Racquetball to the eye. Optometrist said OK, should I go to ophthalmologist?

[farnsolarns]

Yesterday I got hit hard in the eye by a racquetball.  I was wearing regular glasses (not protective ones) and the ball actually broke my frame in half and smacked my eye.  My eye was red and painful so I went straight to the optometrist down the street.  He said three good things:  1) my vision is still 20/20 in that eye with glasses on 2) my eye pressure is normal 3) there was no blood in my eye  4) the pain was getting better even over the 45 minutes between the event and when I talked to him.  From these he was optimistic but said if I have other symptoms I should go to an emergency ophthalmologist.

Today my eye is no longer red and doesn't hurt really, but I have two symptoms that are new since I talked with him:  1) bright lights hurt that eye.  Not a ton, but definitely more than normal.  2) I have had an afterimage whenever I close my eye.  You know, those images you see when you look at something bright and then close your eye and see it?  I have a little oval right in the center of my vision.  I don't see it when my eyes are open but I do whenever I close them.  It was there yesterday and today.

To me these seem like small symptoms and I wouldn't think anything of it, but he did say to get an emergency appointment with an ophthalmologist if I had new symptoms.  Do you think I should try and track down someone who can look at me tomorrow (Sunday)?  Or are these kind of normal, not too serious, symptoms?

[JohnHaganMD]

I would call your optometrist back.  Optometrists don't provide full medical and surgical eye care so they always have a group of ophthalmologists that back them up. Your optom should be able to call an ophthalmologist on Saturday or Sunday and arrange for you to be seen. Your optom should hae 24 hr day answering service also.

[farnsolarns]

Follow up: One night has passed and my photo-phobia seems to have cleared up, but the afterimage remains.  Good news?  If I look only through that eye in a relatively dark room, I can still see it, like if I was looking at a phone in the dark with only that eye.