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Eyes and sight: find the right page
The pages on this site for the eyes and sight were spread out across the long list of tools. This page puts 20 of them on one list, sorted by what you notice or what happened. Pick one and it opens. Each line below is that page’s own description.
If you think someone’s life is in danger, call 911 now. This page is a list. It cannot tell one eye problem from another, and it cannot tell you how serious something is.
Our page on eye care you can afford names the sudden symptoms the National Eye Institute says mean going for care right away, whatever is in your pocket. Our page on fading sight names the sudden changes that are an emergency. Our page on a hurt eye says what to rinse and what never to rinse, and when a black eye means the emergency room. Our glaucoma page says sudden intense eye pain, nausea, a red eye and blurry vision mean a doctor or an emergency room now.
Type a word or two, like blurry, glaucoma, diabetes or glasses. Nothing you type here is kept or sent.
An eye that is hurt, or something got in it
The first is for a chemical, a speck, a blow or a cut to an eye. The second is for a possible poisoning, something in an eye among them, and says when it is 911 and when it is Poison Help.
- When an eye is hurtA chemical, a speck, a blow or a cut to an eye, or flashes and new floaters after an injury. Keeps nothing.
- When it might be a poisoningA child got into the pills or the cleaner, a double dose or the wrong medicine, two products mixed, something in an eye, a swallowed button battery, a snake bite, bad food. Keeps nothing.
A pink, red or sticky eye in a child (pink eye)
Written for anyone looking after a child with a pink, red or sticky eye. Pink eye in a newborn: a doctor right away.
- Pink eye in a baby or child: what the signs suggest, what helps, and when to callFor anyone looking after a child with a pink, red or sticky eye. Keeps nothing.
Losing side vision, high eye pressure, or glaucoma in the family (glaucoma)
Written for anyone just told they have glaucoma or high eye pressure, anyone with glaucoma in the family wondering when to get checked, and parents of a baby with cloudy eyes. Sudden intense eye pain, nausea, a red eye and blurry vision: a doctor or an emergency room now.
- Glaucoma: the signs, who is at risk, the eye exam, eye drops, laser and surgeryFor anyone just told they have glaucoma or high eye pressure; anyone over 60, African American and over 40, or with glaucoma in the family and wondering when to get checked; anyone using glaucoma eye drops, or offered laser treatment or surgery; anyone losing side vision; and parents of a baby with cloudy eyes. Keeps nothing.
Vision getting cloudy, faded or full of glare (cataracts)
Written for anyone whose vision is getting cloudy, anyone 60 or older wondering when to get checked, and anyone deciding about surgery or getting ready for it. After surgery, vision loss, bad pain or very red eyes: call your eye doctor right away.
- Cataracts: the signs, who is at risk, the eye exam, deciding when, and cataract surgeryFor anyone just told they have a cataract; anyone whose vision is getting cloudy, faded or full of glare; anyone 60 or older wondering when to get checked; anyone deciding about surgery or getting ready for it; anyone whose vision is cloudy again after surgery; and parents of a child with a cataract. Keeps nothing.
Diabetes and your eyes (diabetic retinopathy)
Written for anyone with diabetes who wants to protect their eyesight, in pregnancy too, and anyone just told they have diabetic retinopathy. Dark floating spots or streaks like cobwebs: get treatment right away.
- Diabetic retinopathy: the signs, who is at risk, the yearly eye exam, protecting your sight, and treatmentFor anyone with diabetes (type 1, type 2, or diabetes in pregnancy) who wants to protect their eyesight; anyone just told they have diabetic retinopathy or diabetic macular edema; anyone with blurry vision or dark floating spots; anyone pregnant with diabetes; and anyone facing eye injections, laser treatment or surgery. Keeps nothing.
Straight lines that look wavy, or a blurry spot in the middle (age-related macular degeneration)
Written for anyone 55 or older, or with AMD in the family, who wants to protect their eyesight, anyone just told they have AMD, and anyone wondering about AREDS 2 vitamins. Straight lines that look wavy: see your eye doctor right away.
- Age-related macular degeneration (AMD): the signs, who is at risk, the eye exam, AREDS 2 supplements, and treatmentFor anyone age 55 or older, or with AMD in the family, who wants to protect their eyesight; anyone just told they have age-related macular degeneration, dry or wet; anyone who sees straight lines look wavy or a blurry spot in the middle of their vision; anyone wondering about AREDS 2 vitamins; anyone facing eye injections; and anyone finding reading, faces or cooking harder. Keeps nothing.
Suddenly a lot of new floaters, flashes of light, or a curtain over your vision (retinal detachment)
Written for anyone who suddenly sees a lot of new floaters, flashes of light, or a shadow like a curtain over part of their vision, anyone who was hit in the eye, and anyone told they have a tear in the retina. With those warning signs: go to your eye doctor or the emergency room right away.
- Retinal detachment: the warning signs, who is at risk, the eye exam, and treatmentFor anyone who suddenly sees a lot of new floaters, flashes of light, or a shadow like a curtain over part of their vision; anyone with a few floaters who wonders whether they are normal; anyone who was hit in the eye; anyone at higher risk because of a past detachment, family history, eye surgery, extreme nearsightedness or diabetes; anyone told they have a tear in the retina; and anyone facing surgery or just home from it. Keeps nothing.
