“A ball hit my eye and now it's swollen. What should I do? ”
I was playing football and the ball hit my eye and now it is swollen. It looks really bad. How should I make the swelling go down?
8 Answers
Jason Randall Smith
Optometrist
Please do yourself a favor and DO NOT self-treat this. Call an eye doctor to be seen ASAP. There may be some other issues inside the eye that should be properly evaluated. You must be sure that there are not any internal eye issues. Swelling is an indication of inflammation or injury; the question is, "where exactly is the inflammation or injury actually located"?
Ice it 20 minutes 4 times per day. After an eye trauma it’s a good idea to have a complete eye exam with dilation.
Get it checked out by an eye care professional. It could be a bruised retina or scratched eye.
Swelling is one of the common signs of eye injuries. In order to reduce the swelling you should apply cold compresses to the affected area. It is normal for your eye and or face to hurt, especially when you try to open, close or move it. The eye may be sensitive to the touch, as well. Swelling can affect the eyeball, eyelid or entire face.
Make sure that you visit an eye doctor. The eye doctor will evaluate your pupils to make sure that they constrict properly, how your eyes move, feel for abnormalities in your eyeball and the bones and surrounding your eye. The doctor will test your vision and dilate your pupils, in order to look inside your eye during an eye exam. I recommend that when you are able to open your eye make sure that you go to the eye doctor for an evaluation of any broken orbital bones, inflammation, or damage to the retina.
Make sure that you visit an eye doctor. The eye doctor will evaluate your pupils to make sure that they constrict properly, how your eyes move, feel for abnormalities in your eyeball and the bones and surrounding your eye. The doctor will test your vision and dilate your pupils, in order to look inside your eye during an eye exam. I recommend that when you are able to open your eye make sure that you go to the eye doctor for an evaluation of any broken orbital bones, inflammation, or damage to the retina.
Go see your eye doctor to make sure there's no damage to the inside structures of the eye.
Ice for 48 hours for 10 minutes at a time
Besides ice...you should see an eye doctor. Your retina can detach from blunt trauma and you can develop internal inflammation that is also sight threatening. This is covered under medical insurance, not vision insurance.
Warm and cold compresses, and see an eye doctor right away. There could be retinal damage, traumatic glaucoma, or traumatic cataract. Antibiotics will be prescribed for swelling. Anti-inflammatory for inflammation. And you can take Tylenol or ibuprofen for pain in the meantime.
