Eye Injury From a Cricket Ball, Stick or Fireworks: First Steps
After a hit to the eye, shield it, don’t press it, and get to an eye doctor fast if there’s blood in the eye, any change in vision, or a cut on the eye. Don’t rub, don’t pull out anything stuck in it, and use a cold compress only on a bruised, closed lid. This guide covers cricket balls, sticks, gilli-danda and fireworks, for children and adults.
First steps in brief
- Shield, don’t pad: tape a paper cup or the cut bottom of a plastic bottle over the eye so nothing touches the eyeball.
- Emergency now: blood in the coloured part of the eye, blurred or lost vision, a cut on the eyeball or lid edge, an object stuck in the eye, a misshapen pupil, double vision, or a firework or chemical injury.
- Cold compress: only for a bruised lid when the eye itself looks and sees normally.
- Chemicals or firework powder: flush with clean running water first, then go.
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A tennis-ball cricket match in the gali. A short ball, a mistimed pull, and the ball hits the fielder’s eye. Everyone crowds round, someone presses a handkerchief hard against the eye, and an uncle says to splash it with cold water and see after dinner. Two of those instincts are wrong. Pressing can push the contents out of an eye that has split open, and waiting can let a bleed inside the eye rise and raise the pressure. Here’s what to do instead.
Eye injury first aid in the first five minutes
- Stop the rubbing. Hold the hands of a small child gently if you must.
- Look without touching. Is there blood in the coloured part? Is the pupil round? Is anything sticking out?
- Check vision roughly: cover the good eye and ask them to count your fingers at about 1 metre.
- If anything looks wrong, or they can’t see well, shield the eye. Tape a paper cup, a clean plastic cup or the cut bottom of a small bottle over it, resting on the bone around the eye, not the eye itself.
- Keep them sitting up, head raised. Lying flat lets blood in the eye spread.
- Give nothing to eat or drink until a doctor has seen them, in case they need surgery under anaesthesia.
- Go to an eye hospital or emergency department. Don’t let them drive.
If something is stuck in the eye, a splinter, a wire or a piece of a firework, leave it. Pulling it out can tear the eye further. Shield around it and go.
When a black eye is just a black eye
A bruised, swollen eyelid after a ball or elbow is common. If the eye opens, the white and coloured parts look normal, vision is the same as the other eye, and moving the eye in every direction doesn’t cause double vision or pain, you can care for it at home.
- Wrap ice or a cold pack in a thin cloth and hold it lightly on the closed lid and cheekbone, not the eyeball, for 10 to 15 minutes. Repeat every hour or two on the first day.
- Sleep with an extra pillow for a night or two.
- Skip raw meat on the eye; it carries germs and does nothing a cold pack can’t do better.
- Pain relief: ask a pharmacist, who will pick a suitable medicine and amount by age and weight. In children, the amount always comes from the pack or the pharmacist, and aspirin is never given under 16.
Bruising often spreads and turns green-yellow over a week. That’s normal. Increasing pain, new blur, or swelling that closes the eye completely means going back to a doctor.
Signs that mean the eye itself is hurt
| What you see | What it can mean |
|---|---|
| A red or dark level of blood in front of the coloured part | Bleeding inside the eye (hyphema) |
| Pupil pulled into a teardrop shape | A tear through the eye wall |
| Double vision looking up, numb cheek or upper lip | A broken bone under the eye |
| Flashes, floaters or a shadow days later | Retinal tear or detachment |
| Cut through the lid edge or near the inner corner | Damage to the lid or tear duct |
| Bright red patch on the white, vision normal | Usually a harmless surface bleed, but get it checked after a hit |
Even when the eye looks fine, a hard blow can tear the retina. Anyone hit by a cricket ball or a hard object should have an eye check within a day or two, and straight away if any sign above appears.
