Scratch on the cornea of the eye in a child and adult

A scratch on the eye is not a very common occurrence. After all, although the eyes are not a vital organ, they play a very important role in our perception of the world. Thanks to them, we can see the world around us, our relatives and even ourselves. Serious visual impairment, and especially its absence, greatly reduces the quality of life, so we try to protect our eyes from all sorts of injuries so as not to lose the ability to see.

But many people understand eye trauma as a blow to the eye area, a puncture of the eye tissue with a sharp object, a burn, or, in extreme cases, a scratch on the eyelid, so the question arises: is it possible to scratch the eye, or rather the shell of the front part of the eyeball - the cornea? It turns out that it is possible, and very easily, we just don’t think about all the dangers that can lie in wait for us in everyday life. And if we accidentally get a minor injury, we are in no hurry to seek help from specialists, and it’s a shame.

A scratched eyelid is pain and discomfort for a while, but a corneal injury is a danger of not only unpleasant sensations and short-term visual impairment, but also the appearance of a cataract, corneal opacity, and vision loss. There is probably something to think about, having accidentally received even a small eye injury in the form of a scratch.

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Causes eye scratches

There is no need to invent any special situations in which you can get an eye injury, it is easy to do in everyday life. For example, when an eyelash, road dust or a single speck of dirt gets into the eye, we feel severe discomfort and instead of gently rinsing the eye, we begin to rub it vigorously. If the speck is soft, perhaps such measures will bring relief, helping to move the foreign body from the sensitive part of the eye. But very often dust contains solid particles, which, due to our actions, scratch the cornea and the inner part of the eyelid.

But in order for mechanical damage to the eye to occur, which is also considered a scratch on the eye, it is not at all necessary to rub it. If an eye injury occurs at work, not only ordinary dust can get into the eye, but also shavings (metal or wood), tiny particles of glass, stone, plastic. And in order for a hard particle to make a scratch on the eye shell, it is enough for it to get behind the eyelid, which will press the fragment to the delicate tissue of the cornea.

What can we say about solid particles, if even an eyelash pressed against the cornea, particles of cosmetics, low-quality contact lenses can damage the eye. With some infectious and inflammatory pathologies, pustules with dense crusts can form on the upper or lower eyelid. When torn off, such crusts get behind the eyelid and can also scratch the eye even with normal blinking.

The reasons for a scratch on the eye can be so varied that it is difficult to even foresee them all. Many of us have four-legged friends at home who, while playing or defending themselves, can injure each other or their owner. Cats with their sharp claws and independent nature are especially dangerous in this regard, so complaints that a cat has scratched an eye are not so rare.

A wild aggressive animal can catch your eye without any apparent reason. Domestic pets are more docile, so they can only cause injury when they are irritated by the owners' insistence on affection, the animal feels fear and thus defends itself, accidentally during play without the desire to harm anyone.

Cats with their sharp claws can harm not only a person from the outside or a loving owner, but themselves or their fellows. By vigorously scratching the fur in the eye area when suffering from lichen, fleas, or mycosis, the animal risks accidentally scratching the cornea of the organ of vision, not tightly closing the eye during the "procedure".

And when sorting things out with other cats and dogs, cute fluffy creatures are not at all shy about the means. It is not so rare that one of the rivals leaves the fight with a damaged eye. Complaints that the dog scratched its own or its owner's eye will look ridiculous, although they should not be ruled out either, especially when it comes to active games. But if a cat and a dog come together in games or a fight, the latter may well leave the scene of the skirmish with a scratched eye.

Parrots, which also very often live with people, also have sharp claws that help them to hold on to various surfaces. This bright bird can easily sit on the shoulder or head of its owner. One awkward movement and the claw or beak of a pet can get into the eye, scratching it. This does not happen often, but it is still worth being careful when communicating with feathered pets.

Again, there are cases when a parrot scratches its eye while performing hygienic procedures, or is injured by a street or domestic cat. It is important to understand that cats are predators by nature, so even in games they can show noticeable aggression, which poses a real danger to both their owners and the animals and birds surrounding the cat.

When else can you get an eye injury?

