Corneal Abrasion
While playing with my young daughter, she accidentally hit me in the eye with her hand. At the time it was extremely painful and I attended the accident and emergency department with it. But it turned out to be just a little scratch and I wonder did I over react by going to the hospital.
What you suffered is known as a corneal abrasion.The cornea is a transparent dome on the front surface of the eye. Corneal abrasions often occur as a result of injuries with foreign bodies, fingernails or twigs. The reason you were right to attend the emergency department is that after such an injury it is vital that the eye is carefully examined. Local anaesthetic is often needed to examine the eye properly and special drops called fluoriscein are used to show up injuries under various types of light.
I was given ointment to apply, eye drops and a patch to wear for several days. Was all this strictly necessary?
The aim of treating corneal abrasions is to speed up healing and to protect the eye. To achieve this it is necessary to use a pad to cover the eye for a day or so until the abrasion heals. In addition, it is necessary to prevent infection. When the cornea has been injured, it can become easily infected leading to a more serious problem. The use of antibiotics helps to prevent this happening. Finally, the use of special pain-relieving drops helps pain management and lubricates the eye.
Is this the end of my eye problem or could it recur in the future?
Occasionally there can be a problem with recurrent abrasions. This happens when the cells on the cornea repeatedly break down at the site of a previous injury. Treatment of recurrent abrasions involves the long-term use of drops during the day and ointment during the night to keep the surface of the eye well lubricated. However, in cases of a simple abrasion which responded well to treatment, you would be extremely unlucky for long-term problems to develop.