If bleach or any other chemical gets in your eye, start rinsing right away with lots of room-temperature running water, take out contact lenses, and keep rinsing for at least 15 to 20 minutes. Then call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 or use webPOISONCONTROL online, and have the eye checked: during office hours, call us at 310-828-2010 and come straight in for an urgent eye visit; go to an emergency room if we can't see you right away, the office is closed or symptoms are severe. How much harm bleach or any other chemical does depends on the exact substance, how much gets into the eye and how long it stays there.
Key takeaways
- Hold the eye open under room-temperature running water right away, take out contact lenses, and rinse for at least 15 to 20 minutes by the clock.
- After rinsing, call Poison Control, then call us and come straight in, or go to an emergency room if we can't see you right away or we're closed.
- Treat bleach in the eye as an emergency, and go straight to an emergency room after rinsing if symptoms are severe.
- Call 911 right away if the person collapses, has a seizure, has trouble breathing or can't be woken up.
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What should you do right away if a chemical gets in your eye?
- Start rinsing immediately. Every second matters, and a delay could cost sight.
- Take out contact lenses.
- Use lots of room-temperature water. Adults and older children can get in the shower. For a young child, wrap them in a towel and let water from the kitchen faucet, or water poured slowly from a pitcher, hit the bridge of the nose and run gently into the eyes.
- Keep the eye open and keep blinking. Pain makes you want to close the eye, which traps the chemical against it and can cause more damage.
- Rinse for at least 15 to 20 minutes by the clock.
- Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 or use the webPOISONCONTROL tool online. Both are free, confidential and available 24 hours a day.
- Then call our office at 310-828-2010 and come straight in if we can see you right away, or go to an emergency room. If the poison center sends you to the emergency room, it will call ahead so the doctor knows how to treat you.
02
How long should you rinse your eye after a chemical splash?
At least 15 to 20 minutes, according to Poison Control. For caustic products, the very strong acids and alkalis in things like drain cleaner, its advice is at least 20 minutes.
Plain running water is fine, at any comfortable temperature, and a shower or a faucet both work. When you finish, let the eye rest while you contact Poison Control.
03
Is bleach in your eye an emergency?
Treat it as one. Bleach contains sodium hypochlorite, and brands contain different amounts of it. Household bleach was traditionally sold at 3 to 6% sodium hypochlorite, but some bleach sold for home use is more concentrated.
Newer high-strength bleach products can cause serious burns.
So rinse first for 15 to 20 minutes, then call Poison Control, then call us and come straight in if we can see you right away, or go to an emergency room. Severe symptoms mean going straight to an emergency room after rinsing.
04
What should you do about hand sanitizer in your eye?
Rinse it out right away under gently running water for at least 15 to 20 minutes, as you would any chemical, then call Poison Control and have the eye checked. The alcohol-based sanitizers the CDC recommends contain at least 60% alcohol, and the FDA's advice is to keep hand sanitizer out of your eyes. The FDA also warns that hand sanitizer in the eyes can cause serious injury, including severe irritation and damage to the surface of the eye.
Anything that doesn't belong in the eye will probably hurt, and the result can range from irritation to injury and even blindness. A liquid splashed in the eye can also inflame the cornea, the clear front of the eye. This is called keratitis, and it brings redness, pain, tearing, blurred vision and light sensitivity. More on keratitis.
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Which chemicals are most dangerous to your eyes?
Caustic products, the very strong acids and alkalis in drain cleaner and similar products, cause the fastest damage. They burn the eyes on contact and do their damage instantly, and the injury can't be reversed, only treated.
| Product | What it can do |
|---|---|
| Drain cleaner, oven cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, dishwasher detergent, some laundry pods and some pool chemicals | Chemical burns |
| Rust remover | Can penetrate the eye and cause damage from the inside |
| Bleach | Newer high-strength bleach can cause serious burns |
| Laundry detergent and fabric softener | Eye irritation; serious injuries from liquid and dry detergents are not common but can occur |
| Contact lens cleaners | Irritation and even corneal abrasions, painful injuries that can take a few days to heal |
| Household (3%) hydrogen peroxide, including some contact lens disinfectants | Stinging, irritation, tearing and blurred vision; severe injury is unlikely |
Pain is not a reliable guide. In one case Poison Control describes, a deck cleaner with a high percentage of sodium hydroxide splashed into a worker's eyes. His vision clouded within 20 seconds even though the eye was not especially painful, a very severe burn developed, and he needed a corneal transplant.
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When should you call 911 or go to the emergency room?
Call 911 right away if the person collapses, has a seizure, has trouble breathing or can't be woken up, or has sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes (even if it comes back), sudden double vision or signs of a stroke. Go to an emergency room when symptoms are severe or our office is closed.
