Nothing can be as painful, irritating, and uncomfortable as having something stuck in your eye. While the eye self-cleans itself by flushing the most unwanted objects with tears, a few stubborn foreign bodies can be challenging to get out. These bodies don't have to be large objects; it could be an eyelash or dirt particle.
As the eye is a sensitive organ of the body, you'll need to remove these particles or bodies quickly. So, do you do that yourself or go to a doctor? How do you know when you need a doctor? And what tools should you use to get these objects?
Continue reading to find answers to all these questions.
Things to keep in mind when something gets stuck in your eyes
Before you decide what to do, here are a couple of things you should keep at the back of your mind.
- Don't rub the affected eye: Rubbing your eye when you feel something is stuck in it is instinctive. However, doing this will do no good for you. Of all the negatives of rubbing your eye, damage to the cornea is the most fearful but plausible.
The cornea is the outermost layer that covers the eye. Therefore, rubbing the eye that has a foreign body could scratch it. A corneal abrasion is a scientific name for scratches in the eye, and this can lead to light sensitivity and pain for a while. - Don't use swabs or tweezers: When the foreign body in your eye is a bit large, there's a tendency that you'll want to use cotton swabs or tweezers. On other parts of your body, swabs or tweezers are safe to use. However, they should never be used for your eyes. Swabs leave more foreign bodies, and these objects will most definitely injure you.
- Wash your hands: Our hands are almost always in use. Little wonder why they are full of germs. Before you attempt to remove stuck foreign bodies from your eyes, make sure you wash and dry your hands.
- Take off your contact lens or glasses
When should you go to the doctor?
You cannot remove every foreign body from your eye, and sometimes, its best you leave some cases to a professional. We know you should see a doctor (pun intended) or request for doctors that make house calls if the issue is serious. But how do you determine the severity? Here are a couple of scenarios where you should get your doctor right away.
- When your vision changes: It's a red flag for your vision to change because of a foreign body. So, when it does, head straight to your doctor.
- When your eye bleeds: This does not frequently occur because it's an extreme case. If you have a first aid kit, arrest the bleeding before heading out to the clinic.
- When harsh chemicals get into your eye: Paint removers, drain cleaners, paints, gasoline, bleach, and cleaning fluids should not come in contact with your eye. But when they do, there's not much you can do to remedy the situation than going to your doctor.
- When you get the feeling that something is still there: If you've removed the foreign body from your eye, then you've done the hard bit. But sometimes, you'll get the feeling that it's still there, and you could be correct. Visit your doctor or call for a home doctor during such times.
- When something pokes your eye: It can be excruciatingly painful to have something poke your eye. The unbearable pain may propel you to remove the object immediately but don't. You may apply too much force that can make your eye bleed.
How to remove foreign bodies from your eyes yourself
In other times when you can remove the particle, object, or body yourself, here are the steps to follow. - Open your eyes: Pull your lower eyelid down, then look up towards a mirror, and vice-versa. You can also look left and right.
- Immerse the eye in a container of saline solution or water: Ensure the solution and water is sterile so that you don't make things worse. While the affected eye is in water, blink many times to flush the particle, object, or body out.
- Once the foreign body or object is out, allow the eye to dry in air. Using a cloth or swab can cause more problems.
In conclusion
Eyesight is one of the most vital senses of the body. Without it, much of the work we do daily cannot be done. Since the eye is susceptible to allowing foreign bodies in, even with our lashes protecting this, we must know what to do when something gets stuck in them. Use the steps we have included in this post to remove any object that gets stuck in your eyes.
