What to do if…
you have sudden severe eye pain with redness or halos around lights

What to do now

1. Go to A&E now.
   Severe eye pain with a red eye, halos, blurred vision, headache, nausea, or vomiting needs urgent in-person assessment.

2. Use an emergency eye department or eye casualty only if you already know it is open and right for you.
   Some services have limited hours, eligibility rules, or telephone triage first. If you are unsure, go to A&E.

3. Call 999 if travel is unsafe.
   Call 999 if you have sudden significant vision loss, severe headache with nausea or vomiting, confusion, collapse, fainting, or no safe way to get to A&E. Do not drive yourself.

4. Use 111 or your local urgent-care phone service only if it will not delay emergency care.
   If someone is with you, they can call while you get ready or while you travel as a passenger. If you are alone and symptoms are severe, leave for A&E or call 999 first.

5. Make the trip safer.
   Ask someone to take you, use a taxi, or use an ambulance if needed. Keep lights low if that is more comfortable, and wear sunglasses if they help you keep the eye open.

6. Remove contact lenses and bring useful items.
   Remove the lens if you can do it easily. Bring your glasses, lens case, lens solution, a list of medicines, any eye drops you have used, and note when the symptoms started.

7. Say the key symptoms clearly at triage.
   Say: “Sudden severe eye pain with a red eye and halos around lights,” and mention any blurred vision, headache, nausea, vomiting, contact lens use, recent eye surgery, eye injury, or chemical splash.

8. If a chemical splash is possible, rinse immediately and go to A&E.
   Start rinsing the eye straight away with clean lukewarm running water or sterile saline if available. Remove contact lenses during rinsing if they come out easily.