When an eye becomes red, itchy, or painful, determining the fastest and most appropriate place to seek medical attention can be confusing. Eye infections range from mild irritations to conditions that threaten sight. This guidance helps you quickly assess the severity of your symptoms and triage yourself to the correct care setting: the Primary Care Provider (PCP), an Urgent Care clinic, or the Emergency Room.
Mild Symptoms and Initial Steps
Many instances of eye irritation or minor infection, such as common conjunctivitis, present with symptoms that are not immediately serious and may resolve without prescription medication. These mild cases often include slight redness in the white of the eye, minimal clear or watery discharge, and a mild gritty or burning sensation. The discomfort is usually tolerable and does not significantly interfere with vision.
For minor presentations, the initial step is supportive home care. Apply a cool or warm compress several times a day to reduce swelling and irritation. Gently clean away any crusting or discharge from the eyelashes using a clean cotton pad and cooled, boiled water. Contact lens wearers must immediately stop using their lenses and switch to glasses until symptoms have completely cleared. If these mild symptoms persist beyond 48 hours without improvement, or if they worsen, contact a Primary Care Provider for a formal diagnosis and treatment plan.
When Urgent Care is Appropriate
Urgent Care facilities are the logical choice when symptoms are moderate, require prompt intervention, and have not responded to initial at-home care. Symptoms often include persistent, noticeable redness and eye swelling, accompanied by a moderate amount of sticky, yellow, or greenish discharge. This discharge usually indicates a bacterial infection requiring timely antibiotic treatment.
The discomfort may be described as mild to moderate pain or a significant foreign body sensation that continues after rinsing. Urgent Care providers perform a focused eye examination to determine if the infection is bacterial, viral, or allergic. Based on this assessment, they can prescribe medicated eye drops or ointments to prevent the infection from progressing. Choosing Urgent Care offers faster access to prescription treatment than waiting for a standard PCP appointment.
Signs Requiring the Emergency Room
Certain eye symptoms signal a serious, potentially vision-threatening condition that requires immediate attention at the Emergency Room. Any sudden or significant change in vision, such as blurriness, partial loss of sight, or new dark spots in the visual field, warrants immediate emergency care.
Severe and unrelenting eye pain that does not improve with over-the-counter pain relievers may indicate a serious problem, such as keratitis or acute angle-closure glaucoma. Extreme sensitivity to light (photophobia), especially when combined with pain, may indicate a corneal issue needing specialized evaluation. Any eye injury involving deep trauma, a penetrating foreign object, or chemical exposure requires immediate emergency intervention. Systemic symptoms, such as an eye infection accompanied by a fever, nausea, or swelling that spreads to the cheek or forehead, suggest a severe infection like orbital cellulitis requiring hospital-level treatment.