First Aid procedures: eye injury

What is it?

Foreign bodies (such as eyelashes) in the white of the eye can cause discomfort until they're removed.

Eye injuries are caused by objects embedded in the eye (such as grit or pieces of debris from an explosion). Only a health professional should attempt to remove anything embedded or resting on the coloured part of the eye.

Symptoms

• Redness and watering of eye
• Eyelids closing
• Blurred vision
• Pain

First aid aims

• Prevent any further injury to the eye

Actions

• Sit casualty in a good light
• Advise casualty not to rub or touch the eye
• Separate eyelids carefully and examine the eye
• If there's a free-floating object clearly visible in the white of the eye, try to remove it
• Use clean water to wash it out or the corner of a clean handkerchief

Further action

If it's not possible to remove the object, arrange for the casualty to attend hospital.

The British Red Cross last medically reviewed this article in December 2009.