Corneal Abrasion (“Scratched Eye”) | Causes, Signs & Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
Hi everyone this lesson is on corneal abrasions or a scratched eye we’re going to talk about the more common causes of this condition we’re also going to talk about the signs and symptoms how it’s diagnosed and how it’s treated so a corneal abrasion is an abrasion or a disruption of the cornea of the eye so the cornea is actually a transparent outer layer on the
Front of the eye and an abrasion would be a scrape of this layer and this may otherwise be termed as a scratched eye or a scratched cornea and a corneal abrasion would be an epithelial injury as the cornea itself actually has several layers and the outermost layer of the cornea is the corneal epithelium now there are a variety of categories of causes of corneal
Abrasions some of them are going to be what you would expect so traumas any foreign objects any rubbing of the eye if there is any debris in the eye and you try to rub it it actually can cause an injury can cause a corneal abrasion if you actually do that direct injury so if something strikes the eye itself if there’s actually a scratch of the eye so if you were
To scratch your eye with your nail or some other object that can also cause a corneal abrasion as well so again foreign objects that get into your eye like sand or other debris and you try to rub your eye that can cause a corneal abrasion another common cause of a corneal abrasion is contact lens use so if you actually use a contact lens especially if the contact
Lens is old or damaged if there’s a tear or a sharp edge on the contact lens and you continue to use that contact lens it can slide around on the cornea and actually cause scraping or scratching of the cornea that can also lead to a corneal abrasion and the longer you use contact lenses in general the higher the risk of getting a corneal abrasion and then certain
Eye conditions can also increase the likelihood of having a corneal abrasion especially eye conditions that involve reduced tear production so if you have a condition like sjogren’s syndrome where you’d have dry eyes so your tears actually help moisten and lubricate your cornea if there is reduced tear production or no tear production at all your cornea will be
Dried out and more at risk for damage or injury and this can also be seen in severe dehydration or prolonged dehydration and in odd conditions like leprosy as well this is an odd example but i do want to mention that some other conditions can also lead to reduced tear production that can increase their likelihood of getting corneal abrasions now the epidemiology
Of corneal abrasions shows that it is common among all age groups but by far the most important risk factors for getting corneal abrasions are working certain occupations so sandblasting construction workers anything that involves getting a lot of debris especially if there’s no protective eyewear and long-term contact lens use is also another important risk factor
As well so these two are very important with regards to getting corneal abrasions now let’s talk about the signs and symptoms of corneal abrasions so having a corneal abrasion can cause eye redness or erythema and with this eye redness we can often see conjunctival injections so a dilation of conjunctival vessels eye pain is also very common with corneal abrasions
We can also see tearing so tearing can also occur with a corneal abrasion especially if a patient doesn’t have those conditions that cause reduced tear production photophobia photophobia is a sensitivity to light so this can be actually very common with a corneal abrasion so you can feel eye pain you can have tearing and your affected eyes can be sensitive to
Light as well there can also be a sensation of a foreign body so it can feel like there is some debris in your eye even after debris or the potential causes been removed so because of the damage from the corneal abrasion it can feel like there is debris in your eye and it may actually feel worse at night as well and oftentimes can feel gritty patients can also
Describe having a headache this can oftentimes be due to the photophobia but also due to issues with vision and vision blurriness eye opening difficulties can also occur as well this can go along with photophobia patient may feel very sensitive to light and have a difficult time opening their eyes and again there may be decreased vision or vision blurriness in the
Affected eye and there can also be certain complications from a corneal abrasion you can imagine that if the cornea has been scraped there can be other complications that can occur from this this can include infections so an infection can be seeded within that corneal abrasion the abrasion itself can undergo ulceration and then there can be a recurrence of corneal
Abrasions in the future if you’ve had corneal abrasions in the past you’re more likely to also have them in the future especially if you have some of those risk factors we talked about before now let’s talk about how corneal abrasions are diagnosed and treated now the diagnosis of corneal abrasions is going to be done by using fluorescein dye that demonstrates the
Epithelialized areas of the eye so using fluorescein dye you can see that it attaches to the epithelialized area of the eye so where the corneal abrasion occurs there can be attachment or that fluorescein dye sticking to that area so you can see the fluorescein dye here indicating a corneal abrasion if there is an opacity if you see a very stark white opacity on
The cornea this can indicate an infection or an ulceration now how do clinicians actually treat corneal abrasions oftentimes antibiotic eye drops are going to be utilized and the antibiotic that is chosen is going to depend on the underlying etiology if it is caused by debris or rubbing of the eye or contact lens used this is going to determine what antibiotic is
Used oftentimes if it is contact lens use for instance pseudobonus coverage is going to be important for those patients non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs so either oral or eye drops can help with the pain although caution should be noted with nsaid eye drop use as there is a risk of corneal melt and a perforation of the cornea itself from nsaid eye drop use
Cycloplegics can also be utilized if there is a very large abrasion but oftentimes it’s going to be a very minor case antibiotic eye drops can often be utilized and a resolution of the corneal abrasion can often occur within 24 to 72 hours although some patients can have symptoms for longer periods of time especially some of those foreign body sensation and light
Sensitivity can last a bit longer but oftentimes the corneal abrasion itself can often be resolved within 24 to 72 hours if you want to learn more about other ophthalmological conditions please check out my ophthalmology playlist and if you haven’t already please like and subscribe for more lessons like this one thanks much for watching and hope see you next time
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Corneal Abrasion (“Scratched Eye”) | Causes, Signs & Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment By JJ Medicine