When to Seek Medical Care

If you have eye pain, seek advice from your doctor or an ophthalmologist. It is difficult over the phone for a doctor or a nurse to grade the severity of eye pain or make a diagnosis without examining you.

Because of the specialized nature of eye examination equipment, most eye problems are usually handled best in your ophthalmologist's office. If your ophthalmologist is not available, go to a hospital's emergency department. If the emergency department has the necessary eye equipment, an ophthalmologist may see you in the emergency department after hours.

• Any eye pain related to burns (chemical or flash) needs immediate treatment.



• Eye pain associated with loss of vision, loss of eye movement, painful eye movement, eye swelling, eye discharge, and severe headache are all significant findings that need to be evaluated by your ophthalmologist or in the emergency department immediately.



• Any eye pain related to a traumatic event such as an object puncturing the eye, a blow to the eye with a foreign object, or a motor vehicle collision with injuries affecting the eye needs to be evaluated by your ophthalmologist or in the emergency department immediately.