Sight that is fading, and living with low vision
Written for people who are not seeing as well as they used to, or who have been told glasses can’t fix it, and the people beside them. It names the sudden changes that are an emergency.
- When your sight is fadingFor people who are not seeing as well as they used to, or who have been told glasses can’t fix it, and the people beside them. Keeps nothing.
Glasses or an eye exam you can’t afford
Written for anyone who cannot see well and cannot pay to find out why. It names the sudden symptoms the National Eye Institute says mean going for care right away, whatever is in your pocket.
- When you can’t afford glasses or an eye exam: free and low-cost programs, what Medicare and insurance cover, and what should not waitFor anyone who cannot see well and cannot pay to find out why, and the people beside them. Keeps nothing.
Eyes that come with something else: dryness, a rash, a red face, sore joints, a headache at the temples, a thyroid
These six are about something else that can reach the eyes. Sjögren’s disease: eyes and mouth dry all the time. Shingles: blisters on the face or near an eye. Rosacea: a red face, and it can cause eye problems. Reactive arthritis: sore joints and red eyes. Giant cell arteritis: sight problems need a provider right away. An overactive thyroid: Graves’ eye disease.
- Sjögren’s disease: the symptoms, who gets it, getting a diagnosis, treatment, and living with itFor anyone whose eyes and mouth are dry all the time, anyone with joint pain and tiredness beside the dryness, anyone just told they have Sjögren’s disease, and the people beside them. Keeps nothing.
- Shingles: the signs, the first three days, the pain that can stay, who can catch what, the vaccine, and when to callFor anyone with a painful rash on one side of the body or face that may be shingles, or looking after someone who has it. Keeps nothing.
- Rosacea: the symptoms, what can set it off, getting a diagnosis, treatment, and living with itFor anyone whose face flushes and stays red, anyone just told they have rosacea, and the people beside them. Keeps nothing.
- Reactive arthritis: the signs after an infection, who gets it, getting a diagnosis, treatment, and living with itFor anyone whose knee, ankle or heel started to hurt and swell a few weeks after a stomach bug, food poisoning, a bladder infection or a sexually transmitted infection, anyone with sore joints and red eyes or burning when they pee, and anyone just told they have reactive arthritis. Keeps nothing.
- Polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis: the symptoms, who gets them, getting a diagnosis, treatment, and living with themFor someone past 50 whose shoulders and hips ache and stiffen every morning, someone with a new headache at the temples, a tender scalp or jaw pain when chewing, anyone just told they have polymyalgia rheumatica or giant cell arteritis (temporal arteritis), and anyone taking a steroid for it. Keeps nothing.
- Overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism): the signs, getting a diagnosis, the treatments, and Graves’ diseaseFor anyone whose heart races, whose hands shake, or who is losing weight without trying and wondering about their thyroid; anyone just told they have hyperthyroidism or Graves’ disease; anyone choosing between medicine, radioactive iodine and surgery, or taking antithyroid medicine; anyone pregnant with a thyroid problem; and anyone caring for someone with one. Keeps nothing.
Before you call or go in
These four are for anyone’s appointment, call or medicines. They were not made for the eyes.
- Symptom diary: write it down, show your doctorWrite down what you notice when it happens, with your own number from 0 to 10. What you type is kept only in this browser.
- Get ready for your appointmentTen minutes before you go: what has been happening, your medicines, your questions and what helps you, on one page to hand to your doctor, therapist or psychiatrist, with room to write down the plan. What you type is kept only in this browser.
- Call script: know what you will say before you dialA phone call you keep putting off? Write who you are calling, the sentence that says what you want, what to have ready and what to ask. What you type is kept only in this browser.
- My medicines: a list and a daily check“Did I already take it?” Write down what you take and when, tick each medicine as you take it, and the page keeps the time. What you type is kept only in this browser.
No page on this list matches those words. Try one word, press Show all, or search the whole site.
Good to know
What these pages are
- All 20 were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast. No doctor, eye doctor, nurse or pharmacist has reviewed them.
- The health guides pass on what named public sources say, such as the National Eye Institute (NEI), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NIAMS and NIDDK. Most guides name the sources they were built from.
- Every line on this list is copied from the page it points to when this list is built. This list adds no health facts of its own.
- The order of the list is not an order of how serious a thing is. Being lower on the list does not make anything less urgent.
- They are for the United States: the phone numbers and the offices are U.S. ones.
What this page can’t do
- It is not medical advice. It cannot tell one eye problem from another, or tell you whether to wait or to go in.
- It does not have every subject. There is no page here yet for dry eye on its own.
- Most of these pages were written about adults. The pink eye page is written for a child, and the pages on a hurt eye, glaucoma and cataracts each have a part on a child or a baby.
- It does not replace an eye doctor, a nurse line, a pharmacist or a clinic. If something feels wrong to you, call them.
Pages that go with this
- First aid: what do you see?: the cards for when someone is hurt in front of you.
- Diabetes: the guide for the rest of living with diabetes.
- A baby or child: find the right page: the longer list for anyone looking after a baby or child.
- All the free tools, and search.
- The phone list: the helplines the guides lead with, on one page.
- Pass it on: any of these pages as a code to show or a slip to print.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). The names and lines of the 20 pages are read from the pages’ own descriptions when this page is built. The page was checked by programs, not yet used by people. It runs no analytics or tracking (privacy). Also in Spanish: Ojos y vista. Found a mistake? Email [email protected].