Acid Eye Injury: What to Do, How It Happens, and How to Prevent It

When acid eye injury, a type of chemical burn caused by exposure to acidic substances that damage the eye's surface. Also known as chemical eye burn, it can happen in seconds—whether from a spilled battery acid, cleaning product, or industrial spill. This isn’t just a splash you can blink away. The acid keeps burning until it’s washed out, and even then, damage can go deep into the cornea, leading to scarring, vision loss, or worse.

People don’t always realize how common these injuries are. Construction workers, lab technicians, and even parents cleaning bathrooms with strong products are at risk. You don’t need to be handling industrial chemicals to get hurt—drain cleaners, rust removers, and even some pool chemicals can cause serious damage. The key isn’t avoiding all chemicals—it’s knowing what to do the moment something gets in your eye. Seconds matter. The first thing you should do? Rinse. Not with a little water. Not with eye drops. With clean, running water for at least 15 to 20 minutes. No waiting. No calling someone first. Just rinse.

After rinsing, you still need medical help—even if your eye feels better. Many people think if the pain fades, the problem is gone. But acid can keep eating away at tissue under the surface. Doctors use special dyes to check for corneal damage, measure eye pressure, and sometimes give antibiotics to prevent infection. In severe cases, surgery might be needed to repair the eye. Prevention is better than any treatment: always wear safety goggles when working with chemicals, even for a quick job. Keep household cleaners locked up, especially if you have kids. And never mix cleaning products—some combinations create toxic fumes or splashes you don’t expect.

What you’ll find in the posts below are real, practical guides on how to handle chemical eye injuries, what medications help during recovery, and how to avoid repeat accidents. You’ll see how drugs like itraconazole, an antifungal used for serious eye infections that can follow chemical burns come into play when the eye becomes vulnerable after trauma. You’ll also learn how fluoroquinolone antibiotics, a class of drugs often prescribed to prevent infection after eye injuries are used—and why mixing them with NSAIDs can add risks. These aren’t random articles. They’re connected to what happens after an acid eye injury: infection control, healing support, and avoiding complications.