How to irrigate an eye
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.
Chemical eye injuries are emergencies. Irrigation starts before anything else.
Step by step
Start immediately
Water or saline at once; do not wait. [1]
Anesthetic
Drops if available, to keep the eye open. [1]
Direction
From the inner corner to the outer, away from the other eye. [1]
Under the lids
Hold lids open, sweep under them for particles. [1]
Volume and pH
At least a liter, then check pH; continue until near normal (about 7 to 7.5). [1]
Refer
Urgent eye exam. [1]
Common errors
- Delaying to find the chemical name.
- Irrigating toward the other eye.
- Stopping without pH check.
Practice it in VMS
In VMS you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.
VMS cases that train this skill
Sources
- NASEMSO National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines
- Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
- OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills (CC BY 4.0)
Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) and OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills, licensed under CC BY 4.0. VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.