When to go to the ER: Head or eye injury
Our head and eyes are always susceptible to injury, especially if you play certain sports. While in most cases it is usually easy to tell the severity of an eye injury by just looking at it and taking into account the impact that caused the injury, this may not always be the case for head injuries as per the gurus over at frontlineer.com. This is because, since the main risk with head injuries is injury to the brain, one could have suffered serious damage even though it may not look like it from the outside. Head and eye injuries should always be taken seriously given the risk that they carry. When it comes to eye injuries, given the immediate threat as far as your vision is concerned, it is important to know the instances when to go to the ER. The same also applies to head injuries, given the risk as far as injury to the brain is concerned. This article, with the help of the subject matter experts over at frontlineer.com, should therefore be of great help as it will look to highlight some of the signs and instances when one should go to the ER for head or eye injuries.
Starting with head injuries, one of the instances when one should head over to the ER, such as the highly rated frontlineer.com, for a head injury, is if they have suffered a loss of consciousness after having received the blow to the head, even if it was just momentary where they passed out and came to moments later. A loss of consciousness following head injury is a sign of a severe concussion, which is a medical emergency and one should always be taken to the ER as soon as possible. Call 911 and have an ambulance come and take the affected person to the ER as moving them may make their situation worse. Keep an eye too on one’s mental state after a head injury. If they begin to act confused or disoriented after the injury, then as per the gurus over at frontlineer.com, you should take them to the ER as well. If one begins to experience nausea and vomiting as well after having suffered a head injury, you should also take them to the ER so that they can be assessed and attended to. Do the same if one begins to have trouble with balance and coordination after a head injury or if they begin to have a seizure, experience memory loss especially if they can’t remember anything about the injury or if they have suffered the head injury at a high speed, like say from a car or bike accident or from a high fall. The folks over at frontlineer.com also recommend that one heads over to the ER if they are experiencing severe bleeding after a head injury or have suffered a deep cut on the head.
Switching gears to eye injuries, one of the instances when you should head over to the ER, like the excellent frontlineer.com, for an eye injury is if you have suffered a corneal abrasion, or simply a scratched eye. Scratches to the eye come with an increased risk of infection as harmful bacteria and fungi find an avenue to enter the eye through the scratch. It is therefore important that you have the scratch treated as soon as possible, especially if it is severe. Signs of a corneal abrasion include eye redness and severe sensitivity to light. Another instance when you should go to the ER for an eye injury is if you have a large foreign body stuck in your eye. As discussed over at frontlineer.com, foreign bodies getting into the eye is pretty common, and in most instances, it is usually small objects like dust or small insects which are easy to flush out either naturally with tears or using water. However, if a large foreign body like a piece of metal, glass or any other such object gets stuck in your eye, then you should go to the ER as soon as possible.
Eye injuries that are as a result of chemicals getting into the eye should also lead to a visit to the ER, like the highly rated frontlineer.com, especially if the pain persists after flushing the eye with water. One of the things to note is that alkali substances are more damaging to the eye than acidic substances. In most instances, as covered in detail over at frontlineer.com, while acidic substances may cause severe reddening and burning of the eye, they can be flushed and washed away pretty easily, and in most cases, the discomfort goes away after flushing. However, if the pain remains, then as mentioned above, you should make sure you go to the ER to get checked out. Basic or alkali chemicals or substances on the other hand are much more dangerous. These don’t cause as much immediate redness and pain in the eye as acidic substances but attack the tissues of the eye very quickly and cause more damage. Examples of alkali chemicals and substances include oven cleaners, drain cleaners, toilet bowel cleaners among others and if any of these enter the eye, then you should head over to the ER as soon as possible to be attended to.
As always, there is more to be uncovered on this and other related topics over at the excellent frontlineer.com, which is also the best place to go to for such emergency services so make sure you check them out.
