# If my eyes got knocked out of their sockets, **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 14, 2008, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803 "2008-10-14T00:22:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/1 "2008-10-14T00:22:21Z")
and the optic nerve and other “connections” were not severed, would I still be able to see? Are the “connections” long enough for me to hold my eyes with my fingers and look around? ---
**Author:** ![WoodenTaco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/45deac/32.png) [@WoodenTaco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WoodenTaco)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/2 "2008-10-14T00:32:00Z")
Nope. Full retinal detachment causes blindness. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/3 "2008-10-14T00:34:58Z")
Here’s a Slate Explainer article on the topic: [What happens when your eyeball falls out of your socket?](http://www.slate.com/id/2137959/) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/4 "2008-10-14T01:45:42Z")
> [@WoodenTaco](#): > > Nope. Full retinal detachment causes blindness. - Except in comic books and cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/5 "2008-10-14T02:15:53Z")
> [@WoodenTaco](#): > > Nope. Full retinal detachment causes blindness. Why do you think retinal detachment is an inevitable consequence of ocular dislocation? ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/6 "2008-10-14T02:47:42Z")
A related question, how long is the optic nerve and the related blood vessels? If your eye pops out, how far would it be able to go? ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/7 "2008-10-14T03:28:57Z")
_barf_ ---
**Author:** ![WoodenTaco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/45deac/32.png) [@WoodenTaco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WoodenTaco)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/8 "2008-10-14T04:38:00Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Why do you think retinal detachment is an inevitable consequence of ocular dislocation? I don’t know, I guess I assumed it wouldn’t be too likely for the RPE to pop out. Am I wrong? I’m not a doctor, I just play one on the internet. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/9 "2008-10-14T09:20:22Z")
I read an article years back about a 1930’s race car driver whose eye popped out in a crash. A doctor lifted the hanging but unharmed eye back into it’s socket using a spoon. IIRC, the driver retained his vision. ---
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/10 "2008-10-14T14:15:43Z")
You’ll have to push them back in with a stick or something. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/11 "2008-10-14T14:19:17Z")
> [@justrob](#): > > You’ll have to push them back in > with a stick or something. No don’t do that! You’ll end up pokin’ an… Well, I guess that’s the point. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/12 "2008-10-14T14:24:55Z")
> [@justrob](#): > > You’ll have to push them back in > with a stick or something. Yes, you can find the correct stick [here](http://www.spectrumsurgical.com/catalog/eye-instruments.htm), right between the Stevens Tenotomy Scissors and the Tyrell Iris Hook. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/13 "2008-10-14T14:32:34Z")
Proptosis of the globe is a very common injury in dogs, especially brachycephalic dogs (pugs, shih tzus etc). Typically it involves trauma (hit by car, hanging, etc) but it can happen from exuberant restraint as well. IME, the majority of dogs retain vision if the injury is addressed quickly. Damage to the extra ocular muscles sometimes leaves the eye pointing the wrong way (strabismus), but there are procedures to fix this problem. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/14 "2008-10-14T14:32:53Z")
> [@justrob](#): > > You’ll have to push them back in > with a stick or something. Okay, what’s that from? I seem to remember Joe Flaherty saying that. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/15 "2008-10-14T14:59:45Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Tyrell Iris Hook. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/16 "2008-10-14T16:43:37Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > Proptosis of the globe is a very common injury in dogs, especially brachycephalic dogs (pugs, shih tzus etc). Typically it involves trauma (hit by car, hanging, etc) but it can happen from exuberant restraint as well. IME, the majority of dogs retain vision if the injury is addressed quickly. Damage to the extra ocular muscles sometimes leaves the eye pointing the wrong way (strabismus), but there are procedures to fix this problem. Happened to my family’s Shih-Tzu while he was in a kennel over a weekend (we were on vacation). When they found him, they popped the eye back into place, and sewed his eyelids shut over that eye to protect it. A few weeks later, they removed the stitches and while he had a noticeable haze in that eye, he could see out of it. As he aged the haze got steadily worse and eventually he was probably totally blind out of that eye. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/17 "2008-10-14T16:48:39Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > Happened to my family’s Shih-Tzu while he was in a kennel over a weekend (we were on vacation). When they found him, they popped the eye back into place, and sewed his eyelids shut over that eye to protect it. A few weeks later, they removed the stitches and while he had a noticeable haze in that eye, he could see out of it. As he aged the haze got steadily worse and eventually he was probably totally blind out of that eye. Corneas do not like dessication. Try going without blinking for 5 minutes. Keeping the cornea moist until surgical intervention happens can minimize sequelae. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/18 "2008-10-14T17:23:32Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > I read an article years back about a 1930’s race car driver whose eye popped out in a crash. A doctor lifted the hanging but unharmed eye back into it’s socket using a spoon. IIRC, the driver retained his vision. Yes, but only after the eye was put back in. An eye out of it’s socket sees nothing, except perhaps some light. ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/19 "2008-10-14T17:37:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, but only after the eye was put back in. An eye out of it’s socket sees nothing, except perhaps some light. Is that because it’s no longer surrounded by focusing muscles, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803/20 "2008-10-14T17:49:33Z")
> [@troub](#): > > Is that because it’s no longer surrounded by focusing muscles, etc.? And other reasons, but yes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-eyes-got-knocked-out-of-their-sockets/467803.md?page=2)