Expert Eye Injury Treatment & Trauma Care Close to Home

What Counts as an Eye Emergency & How We Can Help

Knowing when something warrants an urgent call to an emergency ophthalmologist is important. Here's a guide to the kinds of situations Dr. Sharma and his team are equipped to handle, and what you should do if you find yourself in one:

Eye Trauma

Physical trauma to the eye or the area around it is always worth taking seriously. A blow to the eye, a cut near the eyelid, or any kind of impact that causes pain, swelling, or changes to your vision should be evaluated by an eye doctor right away. Even if things look okay on the surface, trauma can cause internal damage that isn't immediately visible, including bleeding inside the eye, retinal injury, or damage to the structures that support clear vision. Dr. Sharma is experienced in eye trauma treatment and will thoroughly assess your eye to make sure nothing has been missed.

Foreign Body in the Eye

Getting something stuck in your eye is one of the most common eye emergencies. Small particles like metal shavings, wood chips, sand, or even a tiny piece of glass can scratch or embed themselves in the surface of the eye, called the cornea, or deeper into the eye itself. Corneal and ocular foreign body removal requires the steady hand and specialized tools of an experienced eye doctor. Trying to remove something yourself can make the injury significantly worse. Dr. Sharma handles foreign body cases both in the office and, when necessary, at the adjacent surgical center, so you'll always have access to the right level of care.

Sudden Changes in Vision

If you experience a sudden loss of vision, a dramatic increase in floaters or flashes of light, or a dark curtain or shadow appearing in part of your visual field, you should seek care from an emergency eye doctor immediately. These can be signs of a retinal tear or detachment, which is a sight-threatening emergency that requires prompt treatment. Other sudden vision changes, including double vision, severe blurring, or vision loss in one eye, can also indicate serious underlying problems that need to be addressed without delay.

Eye Infections and Severe Eye Pain

Severe redness, discharge, intense light sensitivity, or eye pain that comes on suddenly are signs that something is wrong and needs to be evaluated. Eye infections can escalate quickly, and some causes of acute eye pain, such as a sudden spike in eye pressure, require immediate treatment to prevent lasting damage. If your symptoms are severe or getting worse, call us right away rather than waiting for your next available routine appointment.

What Sets Lakeshore Eyecare Apart for Emergency Care

When you call Lakeshore Eyecare with an urgent concern, you'll speak with our team directly, and in most cases, we'll get you in the same day. Dr. Sharma covers emergency referrals from several emergency rooms in the area, and patients consistently report being seen within an hour of their call. That kind of responsiveness is rare, and it reflects the genuinely patient-centered culture that Dr. Sharma has built at Lakeshore Eyecare since opening in 2006.

For cases that require surgery, the proximity of our next-door surgical center means there's no gap between diagnosis and treatment. You won't be sent somewhere unfamiliar or told to wait days for an opening; everything you need is right here.