Emergency Eye Care

Call us first for most eye problems — pain, redness, a foreign body sensation, sudden vision changes, or a minor injury. Go straight to an emergency department for a serious chemical splash, a deep or penetrating injury, an object embedded in the eye, or an eye problem alongside a head injury. If you are unsure, call and the front desk will tell you which applies.

Call before you come in. We keep time open for urgent visits, but calling lets us make room in the schedule, prepare the right room, and give you instructions for the meantime. Walking in without calling still gets you seen, but there may be a wait behind patients already booked, and there are a few situations where we would have redirected you.

Usually the same day, and often within a couple of hours during office hours. How quickly depends on what you describe on the phone; genuine vision changes and injuries take priority over problems that have been going on for a week. If we cannot fit you in soon enough for the situation, we will tell you where to go instead of leaving you waiting.

Follow the instructions the front desk gives you on the phone, since they depend on what happened. As a general rule: do not rub the eye, do not try to remove anything embedded in it, take a contact lens out if you can and keep it, and bring your glasses, lens case and solution, and a list of your medications. For a chemical splash, flush with clean water first.

Often yes. Surface foreign bodies are a common reason patients call, and the optometrist can examine the eye closely and address most of them in the office. Do not attempt it yourself, and do not rub the eye, as both can make matters worse. If what we find needs care beyond our office, we arrange it the same day.

Call the office and follow the instructions on the message, which cover what to do outside opening hours. For a serious injury, a chemical splash, or a sudden loss of vision, do not wait for us to open — go to an emergency department. For less severe problems, call as soon as we open and tell the front desk it started overnight so we can prioritize it.

Call and describe what happened. We see children for urgent eye concerns, and the front desk will tell you whether to come in or go to a pediatric emergency department, which depends on the injury and your child’s age. Either way you get an answer on the phone rather than having to decide alone, and we can follow up afterward.

Yes. If what we find needs a specialist or a procedure we do not perform, we arrange the referral, share the examination findings, and stay involved in the follow-up rather than handing over a phone number. We also update your primary care physician when the situation calls for it, so the people treating you are working from the same information.