But it's not only animals that can accidentally injure their eyes. Although humans don't have such sharp claws as cats or birds, even a small nail can unexpectedly cause serious injury. Not to mention a centimeter-long manicure, which sometimes causes complaints that a woman has scratched her own or even someone else's eye with her nail.

The thing is that with a sharp blow or pressure on the cornea, a thin nail plate can leave a noticeable mark on it, which will indicate a scratch. Quite often, young mothers suffer from such injuries, because the little children in their hands, who are so attracted to their mother's eyes, so they stretch out their little hands with thin nails to them, do not yet realize all the consequences of their actions.

And a woman herself, or even a man, can easily injure the cornea with a fingernail if the eyelid suddenly itches badly and there is a need to relieve the itching with a fingernail, if a foreign body gets into the eye and a person tries to remove it with his fingers, or even accidentally while performing household or professional duties.

Another problem that can cause mechanical damage to the cornea, mucous membrane or eyelid is wearing contact lenses. And the problem is often not in the quality of the lens material, but in their improper storage, which leads to a weakening of the elastic properties and coarsening of the composition, careless placement or removal of lenses, which often happens when in a hurry and with long nails, forgetfulness of a person who does not always remove lenses before going to bed. So complaints about scratching or scratching the eye with a lens imply rather non-compliance with the rules and precautions for their use than a manufacturing defect.

Sometimes the cause of a scratch can be a simple speck of dirt that has gotten into the space between the cornea and the lens, so the placement of these vision correction devices must be treated with great care.

Quite often you can encounter a situation where a woman (or a man) complains that she scratched her eye with a branch. This is possible not only when a person is making his way through thick bushes. It can be a lonely tree with a branch sticking out that the person simply did not notice.

Most often, eye injuries from sticks and branches are received by children who use them as "combat weapons" in their games on the street. In this case, a child can hit himself, another child or an adult in the eye with a stick, which is fraught with scratches or punctures with subsequent long-term and serious treatment.

Risk factors

Risk factors for traumatic eye injury include working with chemicals (this can cause burns to the eye), frequent or prolonged use of contact lenses, lack of eye protection when performing work that poses a high risk of eye injury (grinding machines, tree felling, lens manufacturing, etc.), and walking in windy weather.

When a person is passionate about something, such as sports or even their own experiences, they are less careful, which can easily lead to an injury to the eye or any other part of the body. Plus, some sports are considered high-risk activities (e.g. fencing).

As we can see, a scratch on the eye can easily be received while doing your usual things, in a routine environment and completely unexpectedly. Therefore, it is always better to know what such an injury can lead to and how to behave immediately after receiving it.

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Pathogenesis

We are used to thinking that we see only through our eyes. In fact, this is not entirely true. Our eyes are a complex optical system designed to transmit information to the brain via the optic nerve. The final picture is formed in the posterior lobes of the cerebral cortex, located in the occipital region.

But on the other hand, if we didn't have eyes, the brain wouldn't receive information about the picture of the world, and we wouldn't know what we look like, or what the people and objects around us look like. Moreover, the presence of a paired organ of vision allows us to see a clear three-dimensional picture. It is clear that if the vision of one eye is impaired, for example, if there is a scratch on the eye, the picture will be distorted, blurry or double.

The visible part of the eye is the eyeball and the eyelids that cover it, which are most susceptible to injury. It is clear that in most cases, when there is danger, a protective reaction is triggered, we close the eye and expose the eyelid to the blow. In principle, the eyelids are designed to protect the eyeball (it is a complex optical system consisting of different sections) from injury and foreign bodies.

But sometimes there is simply no time to cover the eye. In this case, the main blow falls on the shell of the eyeball called the cornea. This is not just a protective shell of the eyeball, it is a complex system that refracts the rays of light coming to it and helps to form the correct visual image.

The cornea of the eye also has a complex structure. It consists of 5 layers: the epithelial layer, Bowman's membrane, stroma, Descemet's membrane and endothelial layer. The sixth layer of the cornea is the tear film. It is assumed that between the stroma and Descemet's membrane there is another very strong layer - Dua's layer.

