Corneal Abrasion/Foreign Body in the Eye

The cornea is a thin clear, non-vascular, curved cover over the sclera of the eyes. It's main purpose is to reflect light and protect the eye. The eyelids cover the cornea, and when something comes to close to the eyes, your normal reaction is to blink to protect the eyes. The cornea is well supplied with nerves, so that when the cornea is injured you will feel pain.

Damage to the eye can happen through a finger, branch, paper, metal, hairbrush or for example a mascara brush. These abrasions are often quit small and not very deep. Here at the Telluride Medical Center I have seen quit a few corneal abrasions due to people wearing contact lenses. Sometimes a foreign body gets in between the cornea of the eye and the contact lens. Other incidences have been incorrect fitting of the contact lens. A third problem can be wearing the contact lenses too long. And at last by putting the contact lens in or out one can damage the cornea easily. Sometimes when a minor abrasion has occurred, bacteria can get in the now created wound and create an infection, creating swelling, pain and redness of the eye. Quite similar to a wound/abrasion on the skin that can get infected.

A common foreign body in the eye can be dirt, sand, glass, rust, metal or wood. People working on wood, metal or glass usually are told to wear protective glasses, to prevent that a little piece will jump in their eye. It is therefor of great importance to think before you start cutting something to protect your eyes. Other times something can fall on the floor and break. A piece of the broken item, like glass or a light bulb can jump in your eye. Most people will complain that there is something in the eye. Most medical centers have a few devices to magnify the eye structures to look in your eye and most of the time your medical provider will be able to find the foreign body and/or an abrasion. When the foreign body is superficial it can be removed right in the office with irrigation or a cotton-tip applicator. When the injury is deeper a trip to the eye specialist (opthamologist) will be necessary to find the foreign body. Sometimes the foreign body is hard to see and the opthamologist will have more specialized equipment to detect the item and will be able to remove it. A foreign body is sometimes hard to remove as the cornea can easily be damaged. The best thing you can do once you feel there is a foreign body in the eye, is either to flush it out immediately and see a medical provider or see a medical provider immediately. At the medical center they can put drops in your eye to decrease the pain and put a solution in to stain the eye. The abrasion will show up well with the stain.

Another way to get a corneal abrasion is from the sun. It is sees much in the winter time with people not wearing sunglasses while being out in the snow on a sunny day. With the squinting of the eyes a small area of the cornea is exposed to the sun or sun reflection of the snow/water/sand and this can create an abrasion on the cornea. Just like sunburn of the skin, this creates a burn of the cornea on the eye(s), and usually is quit painful.

Most abrasion of the cornea of the eye will heal by it self in 2-3 days. Sometimes, depending on the pain and size of the corneal abrasion, the medical practitioner wants you to wear an eye patch for 24-48 hours to give the eye a rest. The positive thing about an eye patch is that it will keep your eyelid closed and therefor you don't have as much pain, but research has shown that smaller abrasions heal as fast without an eye patch, mostly because oxygen can get to the cornea better. With an eye patch over the eye, the temperature of the eye is increased and therefor a great environment for bacteria to create and infection. The negative part of an eye patch is that your vision is changed from two eyes to one eye, which takes away your depth perception and peripheral vision. Driving a car therefor is not allowed. Many times an antibiotic ointment for the eye will be prescribed to prevent infection. Sometimes a lubricant for the eye is recommended, like Lacralube®, to keep the eye moist. Usually the provider will want to see you back the next day, to evaluate if the abrasion is healing and/or if there is a need to refer you to an eye specialist.

So, better be safe than sorry……Protect your eyes whenever there is a possibility something can hit your eyes or can jump in your eyes. And go to a medical center to have the eye evaluated, as you want to prevent permanent damage to your eyes….you only have one pair! AND, wear sunglasses while out in the sun, at the beach, in or on the water or while playing in the snow!