Emergency Red Eye Treatment

When to Contact a Medical Professional
Go to the hospital or call 911 if:
- Your eye is red after a penetrating injury.
- You have a headache along with blurred vision or confusion.
- You are seeing halos around lights.
- You have nausea and vomiting.

Call your doctor if:
- Your eyes are red longer than 1-2 days.
- You have eye pain or vision changes.
- You take blood thinning medication, like warfarin.
- You may have an object in your eye.
- You are very sensitive to light.
- You have a yellow or greenish discharge from one or both eyes.

What to Expect at Your Office Visit
Your doctor will take your medical history and perform a physical examination, which will include a detailed eye exam.

To help diagnose the cause of the problem, your doctor will ask medical history questions, such as:

  • Are both of your eyes affected? If only one eye, which one?
  • What part of the eye is affected -- the white part, or elsewhere?
  • Did the redness come on suddenly?
  • Have you ever had eye redness before?
  • Do you have eye pain? Does it get worse after movement of the eyes?
  • Do you have other symptoms like eye discharge, burning, or itching? Nausea or vomiting? A headache?

The eyes may need irrigation with normal saline solution, and any foreign bodies will need to be removed. Eye drops may be prescribed.