Something in my child's eye: sand, an eyelash or a speck, and what to do
Most sand and eyelashes come out with blinking and water. Here is what helps, what makes it worse, and the signs that mean going to be seen today.
- Do not let your child rub the eye. Rubbing can make a scratch worse.
- Small natural particles such as sand, dust or an eyelash are usually not an emergency. Blinking and tears often clear them.
- Flush with clean water or saline, not hot, with a gentle flow. Do not use fingers, cotton buds, tweezers or redness-relief drops.
- Go the same day if the particle will not come out, or if the eye still feels as if something is in it afterwards.
- Metal, glass, a sharp object, a chemical or a fast blow are different and need an emergency department.
A child blinking hard, one eye streaming, saying something is in it: it might be sand, a speck of dust or a loose eyelash. Most of the time the eye clears it on its own. This page is about those ordinary cases: what helps, what makes things worse, and the signs that mean you stop treating it at home and go to be seen today.
It is not about a splash of liquid or a blow to the eye, and the rules for those are different. At the end I say where to go for them.
Something is in my child's eye. What do I do first?
Stop your child rubbing, then let the eye try to clear it. The American Academy of Ophthalmology says sand, dirt, dust and other small natural particles are usually not an emergency, because eyes are very good at flushing them out with tears and blinking. Its first step is to blink several times and allow the tears to flush the particle out.
Say it calmly. A frightened child squeezes the eyes shut and rubs, and both make the next step harder. Sit your child down, keep their hands busy holding yours or a toy, and tell them that blinking is the job for now.
How do I flush it out?
Use clean water or saline. The American Academy of Ophthalmology lists eyewash, saline solution or running tap water, and the NHS advises washing the eye with clean water. Use water that is clean and not hot, with a gentle flow. A gentle stream matters more than a strong one, because a hard jet hurts and a child who is hurt will not hold still.
A bath or shower can be easier than a basin. Let a gentle flow run over the forehead and over the eye as it opens and shuts, with your child tilted so the water runs away from the other eye. If you have a bottle of saline, use it. If you do not, clean tap water is what the guidance names.
The same Academy page adds a second move for an eyelash or grit under the upper lid. Lift the upper eyelid over the lashes of the lower lid, so that the lower lashes brush the particle out. That needs a cooperative child. If yours will not allow it, do not force the lids apart and do not hunt for the speck with a finger. An unwilling child with something still in the eye is a reason to be seen, not a reason to wrestle.
Why must I stop my child rubbing the eye?
Because rubbing can turn a speck into a scratch. The American Academy of Ophthalmology is blunt about it: do not rub the eye. On its page about scratched eyes it says that rubbing can make a scratch worse. A particle moved across the clear front surface of the eye can scratch it, and a scratch can be painful in its own right.
Children rub because rubbing is what an itch or a sting asks for. If you want the longer story of why, why kids rub their eyes explains it. For this moment, hold the hands, give them something to squeeze, and keep going with blinking and water.
What should I not do?
Do not touch the eye with anything. The American Academy of Ophthalmology says fingers, cotton swabs and other objects will not help remove a foreign object and could hurt the eye more. That includes tweezers, a corner of a tissue and a cotton bud.
Do not blow into the eye. An ophthalmologist answering a parent's question on the Academy's site says the safest treatment is to flush with saline, and that blowing air is unlikely to work and may contaminate the eye with saliva. Do not put in redness-relieving drops; the Academy lists that among the things not to do for a scratched eye. And do not put a contact lens back in, if your child wears them, until the eye has settled. The NHS says the same on its eye-injury page: do not touch or rub the eye until it is better, and do not wear contact lenses until it is better.
Leave the hunting to a doctor with the right light and instruments.
When should I take my child to be seen the same day?
Go today if the particle will not come out, or if it still feels as though something is there after you have flushed it. The American Academy of Ophthalmology says to see a doctor if you cannot get the particle out, or if it still feels like something is in the eye after the material is out.