The outer (epithelial) layer, which is most susceptible to traumatic damage, performs the function of protection, oxygen supply and regulation of moisture entry into the eye. Violation of its integrity is fraught with the risk of penetration of pathogenic factors into the inner layers of the cornea.

Fortunately, this layer is capable of recovering after damage, which cannot be said about the next layer (Bowman's membrane), which also protects and nourishes the eye. The stroma, consisting of collagen fibers, is capable of recovering when damaged, and Descemet's membrane is a tissue resistant to injury. As for the endothelium, which is responsible for transparency, nutrition and regulation of fluid in the space between the cornea and the iris, it is very difficult to recover when damaged.

As we can see, the consequences of an eye injury due to scratching will depend on the depth of damage to the corneal tissue. But it is important to understand that the cornea, which is the front part of the eye, has the appearance of a convex-concave lens, the thickness of which in different parts has different values.

The corneal layer is the thinnest in the center of the eye (a little more than 0.5 mm), the thickest at the edges - 1-1.2 mm. It turns out that a scratch in the center of the eye (in the area of the iris and pupil) will damage the cornea to a greater depth and can have more dire consequences than damage to the protective layer of the eye from the side.

A scratch on the eye is not such a rare occurrence. It’s just that a shallow wound that doesn’t cause much pain doesn’t bother us enough to seek help from a doctor or pay special attention to it. We start to worry and seek help from others if the scratch is deep enough and is accompanied by alarming symptoms (pain, deterioration of vision, etc.).

There are no exact statistics regarding such eye injuries. Although most often children and workers in the metal and wood processing industries, as well as people with a thin cornea, which has become such as a result of operations, exposure to negative factors, and metabolic disorders in the eye tissues, are hospitalized with such problems.

The most common eye injuries are scratches caused by small foreign bodies getting into the eye. In everyday life, this often happens on the street, when the wind raises dust and solid particles in it, which then get into the eyes. And no matter how much we are told not to rub our eyes in such a situation, few people listen to this advice, feeling severe discomfort, because when you start rubbing your eye, it gets easier for a while.

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Symptoms eye scratches

If an accident has scratched the eyelid that protects the eye, the scratch will remind you of itself with pain and a bright red or deep pink color, if not immediately, then after a few minutes. You can see the result of the injury by looking at yourself in the mirror.

The cornea is a transparent part of the eye, resembling a lens, on which it is very problematic to notice a scratch with the naked eye. Especially if the damage is shallow. Feeling discomfort in the eye area, a person may not even suspect that a scratch has formed on the cornea.

How can you tell if your cornea has been scratched? The first signs of traumatic eye damage are pain or stinging in the eye, which causes you to reflexively squeeze your eyelids tightly, and lacrimation, which is difficult to stop until the pain subsides.

Further symptoms will depend on the stage of eye damage. Very often, with a shallow scratch, the corneal epithelium recovers quickly, the pain subsides, leaving behind a certain discomfort, and after a few hours the person forgets about the injury. But in cases of deeper damage, when the superficial protective (Bowman's) membrane and stroma are affected, redness of the eyelids and whites of the eyes is observed, on which the vascular network begins to be visible, headaches and dizziness appear, vision deteriorates (possibly spots before the eyes, double vision, blurred vision), the sensitivity of the eye to light increases.

Symptoms and methods of first aid will also depend on the type of traumatic eye injury. If we are talking about a scratch on the cornea of the eye, considered a non-penetrating eye injury, the symptoms are limited to those described above. But when it comes to a penetrating injury (for example, a stab with a knife or a sharp stick), as a result of which a scratch can form on the iris and even on the lens of the eye, such a dangerous symptom as bleeding is added, and first of all, measures will need to be taken to stop it. There may also be a significant release of transparent fluid, the pupil acquires an irregular shape, a hole in the iris is noticeable, etc. The victim may complain of the appearance of spots and flashes of light before the eyes, a sharp deterioration in the quality of vision.

Despite the fact that there are no blood vessels in the cornea, eye damage may be accompanied by redness of the eye and the appearance of a vascular network. Moreover, such a symptom can be observed even with shallow scratches, as a result of a blow.

