Hair Dye in Eye

[nameissues]

I was coloring my hair (black, permanent dye) when I felt a wet drop on the eyelashes of one eye. I wiped with a tissue and a little bit of dye came off on the tissue. There was no burning, no pain, no change in vision. Now I am paranoid that dye got in my eye. About 15 minutes after the incident, I began rinsing/irrigating my eye every hour or so. Once when rinsing, I held the bottom eyelid open quite a bit and the eye felt very uncomfortable and got fairly red. The redness has calmed down -- eye is somewhat bloodshot, but similar to the other eye. I am paranoid that my eye could be seriously damaged -- even though there was no immediate reaction. What are the chances? Could there be a delayed reaction? Should I go see a doctor?  Thank you.

[Michael J Kutryb, MD]

If the eye feels back to normal and the vision is OK, then most likely you will be OK.  If, however, there is persistant irritation, pain or vision loss then you need to see an ophthalmologist right away.  If damage was done it will typically only be to the surface of the eye and proper drops and lubrication and treatment should allow you to recover totally, I suspect.  If nervous about it make sure to see an ophthalmologist.