eyes, including many patients who have foreign objects in them. He cautions that your first instinct is probably the worst thing you can do. Rubbing the eyelid can cause the object to scratch the surface of your lens, causing even more pain and damage to your eye. Instead, he advises a simple procedure designed to remove all but the worst objects from your eyes.

• If you are wearing contact lenses, remove the lens from the affected eye. Foreign objects can settle between the lens and the surface of the eye, making the removal process even more difficult

• Wash your hands with soap and water

• Flush the object out of your eye. Fill a cup with plain warm water. Hold your head over the sink, and hold the eyelid open. Slowly pour the water in one corner of the eye and out the other. Alternately, fill an eyecup and use it to bathe the eye in warm water.

• If the cup doesn't work, try standing in a shower and allowing the water to hit your forehead while you hold the eye open.

Contact Our Sandy Springs Optometrist If You Need Help!

If the object can't be remove with simple irrigation, or if it's embedded in the eye, call our office immediately. You should also call if pain and redness persist more than a few minutes after an object has been successfully removed. This can indicate damage to the eye surface. Call our office and we'll be happy to advise you, or ask you to come in to our office if you need optometry care.