A scratch of the soft tissues that protect the eyeball from damage is also accompanied by pain and hemorrhage. If the scratch is formed under the eye as a result of a noticeable blow, then there is a possibility that after 1-2 days a more or less pronounced hematoma (bruise) will form around it. If this is an ordinary scratch due to carelessness, a thin bright pink mark will remain (if the vessels are affected, blood will be released). At first, the mark will be convex (swelling), then the skin surface will level out, and the mark will become paler and thinner.

The situation is identical with a scratch on the eyelid. But given that the skin of the eyelids is thinner and more sensitive, redness and swelling may be more pronounced. The swelling may even spread to the entire eyelid.

The appearance of the wound will also depend on the depth of penetration of the damaging factor. In the case of a penetrating wound with damage to the muscles and cartilaginous tissue of the eyelid, its edges may diverge, revealing to the outside eye an unsightly sight of exposed internal tissues. Bleeding in this case will be quite severe, the swelling extensive, and often the wound will need to be sutured with special surgical threads.

If an infection gets into a wound on the eyelid or cornea, it is quite possible that an inflammatory process will develop, which will manifest itself in the form of severe swelling and redness of the tissue around the scratch, clouding of the cornea, the appearance of purulent discharge, a constant sensation of a foreign body in the eye, lacrimation, etc.

Complications and consequences

A shallow scratch on the eye (on the eyelid or the epithelial layer of the cornea, which can quickly recover) usually goes without consequences. In this case, it is enough to treat the wound on the skin with an antiseptic and protect it from dust and microbes, and on the cornea - rinse with purified water if lacrimation does not bring the desired relief and does not help remove the foreign body that caused the injury.

How long does it take for a wound on the eye to heal? If everything goes without complications, then the symptoms of a mild injury will go away in 1-2 days. Of course, a mark may remain on the skin, but it will no longer bother the person.

The danger is usually the infection getting into the wound. In this case, the healing process of erosion can be significantly delayed. And if you do not take therapeutic and preventive measures to combat the infectious agent, dangerous complications will arise, such as keratitis (inflammation of the cornea of the eye, accompanied by its partial opacity).

If a person scratches an eye and it starts to fester, this definitely indicates a bacterial infection that requires treatment with antibacterial agents (antiseptics and antibiotics). A prolonged inflammatory process in the tissues of the eye and eyelids can lead to the formation of rough scars at the site of the scratch, displacement of the pupil, and increased intraocular pressure. Deep wounds that disrupt the outflow of fluid in the space behind the cornea can lead to corneal edema.

If a patient scratches the cornea of the eye, resulting in blurred vision and the situation does not improve for 2 or more days, this again indicates serious damage to the organ of vision, requiring the help of a specialist. The fact is that a simple scratch on the cornea, if left untreated, can lead to the development of cataracts or glaucoma and even complete loss of vision.

The infectious process, if not treated properly, can lead to purulent inflammation of the iris, lens, vitreous body (endophthalmitis), the spread of infection inside the body (sepsis or blood poisoning) and to the brain (brain abscess), decreased vision, melting of the internal structures of the eye (panophthalmitis) and its loss.

By the way, damage to one eye may subsequently lead to disruption of the structures of the other, healthy eye (sympathetic ophthalmia). The disease manifests itself in damage to the vascular membrane of the eye, which is externally manifested by reddening of the whites and a vascular network appearing on them. The first symptoms may appear 2 weeks after the injury or much later. The disease has a chronic course with periods of remission and exacerbation. About 60% of patients with this diagnosis completely lose their sight.

Deep scratches on the skin around the eyes can lead to soft tissue deformation, formation of unsightly scars and marks, inversion or eversion of the eyelids, and sagging. Injuries in the conjunctiva area are fraught with disruptions in the functioning of the lacrimal apparatus, the appearance of dry eye syndrome, dry cornea, contributing to its thinning and increasing the risk of mechanical damage to the eye.

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Diagnostics eye scratches

It is clear that before starting active treatment of any disease, you must first make an accurate diagnosis. Does it make sense to grab antibacterial eye drops if we are talking about minor eye irritation without the presence of an infectious factor? And how justified is rinsing the eyes with water in case of a penetrating wound? But it is very difficult for a person who is not knowledgeable in medical matters to visually assess the severity of damage and the depth of organ damage, which even an experienced doctor cannot do without special diagnostic methods: ophthalmoscopy (examination of the internal structures of the eye), gonioscopy (study of the state of the anterior chamber of the eye), radiography, etc.).

