Emergency and After-Hours Care

Treat all eye injuries as potential emergencies, and never hesitate to contact our office right away.  We are on-call and can quickly assess the type of care you may need.

Minor surface scratches can be very painful, but quick attention will help to resolve these problems.

Foreign objects imbedded in the surface can be removed in our office.

Chemical Burns (something splashed in the eye) can be treated in our office.

Traumatic hyphema (black eyes) or traumatic iritis (internal injury from blow to eye) are more complicated, but can be assessed in the office to ensure there is no internal damage to your eye.  If an orbital fracture is suspected, you will be sent to the emergency room for immediate treatment.

Eye Bleeding from injury either external or internal can be quite serious.  We would like to see you right away.  If you suspect a fracture, then go immediately to the emergency room.

Painful lids, swelling, crusting and sore do hurt, but do not require an emergency visit.  We can advise you over the phone and schedule an appropriate visit.

Acute red eyes with pain are treated as emergencies.  You may call us at any time for an evaluation.  We welcome your questions and will happily take care of your problem.

Chronic red eyes, with or without pain can be treated during regular business hours.  We are happy to help solve these problems as well. 

Red eyes without pain are treated as urgent, but not emergencies.  We will see you in the office the next day for a complete assessment. 

Having these symptoms can indicate a range of vision problems.  Anyone experiencing these symptoms are likely to be quite concerned.  We are too.  When you call with these symptoms an urgent appointment in our office for a complete assessment will be made.

We can help.  Call the office to schedule an urgent eye exam. We have modified our hours and our practices to accommodate these urgent needs.

The short answer is wash your hands.  The longer answer is, stop wearing your contact lenses if you are experiencing any signs of pink eye, including discharge, redness, discomfort.  Dont' wear your contact lenses if you are currently diagnosed with COVID 19. I will argue that wearing contact lenses while experiencing allergy symptoms, like itching, it also a problem.  Long days in your contact lenses, in front of a computer or a screen is also a problem.  Shorten your wear time in your contact lenses, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water. Dry your hands completely before touching your contact lenses or your eyes.  Wet hands tranfer contaminates more easily to your contact lenses.