Painting with acrylic paint is a fun and therapeutic experience, but it can be stressful if you get the paint in your eye. If you get acrylic paint in your eye
, there are things you should do to treat it and prevent permanent damage. Knowing what to do if you get acrylic paint in your eye is essential if you paint frequently.
If acrylic paint gets in your eye, you should remove your contact lenses, wash your hands, rinse your eyes thoroughly with water, and call a doctor if there are no improvements after rinsing. The sooner you start rinsing your eyes after the incident, the better.
Read the rest of this article to learn the most helpful tips and tricks: 6 Things To Do if Acrylic Paint Gets in Your Eye.
Table of Contents
Remove Contact Lenses – if you are wearing them
Firstly, you should remove contact lenses if you get acrylic paint in your eye. In fact, it’s best to avoid wearing contact lenses entirely if you know you will be using paint. Instead, consider wearing glasses while painting to reduce the risk of eye problems. Once you’ve finished painting and have washed your hands, you can put your contact lenses back in.
When you get acrylic paint in your contact lenses, they may absorb the chemicals quickly, which can cause damage to your eye. That’s why removing them is vital as soon as you notice there’s paint in your eye. In the future, you should avoid wearing contact lenses while using acrylic paint (and any other chemicals that may harm your eyes).
Wash Your Hands
Before you start rinsing your eyes or removing contact lenses, wash your hands to ensure you don’t transfer any more chemicals into your eyes. Use warm water and soap to get rid of germs. The CDC recommends washing hands for at least 20 seconds; washing for less time means there might be some germs/paint left over on your hands.
Once you’ve washed your hands, you can proceed to remove contact lenses and wash your eyes.
Rinse Your Eyes Thoroughly With Water
The most important thing you can do if you get acrylic paint (or any chemical) in your eye is to rinse it thoroughly with water. According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, you should rinse your eyes for around five minutes if it’s a mild irritant.
Acrylic paint isn’t as dangerous as many other chemicals, so you should only need to rinse your eyes for approximately five minutes. But if your eyes still burn after five minutes of rinsing, consider rising them for another five minutes. Repeat the rinsing process as many times as needed.
The easiest way to rinse your eye is to go to the sink or shower. Use cool or lukewarm water, making sure the water is never too hot. Using hot water could cause further damage to your eye, and you certainly want to avoid that!
You can also use a saline solution to rinse your eyes if you have it on hand; if not, clean water (either from a tap, shower, or clean container) is acceptable.
Call a Doctor if There Are No Improvements
After getting acrylic paint in your eye, you should monitor the pain and other symptoms closely. You’ll need to call your doctor or visit a hospital if you notice it’s not improving or getting worse. The longer the paint sits on your eye, the more damage it can do.
After rinsing, your eye should feel better, so always get medical attention if this isn’t the case.
You should get medical help immediately if you have any of the following symptoms:
- Eye pain or burning that won’t go away or that keeps worsening.
- Blurred vision that doesn’t improve.
- Partial or full blindness.
- Severe redness of the eye.
If you visit a doctor, they may give you eye drops or eye creams to reduce swelling. They might also advise you to take painkillers while your eye heals. However, you may not need to visit a doctor and receive treatment if you only get a small amount of acrylic paint in your eye and rinse it immediately. So, it’s essential always to act fast!
Avoid Touching Your Eyes With Your Hands
After you’ve realized there is acrylic paint in your eyes, you should avoid touching them with your hands. Doing so could transfer more paint into your eyes, even if you think you’ve washed everything off.
While rinsing your eyes, the water should be the only thing touching them. There’s no need to use your fingers to rinse your eyes manually, as this can cause further irritation.
Touching or rubbing your eyes (especially frequently) can cause different infections, including conjunctivitis (pink eye). You want to avoid these complications if you already have paint in your eye, so avoid touching it as much as possible.
Take Note of the Paint’s Name/Ingredients
Another important tip is to take note of the paint’s name and ingredients so that you can give the information to your doctor. If your doctor knows what’s in the acrylic paint, they’ll know how serious the issue is and can treat you accordingly.
Luckily, most acrylic paints are water-based. However, some are alcohol-based, so your doctor must know which type you got in your eye to get a clear picture of the issue.
Alcohol-based acrylic paint will be more damaging to your eye than water-based paint, but you should be OK once you rinse thoroughly right after it gets in your eye. Always take note of the ingredients in the product and act as fast as possible to ensure the condition doesn’t worsen.
Final Words
If you get acrylic paint in your eye, the best thing to do is rinse it thoroughly for at least five minutes. Since acrylic paint isn’t highly toxic, rinsing should be enough to solve the issue. But before that, make sure you wash your hands and remove contact lenses.
If you’ve rinsed your eyes for five minutes or longer and the condition isn’t improving or is worsening, seek medical attention. A doctor may need to give you eye drops and painkillers to improve your situation. Take note of the ingredients so your doctor can get a complete picture.