In every case, rinse first for at least 15 to 20 minutes, then call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222, then have the eye examined. During office hours, Monday 10 to 5 and Tuesday to Friday 8 to 5, call us at 310-828-2010: a person answers and triages the call. Come straight in if we can see you right away; if we can't, go to an emergency room.
Don't wait if symptoms are severe: go straight to an emergency room after rinsing. Intense eye pain, a change in vision, or a very red, watery eye also calls for an eye doctor or an emergency room right away.
Even a splash that seemed mild needs an urgent eye exam right away if irritation, pain, vision problems, redness, swelling or tearing are still there an hour after you started rinsing: come straight in if we can see you immediately, or go to an emergency room.
07
What happens when a doctor treats a chemical eye injury?
The doctor examines the cornea and may use fluorescein, a dye that makes scratches on the cornea easier to see. When a chemical has inflamed the cornea, mild cases may be treated with artificial tears, and more severe ones with a bandage contact lens and anti-inflammatory eye medicine.
Deeper injuries can scar the cornea and cause vision problems. When damage to the cornea can't be repaired, a corneal transplant replaces the damaged part with healthy tissue from a donor.
At Cohenmehr Optometry, the urgent work-up by our eye doctors in Los Angeles includes a slit lamp exam, eye pressure testing and a close look at the cornea and the front of the eye. For a surface that won't heal, we use amniotic membranes, which treat non-healing corneal damage. Most urgent problems are treated on the spot, and when a burn needs an ophthalmologist or a surgeon, we coordinate the referral and send records the same day.
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How can you prevent chemical eye injuries at home?
Wear protective eyewear when you use chemicals such as bleach or pesticides, and rubber gloves and eye protection when you work with bleach. The product label may also call for eye protection or ventilation.
- Store caustic products locked up, out of sight and reach of children and pets.
- Keep products in their original containers with the child-resistant cap on tightly, and never pour them into food or drink containers.
- Read the label carefully and follow the directions exactly.
- Don't mix bleach with ammonia or with toilet bowl cleaner: the mixtures give off poisonous gases.
- Store eye drops away from look-alikes. People have put ear drops and even instant glue in their eyes by mistake.
09
Questions patients ask
Can contact lens solution burn your eye?
A hydrogen peroxide solution can. These solutions, usually in bottles with a red tip and cap, need a neutralizing step that turns the peroxide into water and oxygen before the lenses go back in. Put directly in the eye, the solution can cause irritation, stinging and burning and can damage the cornea. If that happens, rinse the eye with plenty of running water for 15 to 20 minutes, then call Poison Control and us. Use the case that comes with each new bottle and never skip neutralizing.
Can bleach in your eye cause permanent damage?
It can. A chemical in the eye can cause anything from a little irritation to severe damage and even blindness, and the outcome depends on the exact substance, how much gets into the eye and how long it stays there. That is why rinsing right away matters so much: it shortens the time the bleach stays in contact with the eye.
Is hand sanitizer in the eye dangerous for children?
It can be. The FDA warns that hand sanitizer in the eyes can cause serious injury, including damage to the surface of the eye, and that eye exposures happen most often in children. Rinse the eye right away under gently running water for at least 15 to 20 minutes, then call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 and then us, or an emergency room when we're closed. Redness, pain, blurred vision or light sensitivity that remains after rinsing needs an urgent eye exam.
Where should I go for an eye emergency?
Call 911 for sudden loss of vision (even if it comes back), sudden double vision or stroke signs. A cut or pierced eye goes to the emergency room: don't rinse it or remove anything, and protect it without pressing. Rinse a chemical splash for at least 15 to 20 minutes first, then call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Then call us at 310-828-2010 and come straight in, or go to an emergency room when we're closed; do the same for something stuck in the eye, intense pain or a change in vision.
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Sources
- Poison Control: Splashed a poison in your eye?
- Poison Control: Eye injuries, what you need to know
- MedlinePlus: Eye injuries
- Poison Control: Caution with caustics
- Poison Control: Bleach
- Poison Control: Children and laundry products
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Safely using hand sanitizer
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Hand sanitizer in the eyes
- American Optometric Association: Keratitis
- Poison Control: Is hydrogen peroxide safe?
- Poison Control: First aid for poisonings
- National Eye Institute: Corneal conditions
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Safe use of hydrogen peroxide solution
Written by
Dr. Kevin Cohenmehr, OD
Medical eye care: glaucoma, diabetic eye exams, macular degeneration and eye infections, plus vision therapy for children. A graduate of UCLA and SUNY College of Optometry.
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