First aid for cuts in or around the eye

Do's and don'ts include:

• Gently bandage your child's eye.

• Don’t apply pressure to your child's eye.

• Tell your child not to rub their eye.

• Don’t try to remove any particles from your child's eye.

• Don’t wash out your child's eye.

First aid for foreign objects in the eye

Here are ways to help your child:

• Tell your child not to rub their eye.

• Pull your child's upper lid down onto the lower lid and have them blink repeatedly. The lower eyelashes may sweep the particle away.

• Use an eye wash to wash out the speck or object from your child's eye.

• Tell your child to close their eye.

Get medical care right away if the above methods don’t work.

First aid for chemical splashes

Here is what you can do:

• Use fingers to separate your child's eyelids, then flush the eye with water from a faucet or clean container.

• Get medical care right away.

• Cover your child's eye.

First aid for physical injury to the eye

Here is what you can do:

• Right away, gently apply small cold compresses to your child's eye without applying pressure. This can help reduce pain and swelling.

• Contact your child's healthcare provider or eye care specialist (ophthalmologist or optometrist) right away.