When a person goes to the emergency room (and an eye injury is nothing more than an injury) with a deep scratch on the eyelid or under the eye, the doctor only needs a physical examination of the patient and the wound on the face to determine further actions to provide first aid and treat the injury. It is clear that the patient's story about the situation in which the injury was received also plays an important role in prescribing a treatment plan. For example, if a cat left a scratch on the face, there is a high risk of infection (cat scratch disease), which may result in suppuration of the wound, general intoxication of the body and an increase in regional lymph nodes.

If we are talking about a penetrating eye injury, the symptoms are also obvious (bleeding, a hole in the cornea and iris, prolapse of the internal structures of the eye). In addition, such victims are most often taken to the hospital without removing the damaging object from the eye. The doctor's task remains to remove the "criminal weapon" and check for the presence or absence of foreign bodies in the eye (splinters, dust particles, shavings, etc.).

When a patient complains of discomfort in the eye area, which may indicate the presence of a foreign body or a scratch on the eye, but physical examination does not reveal anything, instrumental diagnostics must also be used. If the scratch is minor and there is no inversion of the corneal epithelial layer, it will be very difficult to examine it without special equipment.

How to detect hidden scratches on the eye? The easiest way to do this is to perform an X-ray of the eye. It will also help to detect foreign bodies remaining in the wound and inflammation of the eye tissues. If necessary, ophthalmo- and gonioscopy, CT scan or ultrasound may be prescribed, especially when it comes to complicated injuries, inflammation of the internal structures of the eye, their loss.

There are no specific tests in this case, unless the patient came late, when the wound began to fester. In this case, we are talking about an infection, and for its effective treatment it is better to do a test for the pathogen. To prescribe effective and safe treatment, the doctor will need information about the patient's health and the functioning of his internal organs. He can get such information by prescribing blood and urine tests, blood sugar tests, an HIV test, etc.

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Differential diagnosis

Differential diagnostics in case of fresh eye injuries is not so relevant. The picture is usually obvious for traumatic injury. It is a different matter when it comes to complications of injury. In this case, it is very important to understand what caused, for example, clouding of the lens or cornea, a previous injury or degenerative changes in the organ of vision.

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Treatment eye scratches

If a foreign small object gets into the eye and you feel severe discomfort because of it, you should try to remove it by rinsing the eye with warm boiled water or blinking frequently, which promotes the secretion of tears. Very often, the foreign body comes out with tears. To rinse the eyes, you can use eye drops (for example, "Albucid"), which have an antiseptic effect.

What you should not do is rub your eyes, or try to pull the "log" out of your eye with dirty fingers or a cloth of dubious cleanliness. If the foreign body does not come out after the suggested manipulations, it is better to entrust its removal to an experienced doctor.

Discomfort after removing a foreign object in the absence of a scratch in the eye should pass within a day. If this does not happen, then the cornea is damaged and all measures must be taken to restore it as soon as possible. What to do with a scratch on the eye? Of course, seek help from a specialist who should prescribe effective treatment, which includes antibiotic therapy, self-prescribing which can have disastrous consequences.

If the wound is serious and the corneal flap comes off the main part, it is put back in place, the wound is treated with antibacterial drops and then an aseptic bandage is applied. If the damage is large, sometimes it is necessary to apply stitches, which are also treated with an antibiotic.

But usually a scratch on the cornea is not so serious, so for its healing they use regenerating agents in the form of gel and drops (for example, gels "Solcoseryl", "Actovegin", "Korneregel" or drops "Adgelon", "Balarpan"). Subsequently, you can use vitamins in the form of eye drops "Taufon", "Taurine", agents with lutein, etc., which will help the eye tissues to recover faster and improve vision.

If there is severe pain, the drops "Inokain" help. As antibacterial agents, you can use the drops "Levomycetin" (chloramphenicol), "Albucid" (sulfacetamide), "Tobrex" (tobramycin), "Floxal" (ofloxacin), "Oftavix" (levofloxacin), ointments "Neomycin", "Neosporin".

