Flush the eye

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Flush the eye

Flushing your eye may help relieve mild eye symptoms and is the most important first aid measure for a chemical substance in the eye. The sooner you get a chemical out of the eye, the less damage it may do.

If you are wearing contacts, remove them before flushing your eye. If you are not able to remove a contact, flush your eye with the contact in.

Flush the eye from the inner corner toward the outer corner. This prevents a substance in the eye from washing into the other eye.

Any of the following may be done to flush the eye. You must hold the eyelids open while you:

• Stand under a shower with open eyes.
• Put your face under a running faucet.
• Use a kitchen sink sprayer at low pressure.
• Immerse your face in a sink or pan filled with water.
• Run water from a garden hose over your eye (do not use the spray nozzle).
• Pour water from a pitcher or jug over your eye.

Do not use alcohol to flush the eye.

Credits

Last updated:	December 13, 2005
Author:	Sydney Youngerman-Cole, RN, BSN, RNC
Reviewed By:	William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine, Ian MacDonald, MDCM, FRCSC - Ophthalmology
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer