Eye Laceration

When a person gets hit by an object or person, the eye injury he normally would sustain would be to the eyelid. This is because there is the natural protective instinct of man to close their eyes when they see something coming their way. However, there are cases when the eye injury goes further in than just the eyelid.

There are degrees of eye lacerations or cuts. The minor eye lacerations would cuts on the top of the eyeball which will heal itself over a short period of time, and will not affect your eye vision permanently.

There are times when the eye injury or cut will go beyond and affect the whites of the eye or the sclera. It can also damage the cornea and the interior of your eye. If this happens, then your eyeball is considered ruptured and could release some fluids.

This kind of eye problem could lead to eye infections or endophthalmitis. It will affect your vision by a huge margin, and the shape of your pupil could change from being round to a teardrop shape.

This is considered an eye emergency situation and you should not waste time in seeking medical attention. You must see an eye doctor as soon as possible, preferably one who has experience in this kind of eye injury.

Initially, upon verification of the eye laceration by your eye doctor, an antibiotic is immediately applied. This is to prevent any eye infection. The antibiotics should never be applied, rather, it should be an injectables. Your eye doctor may also prescribe eye drops to stop tissue from scarring and to ease any pressure, pain or sensitivity to light. Finally, as part of the initial eye treatment, a protective cover should be placed over the eye, one that will not touch the affected area at all.

Surgical eye treatment will only be recommended if there is no other recourse, however, it will not ensure that there will be no vision loss at all. There have also been cases when the good eye is affected by the eye with the laceration by becoming inflamed. If this happens, then there is the added risk of vision loss even in the unaffected eye. If your eye doctor sees the eye injury as capable of affected your good eye, he might try to stop the process by prescribing mild steroids or drugs; or recommend the removal of the damaged eye.