Flush the eye
Flushing your eye may help relieve mild eye symptoms and is the most important first aid measure for a chemical substance in the eye. The sooner you get a chemical out of the eye, the less damage it may do.
If you are wearing contacts, remove them before flushing your eye. If you are not able to remove a contact, flush your eye with the contact in.
Flush the eye from the inner corner toward the outer corner. This prevents a substance in the eye from washing into the other eye.
Any of the following may be done to flush the eye. You must hold the eyelids open while you:
- Stand under a shower with open eyes.
- Put your face under a running faucet.
- Use a kitchen sink sprayer at low pressure.
- Immerse your face in a sink or pan filled with water.
- Run water from a garden hose over your eye (do not use the spray nozzle).
- Pour water from a pitcher or jug over your eye.
Do not use alcohol to flush the eye.
| Author: | Jan Nissl, RN, BS | Last Updated: December 6, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine Christopher J. Rudnisky, MD, FRCSC - Ophthalmology | |
 | ||