The Eyes Have It: Emergency Eye Care in Pediatrics

The first person to see a child following an eye emergency plays a critical role in treating the injury and preventing subsequent visual loss. A basic five-minute eye exam can help providers determine how urgent an ocular problem is and guide them to the appropriate treatment.

Listen to pediatric experts discuss common eye injuries

In today’s episode, Emily McCourt, MD, discusses how pediatricians can best diagnose, triage and treat a child who presents with an eye injury or infection.

Dr. McCourt is the Chief of Pediatric Ophthalmology at Children’s Hospital Colorado and is Associate Professor of Pediatric and Adult Strabismus at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

In this episode, our experts discuss:

• Critical components of a basic eye exam following an eye injury
• Cardinal signs of potential vision- or life-threatening orbital cellulitis
• Management of preseptal cellulitis
• Signs of orbital tumor
• How to treat chemical eye injuries and recommendations for irrigation
• Diagnosis and management of traumatic eye injuries and foreign bodies
• Eye exams for patients with suspected abusive head trauma
• Diagnosing and treating bacterial, viral and allergic conjunctivitis
• Key signs that indicate urgent referral to ophthalmology

Treatment of eye conditions at Children’s Colorado

Our board-certified and fellowship-trained pediatric ophthalmologists treat a variety of pediatric eye disorders including strabismus, cataracts, genetic eye diseases and eye trauma. Our ophthalmology team also collaborates with one of the region’s best-equipped and staffed Newborn Intensive Care Units (NICUs), the region's top pediatric neurosurgeons, nationally recognized oncologists and a wide range of medical specialties to provide the best eye care for children.