Fireworks, patakhay and weddings
Shab-e-Barat, Diwali, New Year and shaadi fireworks bring a wave of eye injuries every year, many in bystanders and children. Firework injuries combine three things: burns, blast, and chemical powder. Our guide to something in your eye and chemical splashes shows the flushing method in full.
- If powder or chemical went in, flush straight away with clean running water, lids held open, for at least 15 to 20 minutes. Pour from the inner corner outwards.
- If there’s a cut, embedded fragment or the eye looks damaged, don’t flush hard. Shield it and go.
- Burns to the face: cool the skin with running water for about 20 minutes, avoiding a forced stream into an open wound on the eye.
- No toothpaste, butter, ghee, surma or oil on burns near the eye.
Protective eyewear that actually protects
Ordinary sunglasses shatter. Polycarbonate safety glasses or sports goggles are the ones to buy, marked as impact-rated. Light fireworks from arm’s length, never lean over one that failed to go off, and wait before approaching it. Children should watch from a distance, not hold anything that shoots. For hard-ball cricket, a helmet with a grille protects the eye; with a tennis ball, it’s the fielders at short leg and the wicketkeeper standing up who take most hits.
Under 1: any eye injury, even a scratch from a sibling’s nail with watering and a closed eye, means a doctor the same day. 1 to 3 years: toddlers can’t tell you vision changed, so watch for rubbing, refusing to open the eye, or bumping into things. 3 to 6: stick, pencil and toy-arrow injuries are common; a small wound can hide a deep one, so get them seen. Over 6: ask them to read something with each eye covered. At every age, a child who is drowsy, vomiting or confused after a blow to the head needs emergency care, as our head injury guide explains. Don’t put drops, surma, kajal, onion juice or breast milk into an injured eye.
More on keeping eyes safe is in our Eye Care section.
Eye injury questions people ask
What is the first aid for a cricket ball hitting the eye?
Stop rubbing, check the eye without pressing, and test vision with the other eye covered. If vision is off or there’s blood in the eye, shield it with a cup and go to an eye hospital. If only the lid is bruised and vision is normal, use a wrapped cold pack on the closed lid.
When is a black eye an emergency?
When vision changes, you see blood in the coloured part, the pupil looks odd, there’s double vision, or the cheek goes numb. Severe pain and vomiting after the hit also mean emergency care.
Should I put ice directly on an injured eye?
No. Ice goes in a thin cloth and rests lightly on the closed lid and cheekbone. Never press on the eyeball, and skip the cold pack if the eye itself might be damaged.
Can I wash the eye with water after a firework injury?
Yes, if powder or chemical went in, flush with clean running water for 15 to 20 minutes before travelling. If there’s a cut or something stuck in the eye, don’t flush hard; shield it and go.
Something is stuck in my child’s eye. Should I pull it out?
No. Leave anything embedded in the eye, shield around it with a cup, keep the child calm and still, and go to the emergency department.
Blood in the white of the eye after a hit: is it serious?
A flat red patch on the white is usually a harmless surface bleed that fades in 1 to 2 weeks. After a blow, though, the eye should still be checked, because the same hit can cause hidden damage.
Can a hit to the eye cause problems later?
Yes. A retinal tear can show up days or weeks later as flashes, floaters or a shadow, and some people develop raised eye pressure months later. Keep follow-up appointments.
Is raw meat good for a black eye?
No. It’s cold, which is the only reason it seems to help, and it can carry germs into broken skin. A wrapped cold pack works better and is clean.
Can I give my child a painkiller after an eye injury?
Ask the pharmacist or doctor first. They’ll pick the medicine and work out the amount from the child’s weight, and aspirin is never given to children under 16. If surgery might be needed, the doctor may want nothing given by mouth.
Which glasses protect eyes from fireworks?
Impact-rated polycarbonate safety glasses or sports goggles. Normal sunglasses and reading glasses can shatter and add glass to the injury.
How long does a black eye take to heal?
Most bruising fades in one to two weeks, turning purple, then green and yellow. If it’s getting worse after two or three days, or vision changes, see a doctor.