How to Handle an Eye Injury
The natural evolutionary reflexes and tear duct process in the eye tends to prevent us from much potential eye damage when coming into contact with unwanted objects, although not every danger can be repelled, and an eye injury or trauma can be incredibly alarming.
Until technology becomes so advanced that we can replace the human eye, we are stuck with the pair we are born with and have to look after them carefully.
Types of Injury and Treatment Required
Cause: The most common eye injury would be the simple scratch of the eye, or corneal abrasion, which varies in severity from a minor surface scratch which only needs monitoring for infection after visit to a specialist eye doctor, to more severe scratches or penetration of the eye by foreign objects, which require more urgent medical treatment. In either case, it is important to act fast in relation to getting the required treatment, as swift action may be the difference to retention of sight and a loss of vision.
Accidentally poking yourself in the eye or having someone else doing the same perhaps accidentally in a contact sport, is a primary cause of eye scratch based injury. Prevention of eye scratches during sport in particular can be managed through correct sports based eyewear for ensuring unwanted foreign bodies such as dust and sand don’t enter the eye through rubbing.
Treatment: Of upmost importance is that in the aftermath of a scratch your eye becomes vulnerable to bacteria entering the eye, potentially causing blindness as a worst case scenario, so it’s important to keep the eye closed at all times, while also resisting the temptation to put a patch over the infected eye, as this can create an environment for bacteria to breed in.
Cause: Chemical burns also vary in severity depending on the substance involved, with the initial burning or stinging sensation being particularly unpleasant, although this doesn’t necessarily equate to eye problems in the long run.
The key difference to be aware of is whether the chemical entering the eye is acid or alkali, with the surprising statistic that acid chemicals are more easily washed out of the eye despite a considerable burning sensation, whereas the more neutral alkali chemical makeup’s seen in products such as household cleaning fluids can cause more severe damage despite the lack of immediate pain sensations seen from the more acidic chemicals.
Treatment: Whenever such an accident occurs, excessive rinsing of the affected eye under a tap for at least 15 minutes is recommended to prevent any long term damage, while the visible of severity of the injury will determine whether an immediate rush to an eye doctor or emergency room is required as opposed to an advisory phone call.
Conclusion
Whenever on the receiving end of an eye injury you are unsure of how to deal with, contact an eye care practitioner, who is often contactable for emergencies outside of standard office hours. In severe cases a phone call may be a waste of valuable time, where getting to a hospital treatment room at A+E immediately may be more sensible.
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