These need an emergency department, not waiting: severe pain, any change in sight, light that suddenly hurts, a headache or sickness, an eye that cannot be moved or opened, or blood or pus coming from it. The NHS lists the same signs, together with a strong chemical in the eye, a sharp object that has pierced it and an injury at high speed. If you are worried about a child, or the eye has not improved after 24 hours, the NHS advises getting it looked at.
In Malaysia, start with the nearest place that can examine the eye today. A hospital emergency department, or a hospital with an eye casualty, can see a painful eye at any hour. An eye specialist's clinic may have a same-day slot in the daytime, so call and say it is a child with something in the eye. A klinik kesihatan can take a first look in opening hours and refer on. My child says their eye hurts, and when to go today gives the full list of signs.
The speck is gone but my child says it still feels there. Why?
Because the surface of the eye may have been scratched on the way out, and a scratch feels like grit. An ophthalmologist answering on the American Academy of Ophthalmology's site points out that people can keep feeling something in the eye even after the particle has gone, because of damage to the surface of the cornea, the clear window at the front of the eye. Only an examination can say.
The Academy's advice for a scratched eye is to rinse with saline or clean water, to blink, and not to rub. If your child's eye is sensitive to light, sunglasses are more comfortable. It says to seek immediate help for severe pain, vision trouble or any concern about the eye, and otherwise to see an ophthalmologist for an exam.
Sometimes the cause is not a particle at all. An eyelash rubbing against the eye, dry eyes or an inflamed lid margin can all feel like grit, according to the Academy's page on that sensation, and a red, sticky eye with no particle may be an infection; pink eye in children tells the two apart. If it keeps feeling gritty after you have flushed it, that is again a reason to be seen.
What if it was not a speck, but metal, glass, a chemical or a blow?
Then the rules change, and I do not want one page to give you one rule for every eye injury. The American Academy of Ophthalmology says that man-made materials such as metal or glass are more serious than sand, because they can become embedded in the surface of the eye and cause ongoing irritation and more damage. Those need prompt medical evaluation, not a flush and a wait.
For a splash of liquid, rinsing is the treatment, and it goes on far longer than a speck: a chemical splash in a child's eye explains how. For a knock or a poke, a flush is not the answer: what to do when a child is poked in the eye explains why. And for anything sharp or fast that may have gone in, do not rinse, press or pull anything out, and go to an emergency department. The NHS says the same: do not try to remove any object that has pierced the eye.
Most of what gets into a child's eye is only sand and an eyelash, and it comes out with a blink. If it does not, or you are unsure which kind it was, take your child to be looked at today. Eye safety at home has the everyday habits that keep it from happening as often.
- There is severe pain, or any change in your child's sight.
- Light has suddenly become painful, or your child has a headache or feels sick.
- The eye will not open or will not move, or there is blood or pus coming from it.
- The object was metal or glass, was sharp, or hit the eye at speed. Do not rinse that one, do not press and do not pull anything out.
- A strong chemical has gone into the eye. Rinse first, then go.
Common questions
What should I do if my child has sand in their eye?
Should I try to take an eyelash out of my child's eye?
Can I use eye drops for something in my child's eye?
Is it safe to blow into my child's eye?
The speck is out but my child's eye still feels sore. Why?
When does something in the eye need a same-day visit?
Should my child wear contact lenses after something got in the eye?
- American Academy of Ophthalmology · Recognizing and treating eye injuries · www.aao.org
- American Academy of Ophthalmology · First aid guide: how to heal a scratched eye · www.aao.org
- American Academy of Ophthalmology · Ask an ophthalmologist: sand in eye causing pain · www.aao.org
- American Academy of Ophthalmology · Ask an ophthalmologist: can you safely blow debris from the eye? · www.aao.org
- American Academy of Ophthalmology · Why does it feel like something is rubbing against my eye when I blink? · www.aao.org
- NHS · Eye injuries, including how to wash the eye and when to seek emergency care · www.nhs.uk