Tips to get rid of sand in the corners of your eyes

In daily life, small things like sand, dust and iron filings can easily enter people's eyes. Generally speaking, when these things enter people's eyes, most people can't help but rub their eyes with their hands. In fact, these are incorrect methods. If you rub your eyes hard, it is easy to embed into the cornea, and then cause infection, and severe cases may cause visual impairment or even blindness.

What to do if sand gets into your eyes

When sand gets into the eyes, many people can't help but rub them hard, but this is actually wrong. This is because the foreign matter floating on the surface of the eyeball may be rubbed onto the cornea (the surface layer of the black eyeball), scratching the cornea, or becoming embedded in the cornea, causing infection or even corneal ulcer perforation. There are many types of bacteria that cause corneal ulcers, among which Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most virulent. If you are unfortunately infected with this bacteria, once a corneal ulcer occurs, the onset will be acute and the progression will be rapid. If not treated in time, the corneal ulcer may perforate or even cause blindness in a short period of time.

What is the correct way to deal with sand flying into your eyes?

Close your eyes lightly, then slowly half open your eyes, and repeat this action two or three times. In most cases, the sand can be washed out as tears flow. If sand is still in your eye, you should ask someone to check it or go to the hospital to find out where the sand is. If the sand is on the inner surface of the eyelid or on the surface of the white of the eye, you can ask someone to gently wipe it out with a sterile cotton swab or a clean handkerchief.

Correct steps

1. Avoid rubbing your eyes after sand and dust enter your eyes to avoid corneal damage.

2. When sand and dust enter the eyes, gently lift the upper eyelid and pull it a few times, use tears to rinse, rotate the eyeball, and then let the patient open his eyes. This can often expel the foreign body out of the eye.

3. When sand and dust enter the eyes, open the upper eyelid. When opening the eyelid, ask the patient to look down. The first aider pinches the upper eyelid with the thumb and index finger, pulls it slightly forward, presses the thumb lightly with the index finger and turns it upward. Find the foreign object and remove it with tweezers or a wet cotton swab or wet handkerchief. Do not wipe the eyeball with a dry cloth to avoid damaging the cornea. Sometimes you need the help of a flashlight or a spotlight to find foreign objects.

4. After dust enters your eyes and foreign objects are removed, rinse your eyes with boiled warm water or saline, and use eye drops (ointment).

5. After dust enters the eyes, the above steps must not damage the cornea.

6. If the dust enters the eyes seriously and the foreign body in the eye cannot be removed, the patient should be sent to the hospital immediately.

It should be noted that although Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection is highly toxic, its invasive ability is very weak and it must pass through the damaged surface epithelium to invade the cornea. So if sand flies into your eyes, do not rub your eyes to avoid damaging the intact corneal epithelium. This is the key to preventing Pseudomonas aeruginosa corneal ulcers.