Eye Emergencies
We are always willing to help, should you ever experience an eye emergency. Our optometrists provide services for many eye emergencies such as:
- Eye infections
- Foreign materials stuck in the eyes
- Eye trauma
- Scratched eyes
- Sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes
- Lost or broken contact lenses or eyeglasses
- Flashes of light in the vision
- “Floaters” in the vision
- Red or painful eyes
- Dislodged contact lenses
- Uncomfortable, itchy, or irritated eyes
Q&A with Dr. Steinhauer
Help! I fell asleep with my contact lenses in, and I woke up with my eyes red and full of discharge. Is this serious?
Sleeping with contact lenses in greatly increases your risk for a bacterial infection. The greatest risk being a corneal ulcer, which requires prescription antibiotic eye drops and close monitoring. If your eyes are red, and having pain come have us take a look for treatment and management.
I suddenly lost some vision in one eye. Should I wait to see how this is tomorrow?
Loss of vision is always an urgent issue. There are many causes for loss of vision ranging from blockage in a blood vessel in the retina or swelling of the optic nerve. Any sudden vision changes requires proper diagnosis and early detection can be critical to ensuring no perminant vision loss. Call our office if experiencing any loss of vision ASAP!
If you have an eye emergency after-hours, please contact the UW Hospital at (608) 263-6796.
