Eye injury (tear, foreign body, prolapsed eyeball)
URGENT
Eye injury (tear, foreign body, prolapsed eyeball)
Trauma
The eye is a delicate organ — handled wrongly, sight can be lost permanently within hours.
Symptoms to watch for
- ▸ Your pet rubs the eye constantly
- ▸ Red, swollen, watering eye
- ▸ Pupils of different sizes in the two eyes
- ▸ The eye cannot open fully
- ▸ A visible foreign object in the eye
- ▸ The eyeball pushed out of the socket (proptosis — an emergency)
DO THIS NOW (in order)
- 1 Stop your pet rubbing or scratching the eye — use an E-collar (cone) or shield it with your hand
- 2 If the object is visible + shallow + easy to remove (an eyelash, a grain of sand) → rinse gently with a few drops of 0.9% saline
- 3 If the object is embedded deep / you cannot see it clearly → DO NOT touch it, cover with clean damp gauze
- 4 If the eyeball is out of the socket: cover it with gauze dampened in saline, DO NOT press on it
- 5 Reach the vet within 1-2h — delay = risk of losing the sight
NEVER DO THIS
- ✕ DO NOT rub the eye or flush it with a strong jet of tap water (it damages the cornea)
- ✕ DO NOT use human eye drops (the preservatives harm pets)
- ✕ DO NOT try to push a prolapsed eyeball back in
- ✕ DO NOT use cotton wool (fibres catch in the wound)
Getting there safely
Put your pet in a darkened carrier / drape a light cloth over it to cut down light. Reach the vet within 2h.
While you wait for the vet
- ▸ Keep your pet calm — stress raises the pressure inside the eye
- ▸ Lay a cool damp cloth around the eye (not on it)
- ▸ Note when the injury happened
- ▸ DO NOT feed your pet (the vet may need anaesthesia)
RED FLAG — get emergency care right away if you see:
- The eyeball is out of its socket
- Bleeding from the eye
- Very unequal pupils (brain injury)
- Your pet cries out in severe pain
- Obvious loss of sight (walking into walls, misjudging jumps)
This guide does NOT replace a vet's diagnosis. Always contact the clinic, even if your pet seems fine.