Which eye symptoms need urgent care?
The symptoms that need urgent care are sudden loss of vision, sudden severe eye pain, a sudden increase in floaters with flashes, a curtain or shadow across the vision, chemical exposure, eye injury, and new double vision.
- Subject
- Symptoms
- Topic
- Urgent eye symptoms
- Kind of question
- Other questions
- Last reviewed
- 22 September 2026
This answer explains what the symptom commonly indicates. If it has come on suddenly, or together with pain or loss of vision, seek urgent care rather than waiting for an appointment. This page cannot examine your eye.
In more detail
Severe redness with pain, or reduced vision in a contact lens wearer, belong on the same list. For anything above, urgent assessment comes before reading more about it.
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Where this answer sits
It is one of 483 answers in the vision and eye health knowledge base, filed under Symptoms & when to get help in Urgent eye symptoms . The subject page carries the answers either side of it, and the hub is searchable.
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
General answers cannot tell you what is happening in your own eyes. Only an examination by a qualified ophthalmologist can do that.
Sources & further reading
We prefer primary sources. Where a claim comes from a manufacturer, a single study or a regulator, it is labelled as such below.
- EyeSmart: eye health information for the public
Patient-facing material from the largest ophthalmology professional body, covering conditions, tests and treatments outside refractive surgery.
Used for Cross-checking patient-facing explanations of non-refractive eye conditions; Describing what tests such as dilation and OCT involve.
Link checked 23 September 2026
- Eye Health Information
Condition-by-condition eye health information from a US government research institute, written for patients rather than for clinicians.
Used for Plain-language explanations of eye conditions and their symptoms; Healthy vision and screening guidance.
Link checked 23 September 2026