What to do Incase of Trauma to the Eye

This post that I am sharing with you today was inspired by a case I had at the hospital yesterday concerning a man who experienced blunt trauma to the eye 2 days before he visited the hospital and had a serious case of uveitis going on which say his vision which according to his records used to be 6/6 brought all to way down to 6/60.

For those who may not understand the severity of the situation let me break down the visual impact for you, at first he used to be able to see clearly an object whose size was meant to be distinguishable at 6 meters but now that same object would have to have its size increase to that of a billboard before we can tell what it is and this was a result of the inflammations that came in and his delay in seeking medical care.

Trauma to the eye irrespective of the type of trauma whether it be mechanical or chemical is considered an ocular emergency and it certainly is not something you should wait for more than 24 hours to seek consult. There are patients I have met who waited for up to 3 days to experience unbearable pain before deciding to seek a consult.

Please do not wait because you can easily lose your sight as a result, do not think that because it was blunt trauma and that something hit the eye you will be fine and that the pain would subside, the pain may calm down but the reactions that continue in the eye could be very fatal and by the time the pain comes back strong you sight may already be at risk.

During blunt traumas start a cascade of chemical reactions results in the release of inflammatory cells and chemicals within the eye, depending on the severity posterior or pan uveitis may begin right away resulting in flares and cell buildup within the eye, these obstruct lights passage to the retina and thus drastically reducing vision.

In addition, the intraocular pressure may build up very quickly and can rise to about 60 in some cases, I had such a patient and before it almost became a glaucoma case by the time we got the pressure back down and the pain subsided, some field of vision were lost due to the pressure on the optic nerve that resulted in apoptosis of the cells. Now, this patient was lucky he rushed in, had he waited he could have permanently lost that eye.

So in the case of blunt trauma to the eye, the first thing you need to do is to do cold compress or place cold water or ice pack on the eye, this would help calm down the inflammatory processes and reduce the number of cytokines and the likes that may have been reduced to the site, if you have some anti-inflammatory drugs at home preferably NSAIDs take some as prescribed by your doctor and head straight for the eye clinic or the emergency room.

Please do not get any eye drops for the eye, wait for any ocular examination and prescription before doing so as steroid-containing drops could easily result in scaring of the cornea and a subsequent loss of vision in the situation where the cornea's epithelium may have been broken due to the trauma. Also, do not decide to stay back and observe because you took NSAIDs and the pain seems to get better, do not also assume because the trauma wasn't severe nothing will happen.

It is always better safe than sorry, once you have been examined, your doctor may check your intraocular pressure to ensure that it's within normal range, if it is not you will be given the necessary medication, and your eyes may also be dilated to prevent synechiae and close angle glaucoma from setting in, this may blur your vision temporarily however it should get back to normal within some few hours or a day depending on the type of drug used.

Do well to follow all instructions given carefully and be sure not to miss your review date; things should get better quickly. Never make assumptions when it comes to the eye, always leave professional care to your healthcare provider because the eye is quite a delicate organ. I do hope that you would keep this in mind and share it with your friend or urge that colleague or neighbor to get the eye checked right away should they ever find themselves in this kind of situation.

I couldn't stress more the fact that our eyes are quite delicate and should be well taken care of, do not take anything involving the eye for granted because losing your vision due to a simple error is one of the worst that you can do to yourself.

And so have regular eye checkups, do not miss your review appointments, avoid over-the-counter medication, and do not forget to eat and stay healthy too as they all tend to be very beneficial to your ocular health. Thank you once again for today and for your time.