Chemical Eye Burns (cont.)
IN THIS ARTICLE
- Chemical Eye Burn Overview
- Chemical Eye Burn Causes
- Chemical Eye Burn Symptoms
- Chemical Eye Burn Treatment
- Self-Care at Home
- When to Seek Medical Care
- Medical Treatment in the Emergency Room
- Medications After You Go Home
- Surgery
- Next Steps
- Follow-up
- Prevention
- Outlook
- Questions to Ask the Doctor
- For More Information
- Web Links
- Synonyms and Keywords
- Authors and Editors
Chemical Eye Burn Treatment
Self-Care at Home
For all chemical injuries, the first thing you should do is immediately irrigate the eye copiously. Ideally, specific eye irrigating solutions should be used for this, but if none are available regular tap water will do just fine.
- Begin washing your eye before taking any other action and continue for at
least 10 minutes. The longer a chemical is in your eye, the more damage will
occur. Diluting the substance and washing away any particles that may have been
in the chemical are extremely important.
- Ideally, in a work setting, you would be placed in an emergency eyewash or
shower station and your eye washed with sterile isotonic saline solution. If
sterile saline is not available, use cold tap water.
- If you are at home and do not have special eye wash, step into the shower
with your clothes on to wash out your eye.
- Even though it may be uncomfortable, open your eyelids as wide as possible
as you rinse them out.
- If an alkali or hydrofluoric acid burn has occurred, continue washing until a doctor arrives or you have been taken to a hospital's emergency department.
Next: When to Seek Medical Care »
WebMD Daily
Get breaking medical news.
From WebMD
Eye Health Resources
Featured Centers
Health Solutions From Our Sponsors
Also on eMedicineHealth
Read What Your Physician is Reading on eMedicine
Burns, Ocular »
Burns to the sclera, conjunctiva, cornea, and eyelid are considered ocular burns.