If we are talking about a scratch on the eyelid or under the eye, then it should be treated with an antiseptic and lubricated with an antibacterial ointment with regenerative properties called "Levomekol" or another product with a similar effect (tetracycline ointment or erythromycin ointment, "Gentaxan" powder, "Oflokain" or "Gentamicin" ointment).

Why use local antibiotics when eye tissue is damaged? And how can you be sure that the wound was caused by a sterile clean object if bacteria surround us everywhere in everyday life, and even in a hospital setting it is not always possible to avoid infection?!

Surgical treatment of eye injuries may be required for deep wounds affecting the iris, vitreous body, and lens. Plastic surgery may also be required for those who have serious wounds on the eyelid and skin around the eye that have left an unaesthetic mark, leading to deformation of facial tissues, drooping (ptosis) of the eyelids, and other cosmetic defects.

Medicines for eye injuries

Since a scratch on the eye is considered an injury, even if it is minor compared to a penetrating wound, its treatment should be carried out with special care, because it depends on whether a person will have vision problems in the future or the eye will recover quickly.

For the treatment of eyes, drugs of different action and forms of release can be used. But if it concerns local treatment of internal structures of the eye and cornea, drugs should be specialized, i.e. intended for the treatment of eyes, not skin.

Eye drops for scratches can have a regenerating, antibacterial (anti-inflammatory) and analgesic effect.

Balopan

Wound-healing eye drops. They are based on glycosaminoglycans. These are substances related to the connective tissues of the eye, which help restore the cornea. The drops have found their application in any eye damage: inflammation, burns, wounds, scratches, etc.

Drops are instilled into the damaged eye 4 to 5 times a day for a week. If inflammation of the cornea occurs, the course of treatment is extended to 1 month. A single dose is 1-2 drops.

The drug can also be used when wearing lenses for a long time. This will help to avoid eye damage. The drug should be administered to both eyes in the morning and evening.

Contraindications to the use of drops are hypersensitivity to the drug and pregnancy due to insufficient research into its effect on the fetus. Caution should be exercised during lactation. The drug is intended for adult patients.

The use of the drug may be accompanied by allergic reactions due to intolerance and redness of the conjunctiva of the eye.

The use of drops does not exclude antibiotic treatment. An opened bottle is stored for no more than 15 days.

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Floxan

Antibacterial eye drops based on ofloxacin, which can be used in case of eye injuries complicated by infection or to prevent wound infection.

The drug is also used 4 times a day, but no more than 1 drop can be administered into the eye, unless otherwise instructed by the doctor. The course of treatment with the drug should not exceed 14 days.

It is recommended to administer the drug into the conjunctival sac, slightly pulling down the lower eyelid.

The drug is not prescribed in case of hypersensitivity to its components and quinolone antibiotics. During pregnancy, its use is possible, but with caution. It is approved for use from the neonatal period.

Side effects of the drug may be due to irritating local action and penetration of some part of the drug into the systemic bloodstream. Symptoms such as conjunctival hyperemia and burning in the eye, allergic and anaphylactic reactions (very rare), dizziness, discomfort in the eye area are possible. Rarely there are: nausea, facial swelling, inflammation of the cornea, photophobia, lacrimation, minor pain in the eyes, etc.

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Inocaine

An eye drop medication used for local anesthesia. It helps with severe eye pain and can be used when removing a foreign object from the eye or stitches.

A single dose of the drug is 1 drop. If it is necessary to provide pain relief for an hour, three times instillation is recommended. The interval between procedures is 5 minutes.

The drug is not used in case of hypersensitivity to its composition and individual components. During pregnancy and in childhood, it is used only according to strict indications.

During the use of the drug, the patient may feel a slight tingling and burning sensation. The mucous membrane of the eyelids may become slightly red. Sometimes allergic reactions occur, less often - inflammatory ones.

Not intended for long-term use as it may cause corneal clouding.

Now let's talk about preparations in the form of a gel or ointment, which are also used in a situation where a scratch appears on the eye.

