Most of us are fortunate enough to have healthy eyes. We don’t pay a great deal of attention to our eyes and we don’t think about issues that might occur. However, eye emergencies are quite common, with nearly 2 million people in the United States seeking care in any given year for eye trauma. Eye trauma is the number one cause of vision loss in people who are under 25, according to the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary. Eye trauma may be due to an object penetrating the eye, to chemical injury, and to other issues.
Along with trauma, it’s important to know about other eye emergencies that might cause you to visit your primary care physician or to make your way to the emergency room for care from doctors like Dr. Josyann Abisaab.
If you experience a sudden loss of vision, either with or without pain, you should certainly seek assistance. Sudden vision loss can be due to stroke, vitreous hemorrhage, bleeding into the clear gel in the center of the eye, inflammation of the blood vessels and more. If you experience flashes of light or large amounts of specks that seem to appear in front of the eye, you also need to seek help. These can be retinal tears or detachments.
