How to Remove a Foreign Object in Your Eye

Dust, sand, ashes, dirt, sawdust, eyelashes and most other small foreign bodies are washed out naturally by blinking and tearing. Keep hands away from the eyes to avoid rubbing them and blink continuously. It may help to splash or flush the eye with clean water but rolling the eyes while blinking and tearing, or pulling the upper eyelid out and down over the lower eyelid often works nicely.

The following steps can be done by you or a helper.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Do NOT rub the eye. Wash your hands before examining it.

2. Examine the eye in a well-lighted area. To find the object, look up and down, then side to side.

3. If you can't find the object, grasp the lower eyelid and gently pull down on it to look under the lower eyelid. To look under the upper lid, you can place a cotton-tipped swab on the outside of the upper lid and gently flip the lid over the cotton swab.

4. If the object is on an eyelid, try to gently flush it out with water. If that does not work, try touching a second cotton-tipped swab to the object to remove it.

5. If the object is on the eye, try gently rinsing the eye with water. It may help to use an eye dropper positioned above the outer corner of the eye. DO NOT touch the eye itself with the cotton swab.

Tips & Warnings

• A scratchy feeling or other minor discomfort may continue after removing an eyelash or other tiny objects. This will go away within a day or two. If the you continue to have discomfort or blurred vision, get medical help.
• Always seek immediate medical help if there are any signs of impaired vision, pain or visible damage to the eye or the area around the eye.

[Kathymcbain]

on 1/10/2009 Really good tips. There is nothing more annoying than a foreign object in your eye.

[sunshine11219]

on 1/8/2009 sounds like good advice on geting something out of your eye