Korneregel

This drug in the form of an eye gel based on dexpanthenol has found wide application in ophthalmology when it comes to damage to the eye membranes. Many people are familiar with the main active ingredient of the drug from skin products used for sunburn of tissues, their irritation and damage. Dexpanthenol penetrates the skin and mucous membranes of the eye, restoring them from the inside.

The drug is used for various injuries to the cornea and other structures of the eye.

The eye gel has a semi-liquid consistency, so it is easy to instill into the eye in the area of the conjunctival sac. A single dose of the medicine is 1 drop per eye. It is recommended to instill the drug 5 times a day, the last time immediately before going to bed.

The duration of the drug use is determined by the doctor, based on the complexity of the situation and the results of the treatment. Lenses must be removed during the procedure.

The drug is not used in case of hypersensitivity to it. In childhood and during pregnancy, the possibility of use should be discussed with a doctor.

Instillation of the drug into the eyes may be accompanied by irritation and redness, in rare cases damage to the outer tissues of the cornea was observed. Swelling and redness of the conjunctiva, itching in the eye area, slight pain and lacrimation, allergic rashes are also possible.

If there is a scratch on the eyelid or under the eye that begins to become inflamed and red, it is recommended to treat the skin at the site of the injury with a wound-healing antimicrobial ointment.

Levomekol

This is a two-component preparation in the form of an ointment used in the treatment of infected wounds, burns, trophic ulcers, furuncles, skin pathologies. It is good because in addition to the antibiotic chloramphenicol, it contains a component that has an anti-inflammatory and regenerating effect (methyluracil), which promotes rapid healing of wounds without the formation of unaesthetic scars.

To treat scratches in the skin around the eyes, the ointment is applied in a thick layer directly to the wound. The procedure is carried out 1 or 2 times a day. The course of treatment is no more than 10 days.

The ointment has no other contraindications except hypersensitivity to the components of the drug. The drug is used with caution during pregnancy and in childhood, since some of the antibiotic may penetrate into the blood.

Side effects during treatment with the ointment are rare. These may include allergic reactions, slight burning on the skin, and in isolated cases headaches and dermatitis.

Folk remedies

A small scratch on the eye is not a reason to sound the alarm and rush headlong to the hospital. To begin with, you can try to treat it with folk remedies, and then, if desired or if there is no effect, seek help from a specialist. Folk treatment will also help those who do not have access to quick medical care (for example, rural residents, mobile workers). But in case of serious injuries, you should not rely only on folk medicine recipes.

So, what can you do if you experience various symptoms of eye injury?

If a speck of dust gets into your eye and scratches it, a decoction or infusion of chamomile or brewed black tea will help remove it and disinfect the eye tissue. Both remedies have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects.

For various types of tissue damage, you can wash your eyes with an infusion of birch buds, plantain leaves, clover or thyme (take 2 tablespoons of crushed plant material for 2 glasses of water and leave for 10 minutes).

If the eye is very red and swollen, you can boil a medium onion in a small amount of water (200 g), add 1 teaspoon of natural honey to the mixture and wash your eyes with lukewarm water in the morning or evening.

Any tissue damage, even non-infectious, will be accompanied by swelling and redness, indicating a slight inflammation. In this case, lotions and compresses will be effective.

For compresses, you can use bird cherry flowers (take 1 tbsp of flowers for 1.5 cups of water, boil and cool to the desired temperature), grated raw potatoes (wrap the pulp in a loose cloth and apply to the eyes for 20 minutes), and freshly brewed tea.

For compresses, use cornflower grass (take 1 tablespoon of crushed plant per 1 cup of boiling water and leave for at least an hour), plantain seeds (1 tablespoon of seeds per half a glass of boiling water), Kalanchoe juice (the juice from the plant leaves is diluted 1:1 with warm water). Compresses are made for 10 minutes, changing the cotton pads or bandage used every 5 minutes. The procedure can be carried out 4-5 times a day.

For mild eye irritation and severe damage, you can use this unusual recipe. Peel 2 cucumbers and cut their skin into small pieces. Add 1.5 cups of boiling water and half a teaspoon of soda to the herbal mixture. Insulate the dishes and leave them for an hour. Use the strained infusion for 15-minute compresses on the eyes, which should be done twice a day.

