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What you need to know and do if you have a chemical splash in your eye.
Chemical burns are when a liquid or powder chemical makes contact with the eye. Most of the time, chemical eye injuries happen when a chemical splashes across a person’s face, though they can also result from rubbing your eyes after handling chemicals. The injury potential varies depending on the chemical involved, and one’s degree of exposure.
While most cases of chemical eye injuries do not result in permanent damage, it is critical that you treat every chemical in the eye as an eye emergency. Call our office at (212) 752-6930, if we are unavailable visit the ER or Urgent Care.
Injuries can range from minor, temporary redness and irritation to blindness and total loss of an eye. In rarer cases, chemicals which get into the eyes can also cause poisoning as they’re absorbed into the bloodstream.
Whenever handling chemicals in any form, be sure to wear appropriate safety gear, such as goggles or a face shield.
If a chemical gets into your eyes, it’s important to immediately remove any contact lenses and flush the eyes with water for 15 minutes. In cases involving non-toxic chemicals, such as soap or shampoo, this will be sufficient to get it out of your eyes and prevent any serious damage. However, you should still seek medical attention even in these cases if irritation or other systems persist. If an acid or alkali chemical gets into your eyes, seek medical attention immediately by calling our office at (212) 752-6930 or visiting the emergency room or urgent care facility if we are unavailable.
Young men are the most likely demographic to sustain chemical injuries to the eyes, and more than 90 percent of these injuries are the result of accidental exposure, generally in industrial settings.
Acid burns are generally caused by exposure to acids with a pH of less than 4. Common acids encountered in emergency settings include sulfuric acid (which is found in car batteries) and hydrochloric acid (which is used for cleaning swimming pools.)
Acids are usually less destructive to the eyes than alkali substances, due to their tendency to denature, coagulate, and precipitate corneal proteins when they come into contact. This creates a barrier and keeps the acid from penetrating further. This coagulation creates the ground-glass appearance often seen on the cornea in severe acid burns. Among acids, hydrofluoric acid (which is found in anti rust solutions and glass etching solutions) is a more dangerous exception to this rule, as it more rapidly penetrates entirely through the cornea, causing significant damage to the cornea and the anterior segment.
Alkali chemicals such as sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, and ammonia can be found in things like drain cleaners or industrial cleaning solutions, fertilizers and household cleaning solutions, and cement and plaster.
Because alkali chemicals are lipophilic, they penetrate through the cell membranes easily, and substances within these chemicals can denature the cornea’s collagen matrix to allow the chemicals to penetrate further. Tissues that come into contact with these chemicals may sustain a great deal of damage, and the chemicals can continue to penetrate the body long after the initial exposure.
This direct chemical damage can lead to significant, lasting damage to the eyes in a very short time, so it is extremely important to be careful and stay protected when around such substances.
Depending on a number of factors, the severity of chemical burns can vary greatly. At lower levels of severity, damage is minimal and most patients will experience a complete recovery. At the higher levels, there is much greater damage and potential for long-term damage, up to vision or eye loss, even with the proper treatment. It is highly recommended that you have a licensed eye doctor assess and treat chemical spills to the eye.
While in most cases, someone who suffers a chemical burn to the eyes will be aware of it right away, it’s still important to be able to recognize the signs of such an injury, so that treatment begins quickly even in less severe instances.
Symptoms include:
Although the vast majority of chemical spills that require treatment do not lead to permanent injury, other, more serious, complications can arise.
These include:
It’s vital that treatment of a chemical burn starts immediately at the site of the incident. The impacted eye(s) should be well irrigated with any available noncaustic fluid at the site of the injury and during transport to the hospital, urgent care, or eye doctors office. Additionally, any contact lenses should be removed as quickly as possible. Upon arriving at a qualified doctor, it’s important to tell the medical staff what chemical was involved, and especially whether it was an acid or an alkali.
Once in emergency care, irrigation should continue until the pH of the ocular surface returns to the normal range, between 7.0 and 7.2. pH strips can be used to check if the chemical has been completely removed. Prompt irrigation can help minimize the damage and long-term impacts. The level of pain experienced may not be a good indicator of the severity of the injury. Alkali chemicals, for example, may not cause immediately noticeable symptoms despite causing serious eye damage. Powder or particulate chemicals can cause more damage than a liquid, since they may be harder to flush out of the eyes.
Following the initial treatment, it’s important to receive a full eye exam, to confirm the location of the burn and to check how much damage there is. Other diagnostic tests can include a fluorescein evaluation, which uses a special dye which colors damaged or dead eye tissue yellow-green when under ultraviolet light.
Especially if there was damage detected, follow-up exams throughout the recovery process are important, to keep track of the treatment.
Treatment will vary depending on the chemical involved and the severity of the burn, but may include:
Even in less serious cases, be sure to follow your doctor’s advice regarding home care after the accident, make sure to return to follow-up checks, and if new symptoms arise, see your doctor right away.
Eye injuries caused by chemical exposure can potentially be very serious, especially in the event of alkali chemical burns. If chemicals make contact with your eyes, be sure to immediately flush the eyes with water, and seek medical attention. Prompt treatment can be vital for preventing long-term damage. Our eye doctor and office are equipped to diagnose and treat burns from a chemical eye emergency, call our office right away at (212) 752-6930 or if we are unavailable visit an emergency room or urgent care facility right away. Patients with eye emergencies visit our clinic from all over New York, and we are proud to be a leading provider of urgent eye care for patients from New York, Queens, Brooklyn, and Long Island.
At Amplify with Dr Wernick I was seeking help for seemingly intractable, probably age-related dryness. I've seen other doctors about it, and that has been helpful, but what he explained to me about it and the careful way he answered all my questions gave me so much more of a clear understanding of what is going on (and is not) that I am more able to implement all his and others' recommendations than I was before. And he gave me additional resources for further follow-up. I am most grateful.
Wow! This is a great Eye Care medical facility. I was thoroughly examined by Dr. Pinkhasov for over 2 hours. She made sure to check my eyes for pretty much everything and patiently explained proper care for my eyes. They definitely know how to provide great care and treat their patients right. Now I know why they have such a great reputation and been around for so long.
Dr. Kavner is a gifted diagnostician and orthoptic therapist. He treated me several decades ago for a condition similar to dyslexia. I was having migraines five times per week. I worked with him for about a year and I experienced tremendous improvement (down to 3-4 per year) that has lasted.
Dr. Kavner recommended two types of eye therapy for my daughter. One of them using bio-feedback. In just three sessions she is seeing considerably better. She shouted this morning: Ooh my God! I could not see these letters with my glasses on, and now I can see them without my glasses. If you are willing and able to invest in improving your vision, this is a good place to go to!
Dr. Kavner recommended two types of eye therapy for my daughter. One of them using bio-feedback. In just three sessions she is seeing considerably better. She shouted this morning: Ooh my God! I could not see these letters with my glasses on, and now I can see them without my glasses. If you are willing and able to invest in improving your vision, this is a good place to go to!
I have always found Dr Kavner's work, expertise and wisdom of the highest caliber. As one of the fathers of OT, occupational othomology, his depth and breadth of knowledge about the eyes' health and wellbeing of the patient is exemplary. Cannot say enough good things about him.
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