You can scratch or cut the cornea of your eye (the clear, protective "window" at the front of the eye) by contact with dust, dirt, sand, wood shavings, metal particles, or even an edge of a piece of paper. Usually the scratch is superficial. Because the cornea is extremely sensitive, abrasions are usually very painful. If your cornea is scratched, it might feel as though you have sand in your eye. Tears, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, or redness around the eye can suggest a corneal abrasion.

To prevent injury, always wear safety glasses when working with wood, metal, sand, or around dirt.

If you are injured:

Get medical attention as soon as possible. Go to an eye doctor or your health care provider.

Run lukewarm tap water over the eye, or splash the eye with clean water. Rinsing the eye may wash out the offending foreign body.

Blink several times. This movement may remove small particles of dust or sand.

Don't apply patches or ice packs to the eye. If you do get an object within the eye itself -- typically when hammering metal on metal -- do not press on the eyeball.

Don't rub your eye after an injury. This action can worsen a corneal abrasion.