Remember when James Harden of the Houston Rockets and his injured eye was the hottest news a few weeks back? He suffered what looked like a lacerated eyelid. It certainly doesn’t sound fun, but it brings up an interesting point.
What happens if you get an eye injury? Our eyes are a crucial part of how we communicate and of course, see the world around us.
But, like any part of our body, our eyes are susceptible to injury at some point in our lifetime. What do you do if you get one of these common eye injuries?
What is a Lacerated Eyelid?
Harden’s eyes didn’t exactly look like they were in the best shape after he got hit by Draymond Green. Somehow, he still managed to score 29 points that game, but he said he could barely see in Game 2.
In the simplest terms, an eyelid laceration is a cut to the eyelid due to trauma. That’s a pretty accurate definition of what happened to Harden!
How traumatic an eyelid laceration is depends on the severity of the cut to the eye. The eye is a delicate part of the body and made up of several different parts.
A more severe eyelid laceration could result in loss of vision. Thankfully for an NBA player like Harden, it looks like he’ll make a full recovery. But there are plenty of other eye injuries you need to watch out for.
Corneal Abrasions
This is another eye injury that many athletes are susceptible to. A corneal abrasion is most likely to occur if you get poked in the eye or by rubbing the eye. One of the most common eye injuries, a corneal abrasion is when an individual scratches the surface of their eye (the cornea).
If you scratch your eye and have a corneal abrasion, your eye is likely to look very red and irritated. You may become highly sensitive to light. If you feel like you may have scratched your eye, go see your eye doctor as soon as possible.
It could be nothing, but only eye care professionals can make that call. Leaving a scratched eye untreated could lead to bacteria and infection!
The instinct with an injured eye that’s scratched is to cover it up. However, this can actually encourage bacteria to develop and grow due to the dark, warm environment. If you must cover up your eyes, you can use an eye shield and loosely tape it up.
You Got a Foreign Object In Your Eye
We really hope that when you go fishing, you’re paying attention! Because who wants a fishhook in their eye?
If you do happen to hook yourself in the eye, this is a serious medical emergency. It is important to note that you should not try to remove the object from your eye yourself, and you should avoid rubbing your eyes at all costs. Doing either of these things are likely to cause more damage to the eye.
If a fishhook, or any foreign object, becomes lodged in your eye it is critical to get to the emergency room as fast as you can to avoid more harm to your eyes.
You Got Hit In The Eye Or Face
Nobody ever thinks they’ll get hit in the face while playing a fun game of baseball outside. But it does happen, and it doesn’t feel great.
If you get hit in the eye, it’s is likely going to start swelling up. To reduce swelling, put an ice pack on your eye. If you’re in a lot of pain, you can take ibuprofen as well.
You’ll probably end up with a black eye after getting hit. After a few days, you may start feeling better.
Even if you are feeling better, you should go see your eye doctor and make sure you didn’t cause any internal damage. In extreme cases, blunt trauma to the eye can cause hyphema (bleeding in the anterior chamber of the eye), blowout fractures, or traumatic iritis.
When it comes to your eyes and vision health, it’s better to be safe than sorry!
You Wore Your Eye Mask Too Tight and Have Blurry Vision
This is a more common problem than you might think! Many people like to fall asleep wearing an eye mask to block out light and promote restful sleep. However, if your eye mask is on too tight, it may cause blurred vision!
It might not bother you while you’re sleeping but when you wake up, it’s a different story! If you’ve ever woken up after wearing an eye mask with blurry vision, your mask is too tight.
Unless your vision stays blurry for more than a day, this isn’t a problem. There’s an easy solution too!
Either loosen your eye mask so that your eyes have space to breathe or buy a better one. If your vision feels like it’s blurry and hasn’t gone back to normal, that’s a sign that you should see your eye doctor.
Your Allergies Are Causing Your Eyes Pain
Ah, spring. We all love the warmer weather and blooming flowers unless you have allergies. Then, it can be your worst nightmare.
Allergy season means runny noses, watery eyes, and irritation from pollen everywhere! Now, congestion and a stuffy nose can be annoying but it’s often your eyes that get the short end of the stick.
They become red, watery, irritated, burn, and cause you pain. So how do you find relief? First, avoid places where you know you’ll run into the things you’re allergic to.
If you go outside and there’s a high pollen count in Houston that day, make sure to wear sunglasses! This will help to block pollen from your eyes.
Another tip is always having artificial tears on you if your allergies are making your eyes too dry. Artificial tears can help bring moisture and lubrication back into your eyes.
Wetter eyes mean your eye pain should improve as they start working. When all else fails, go to your eye doctor. They can prescribe stronger eye drops that will keep your eyes moist and happy!
Need an eye doctor? Start with the best by contacting Diagnostic Eye Center in Houston, TX and schedule an eye exam today!