Sea buckthorn oil is a well-known wound-healing agent that will help quickly relieve inflammation and pain. It should be dripped into the eye 1-2 drops. The first 2-3 days, instillation is carried out every hour, then the interval is increased to 3 hours.

Treatment with herbs and other folk remedies can be very effective, and quite often leads to a complete cure. And yet, for your own good, even after such treatment, it would not hurt to visit an ophthalmologist and make sure that the eye injury will not have unpleasant consequences associated with insufficient treatment.

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Homeopathy

In case of inflammatory complications of corneal trauma, homeopathy can come to the rescue. A homeopathic doctor will prescribe medications for internal and external use, based on the existing symptoms that arise as a result of a scratch on the eye, as well as the constitutional and psychophysical characteristics of the patient's body.

If after an injury there is redness of the eye membranes, swelling of the mucous membranes, burning pain, and translucent spots appear on the cornea, the drug Apis may be prescribed.

If the eye is not just inflamed, but also festering, the cornea is cloudy, it would be more appropriate to seek help from Calcium sulfuricum.

If the scratch is deep or inflammation has appeared, but the pain is minor, Kali bichromicum may be prescribed.

For shallow scratches and the sensation of a foreign body in the eye, the appearance of photophobia or cataracts, Pulsatilla will be effective, and for the appearance of flies before the eyes - Ferula asafedita.

For external use, homeopathic eye drops are used:

"Okulohel" is a drug with anti-inflammatory, analgesic and some antimicrobial action, which can be successfully used for damage to the eye structures. Contains extracts of eyebright, echinacea, horseradish, pilocarpus.

The drops are prescribed for a 10-day course of 1 drop 4 times a day.

The drug is not used in case of hypersensitivity to it, for the treatment of children and pregnant women. It may cause allergic reactions.

Eye drops "Euphrasia" based on the plant eyebright can also be prescribed for inflammation of the cornea and the sensation of a foreign body in the eye. The drug has an anti-edematous and anti-inflammatory effect, improves metabolic processes in the tissues of the eye, which promotes rapid healing of wounds.

The medicine is used from the first days of injury, instilling the drug into the conjunctival sac, 1 drop every 2 hours.

Herbal drops with honey, vitamins and taurine "Okovirin" are used for various eye diseases. Herbal composition of the drug: extracts of eyebright, aloe, cornflower, grapes, ginkgo biloba. The medicine is enriched with taurine, which promotes the regeneration of tissues of the organ of vision, vitamins B1 and B5 (pantothenic acid, an analogue of which is depanthenol).

The drug has antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, anti-edematous, bactericidal, wound-healing, tonic, immunomodulatory effects, helps improve vision, and prevents the appearance of scar formations.

For scratches and inflammation of the cornea, drops are prescribed three times a day, 1-2 drops per eye. The course of treatment is at least 2 weeks.

Energy-informational drops DreamTeam MagicEye™, based on innovative technologies that help to code water, i.e. write information of healthy cells onto it. Washing with such water stimulates metabolic processes in the eyes, accelerates tissue regeneration, tunes the body to self-healing, cell rejuvenation, promoting improved vision.

Prevention

Prevention of eye scratches is achieved by following safety precautions at work and at home, wearing protective glasses, and daily eye and hand hygiene. If you cannot avoid a foreign body getting into your eye, you can prevent it from scratching your mucous membrane by not rubbing your eyes or trying to remove the "log" from your eye with your fingers, nails, or other handy objects, no matter how big it may seem.

Forecast

The prognosis of a scratch on the eye can be discussed only taking into account the depth of the damage, its location, the presence or absence of infectious complications. The best prognosis is for superficial wounds without infection. Such damage heals in a short time and does not cause visual impairment.

The worst prognosis is with deep tissue damage with the addition of a bacterial, fungal or viral infection. Especially if the patient seeks help with severe purulent inflammation and deterioration of vision, i.e. in the advanced stage of the disease. In this case, there is a high risk of various infectious complications (keratitis, cataract, spread of infection to the eyelid area), up to and including loss of vision.