Emergency Eye Care | Lafayette

Don’t Compromise Your Vision

Acting quickly in the case of an eye emergency can help preserve your vision. Whether you’ve experienced trauma to the eye area, like a blow to the face, or notice sudden changes to your vision, with or without a known cause, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible.

At Luminance Vision, we provide urgent eye care appointments during our business hours. If you’re experiencing an eye emergency, please call us at 925-900-8977. We’ll provide you with further instructions.

If your emergency occurs outside of our operating hours, please proceed to your nearest emergency room.

Signs of an Eye Emergency

Any sudden change in vision or sudden eye pain should be investigated right away by your optometrist. Types of eye emergencies include:

Severe or sudden eye pain
Sudden change in or loss of vision
Sudden flashes or floaters
Infections (like pink eye)
Very red eyes
Swelling around the eye or eyelid
Eye injury or trauma
Foreign substance or object in the eye

Eye Emergency
First Steps

Different eye emergencies require different treatments. In general, it is a good idea to call our office for support while handling an emergency. We’ll try to get you seen as soon as possible.

In certain cases, such as trauma or injury to the eye or chemical contact, we recommend you seek immediate treatment, either with our office or at your nearest emergency room outside of clinic hours. For eye infections, like pink eye, contact us for our next available appointment and take care to avoid spreading the infection.

Do not rub your eye or apply a bandage.

Scratches and abrasions (scrapes) on your eye are very susceptible to infection, and rubbing your eye or applying a bandage can increase this risk. It is important to visit us right away if you suspect a corneal scratch or abrasion, even if it seems minor. Your optometrist will be able to treat the injury to help prevent infection.

Rinse your eyes immediately for at least 15 minutes.

Make sure you rinse your eyes in clean, cool running water for at least 15 full minutes, even if the pain goes away sooner. Any chemical residue that remains can damage your eyes, so it’s important to remove as much of the chemical as possible. After rinsing, seek emergency care.

Do not try to remove a foreign object from your eye, especially an embedded one.

Bandage your eye to prevent the object from shifting and causing further injury. After bandaging, seek emergency care.

Do not try to treat an infection or conjunctivitis (pink eye) on your own.

Book an urgent appointment with us to determine the type and cause of your infection. Conjunctivitis has many possible causes, including bacterial or viral infections, which are highly contagious, as well as chemical conjunctivitis and allergic reactions.

A professional diagnosis and treatment will clear your infection effectively. Without a diagnosis, your treatment may be ineffective; for example, treating a viral infection with an antibiotic topical cream won’t work.

Contact Luminance Vision
for Urgent Eye Care

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you suspect you have an eye emergency. We always encourage you to call us at 925-900-8977 if you are unsure. We can provide further recommendations for next steps.

If your emergency occurs outside of our operating hours, please proceed to your nearest emergency room.

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