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Eye, Foreign Body in

Care at Home

Treatment For Numerous Particles (such as dirt or sand):
- Clean around the eye with a wet washcloth first.
- Then have your child try to open and close the eye repeatedly while submerging that side of the face in a pan of water.
- If your child is too young to cooperate with this, fill a glass or pitcher with warm tap water. Pour the water into the eye while holding your child's face up.
- The eyelids must be held open during the irrigation and this usually requires the help of another person.
Treatment for a Particle in a Corner of the Eye:
- Try to get it out with a moistened cotton swab, the corner of a moistened cloth, or a small piece of Scotch tape.
Treatment for a Particle Under the Lower Lid:
- Pull the lower lid out by depressing the skin above the cheekbone.
- Touch the particle with a moistened cotton swab.
- If that doesn't work, try pouring water on the speck while holding the lid out.
Treatment for a Particle Under the Upper Lid:
- If the particle can't be seen, it's probably under the upper lid, the most common hiding place.
- Try having your child open and close the eye several times while it is submerged in a pan or bowl of water.If you have an eye cup, use it.
- If this fails, pull the upper lid out and draw it over the lower lid while the eye is closed. When the eye is then opened, the lower lid may sweep the particle out from under the upper lid.
Contacts: Children with contact lenses need to switch to glasses temporarily (Reason: to prevent damage to the cornea).
Expected Course: The discomfort, redness and excessive tearing usually pass 1 to 2 hours after the foreign body is removed.
Reassurance: The foreign body will always stay in the front part of the eye. Do not worry that the foreign body can get lost behind the eyeball. This is impossible, since the space beyond the eyeball only goes back 1/4 inch and then stops (that is--it is a dead end.)
IF your child becomes worse: Review Should I Call? recommendations.