Eye Emergency: When to Call an Optometrist and When to Go to Hospital

When something goes wrong with your eye, the instinct is often to head straight to the hospital emergency department. But for most eye emergencies, calling an optometrist first — specifically a therapeutically endorsed optometrist like Dr Zobaida Tahiri at Prime Optometrists Auburn — will get you assessed and treated faster, with more specialised equipment, and usually at no out-of-pocket cost with Medicare.

This guide explains how to make that decision quickly and confidently, so you don't waste hours in an ED waiting room when better care is available around the corner.

What Is a Therapeutically Endorsed Optometrist?

Not all optometrists have the same scope of practice. A therapeutically endorsed optometrist has completed additional postgraduate training and is registered with AHPRA to diagnose and treat ocular disease — including prescribing antibiotic drops, anti-inflammatory medications, and pain relief — without a GP referral.

This is critical in an eye emergency. It means Dr Tahiri can assess your eye, confirm the diagnosis, and prescribe treatment in a single visit — typically within 30–45 minutes of walking in.

Call Us First for These Conditions

• Foreign body in the eye — metal, glass, wood, dirt, or anything embedded in the eye or under the eyelid
• Arc eye / welding flash — UV burn from welding, angle grinding, or sunlamps
• Scratched eye (corneal abrasion) — intense pain and sensitivity to light after something grazed the eye surface
• Sudden painful red eye — especially with light sensitivity, which may indicate iritis or acute glaucoma
• Eye infection — red, sticky, or painful eyes; we can diagnose the type and prescribe treatment
• Stye or chalazion — lump on the eyelid that is painful or growing
• Contact lens stuck in the eye — or eye pain after contact lens wear
• Sudden floaters or flashes — a shower of new floaters or flashing lights that came on suddenly
• Blurry or distorted vision — sudden change in vision in one or both eyes
• Chemical splash — after 20 minutes of irrigation with clean water, come straight to us

Go Directly to Hospital Emergency for These

Some situations require the resources of a hospital emergency department. Go directly to ED or call 000 if:

• Something has penetrated deeply into the eye (do not remove it — stabilise and go to ED)
• You have complete or near-complete loss of vision in one or both eyes
• Your eye has been exposed to a strong acid or alkali (irrigate for 20 minutes and go to ED)
• You can see blood inside the eyeball (hyphema)
• The injury involved a high-velocity projectile — grinding, explosion, nail gun
• You have severe head trauma alongside your eye injury

If you are unsure, call us on (02) 9761 0005. We will tell you within seconds whether you need ED or whether we can treat you.

Why an Optometrist Over an ED for Eye Emergencies?

There are several practical reasons:

• Specialised equipment on-site: Slit lamp microscopy, fluorescein dye staining, tonometry, and sterile foreign body removal tools are standard in our clinic. They are not always available or prioritised in a general ED.
• Faster assessment: The average eye complaint waits 2–4 hours in a NSW emergency department. At Prime Optometrists, we triage eye emergencies and see you the same day.
• Can prescribe directly: Dr Tahiri can prescribe antibiotic drops, anti-inflammatory eye drops, and topical anaesthetic on-site — saving you the additional wait for a GP or ED doctor.
• Medicare covers it: Most urgent eye consultations are bulk billed with Medicare. Bring your Medicare card.

Serving Auburn, Silverwater, Granville, Parramatta and Western Sydney

Prime Optometrists Auburn is located at 43 Auburn Road, Auburn NSW 2144, within easy reach of Silverwater, Granville, Lidcombe, Berala, Regents Park, Clyde, Parramatta, Merrylands and all of Western Sydney. We are open Monday to Friday 9am–5:30pm and Saturday 9am–1pm.

If you have an eye emergency, do not wait — call us immediately on (02) 9761 0005 or visit our eye emergency page for full guidance on what to do.