For eye injuries due to trauma, what is the initial action?

For eye injuries due to trauma, what is the initial action?

• A. Trauma, loosely cover both eyes and stabilize impaled objects
• B. Immediately remove any impaled object
• C. Irrigate with saline only
• D. Apply tight pressure around the eye to stop bleeding

Answer: (A)

The main idea is to prevent any further injury to the eye by keeping it still and protected. If there’s a potential object in the eye, do not try to remove it—the object may be tamponading bleeding or causing additional tissue damage, and removing it could worsen the injury. The safest initial action is to loosely cover both eyes with a clean dressing and stabilize the object in place with bulky dressings or a splint to minimize movement during transport. This protects the eye from further contamination and trauma while you arrange for rapid transport. Irrigating with saline isn’t the first step when an object is impaled, and applying tight pressure around the eye can increase pressure and cause more harm, so those approaches aren’t appropriate as the initial action.

The main idea is to prevent any further injury to the eye by keeping it still and protected. If there’s a potential object in the eye, do not try to remove it—the object may be tamponading bleeding or causing additional tissue damage, and removing it could worsen the injury. The safest initial action is to loosely cover both eyes with a clean dressing and stabilize the object in place with bulky dressings or a splint to minimize movement during transport. This protects the eye from further contamination and trauma while you arrange for rapid transport. Irrigating with saline isn’t the first step when an object is impaled, and applying tight pressure around the eye can increase pressure and cause more harm, so those approaches aren’t appropriate as the initial action.