Emergency Eye Care in the Des Moines Metro Area

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Protect Your Eyes in High-Stress Situations

If you are experiencing a medical emergency and require immediate help, please call 911.

We’re here for your eye health through thick and thin, and we want you to be ready if an eye emergency strikes.

If you’re experiencing a sudden loss of vision, eye trauma, or eye pain, don’t wait—seek help to prevent lasting eye damage.

Signs of an Eye Emergency

If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, please reach out to a medical professional:

  • Loss of vision
  • Burning or stinging
  • Pupils that are not the same size
  • One eye is not moving like the other
  • One eye is sticking out or bulging
  • Eye pain
  • Decreased vision
  • Double vision
  • Redness and irritation
  • Light sensitivity
  • Bruising around the eye
  • Bleeding from the eye
  • Blood in the white part of the eye
  • Discharge from the eye
  • Severe itching
  • New or severe headaches

Please call one of our clinics or 911 if we are closed:

Eye Emergency First Aid

If you need first aid fast, please follow these guidelines.

DO

  • Clean your hands thoroughly with soap and water if you must touch your eye.
  • Flush your eye with cool, clean water in the event of a chemical spill or a small foreign object.
  • Keep your eye still and cover it without applying pressure.

DON’T

  • Rub or apply pressure to your eye.
  • Try to remove foreign objects that are stuck in any part of your eye.
  • Use tweezers or any other tools in your eye (cotton swabs can be used, but only on the eyelid).
  • Put medications or ointments in your eye.

We’re here to help in the event of an eye emergency and will be here to move forward with a recovery plan for you.

Our Locations

Altoona

  • 1005 8th St SW, Suite A.
  • Altoona, IA 50009

Johnston

  • 5501 NW 86th St., Suite 500
  • Johnston, IA 50131

Our Blog

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If you have blepharitis or dry eyes, your optometrist may suggest a treatment called BlephEx to help.  If you are suffering from blepharitis or dry eye syndrome, it is an eye condition that can cause red, swollen, irritated, itchy eyelids, BlephEx treatment may be a suitable option for you. While it can be uncomfortable, blepharitis […]

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What Are the Best Contacts for Dry Eye?

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The uncomfortable symptoms experienced with dry eyes can lead to redness and irritation in the eyes. Dry eye disease is a condition that can make even the simplest daily tasks difficult. Fortunately, there are contact lenses available that can help alleviate some of these symptoms.  Depending on the cause of your dry eye, your eye […]

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Driving at night can be difficult at any age, especially if you have a preexisting vision problem. Between glare, difficulty seeing in the dark, or a delayed reaction time, it can be difficult to do so safely. But why does it become more difficult as you age? As you get older, your eyesight naturally gets […]

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May 10, 2023
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Close-up of a young girl outside rubbing her right eye with her right pinky finger

If you have blepharitis or dry eyes, your optometrist may suggest a treatment called BlephEx to help.  If you are suffering from blepharitis or dry eye syndrome, it is an eye condition that can cause red, swollen, irritated, itchy eyelids, BlephEx treatment may be a suitable option for you. While it can be uncomfortable, blepharitis […]

Read More…

A smiling young woman is inserting a contact lens into her right eye

The uncomfortable symptoms experienced with dry eyes can lead to redness and irritation in the eyes. Dry eye disease is a condition that can make even the simplest daily tasks difficult. Fortunately, there are contact lenses available that can help alleviate some of these symptoms.  Depending on the cause of your dry eye, your eye […]

Read More…

A senior man in the driver's seat of a car with a senior woman in the passenger seat, both with a concerned look on their faces

Driving at night can be difficult at any age, especially if you have a preexisting vision problem. Between glare, difficulty seeing in the dark, or a delayed reaction time, it can be difficult to do so safely. But why does it become more difficult as you age? As you get older, your eyesight naturally gets […]

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