Grit in my eye won't go away

[hugoagogo]

I noticed yesterday lunch time that I had a piece of grit in my eye under the lid.

Cue much yanking at my eyelid, blinking and so on, but it wouldn't go.

This morning I thought it had gone, but by about 9.30 it was back and it's still bothering me.

Is it just my imagination, like feeling you have a hat on after you take it off?

Maybe it ahs gone but has scratched the inside of the eyelid ?

Are you sure it isn't an infection? That feels like grit in the eye.

Are you sure it's grit? Could be an ingrowing eyelash. I had this - optician removed it for me

You might be right. How can I tell?

It doesn't look red and it's not gooyier than the other one.

It's possible that the object is still in the eye, perhaps lodged under the eyelid, or you have a corneal abrasion (scratch) from whatever was in the eye.

You need to have your eye examined sooner rather than later by someone with the kit to do a proper eye exam. That really means A&E or an optician (they are pretty good, I've found, at fitting in emergency appointments).

Don't leave it, it could develop into an ulcer and/or infection, causing long-term problems with scarring.

I had this a while ago. I thought it was grit but it was an infection. If I remember correctly I went to a pharmacist for advice.

You can't tell yourself. They put special drops in that show up any surface injury when examined with special machine .

They can also turn your eyelid inside out (sounds horrible but isn't) to look under top lid.

Optician better than GP then?

I hope they don't charge me for a test, I only had them done a month ago.

Personally, I'd go to A&E tonight; if not, optician in am. Mine is really good like that.

GPs don't usually have the full eye exam kit and are likely to send you to A&E.

Last time I went to the opticians in similar circumstances they checked my eyes but did not charge as it's not a sight test.

And no, before anyone says it, it is not inappropriate use of A&E

No, mine didn't charge either hell.

I think they quite enjoy something a bit different from the usual prescribing specs/contacts etc.

Check and see if your hospital has a walk in eye casualty first. If not i would see dr initially or if you have a minor accident and illness walk in centre go there in the morning.

Doubt an optician would charge you either.

GP/WIC not usually equipped for eye exams, so call first if choosing that option.

I once lost my contact lense (I was not drunk really) and specsavers fished it out for me free of charge, so hopefully they will be good about this too.

I will nip down there in the morning.

Could you go to minor injuries? It isn't an appropriate use of general a+e (i don't think they would necessarily be skilled in this area), though if you go to the minor injuries or an optician (or maybe even a GP) they may refer you to an opthalmic a+e.

Sounds like allergic conjunctivitis, I have had it for a couple of weeks. You can go to A & E. to rule out foreign body or infection as those could lead to serious consequences.

It was Specsavers I went to with an infection, no charge so hopefully it'll be the same for you.

This has happened to me twice, once on holiday abroad and once at home. I wouldn't have been able to type, read or open my eye at all while the grit was in it, my eye was very sore, streaming etc.

Went to GP / local dr's and was told to go to A&E - both times I was seen very quickly by eye doctor. Never had any attitude from A&E staff - I don't see how this could have been treated elsewhere. Yes they put some substance in your eye and turn your eyelid inside out and they can see all the abrasions etc if there are any. The last time I had done some damage while trying to get the grit out so I needed an ointment for a couple of days. Hope you get it sorted!