Damage To The Cornea Resulting in Eye Injury

Your cornea is the top transparent dome-shaped surface of your eyes. This being so, it is the part of the eye that is most vulnerable to outside forces, and likely to be at risk to eye injuries if one does not take proper care.

The eye injuries that can be experienced because of foreign bodies is generally minor. For instance, while outdoors, there is a sudden burst of wind and you are facing in the direction opposite to the flow of the wind, a speck of dust, eyelash, or any other small object can enter your eye. We have all experienced this, and the best way to get rid of foreign objects is to flush your eyes.

Rubbing vigorously on your eyes can actually be harmful to your cornea because you could scratch your cornea, develop an eye infection like corneal ulcers or conjunctivitis.

You could also damage your cornea from using contact lenses improperly. For example, you are never suppose to sleep with contact lenses on. You should also make sure that your contact lenses fit properly and are always clean before putting them on. Eye problems caused by poor maintenance of contact lenses is very common. The act of putting your contact lenses on after it drops (like what you see in the movies) is absolutely wrong. This is because your lenses could have picked up miniscule particles and these could lead to eye problems.

You can tell if your cornea has been scratched because of pain, sensation of something in your eye, swelling, or tearing. You could also suddenly have blurred vision or sensitivity to light.

If you feel any of these symptoms, have a check up as soon as possible if flushing does not help. Eye injuries are particularly sensitive since it can affect our vision. Avoid driving if your vision is impaired in any way.

To prevent eye infection, you should request an eye exam. Your eye doctor will probably ask you all about the conditions under which you got the sudden change in your eyesight. To help him with the eye treatment, he will need to know exactly what is wrong. To do this, he can use an eye drop like Opthaine which will reveal the physical condition of the affected eye. If there is a foreign object in the eye, your eye doctor will probably try to remove it through irrigation or with a special tool.

For bacterial infections, the best eye treatment would be an antibiotic eye drop and some pain relievers and an eye patch.

Most eye problems that are caused by foreign objects do not require this kind of eye treatment. On the average, they will heal on their own within 3 days.