The human eye is a unique organ that allows us to see everything that is around us. But when various negative factors affect the eye, for example, extremely high or low temperatures, hot sparks, chemicals, then we can not only lose visual acuity, but even lose such a divine gift as the ability to see. Today we will learn how to help a person who has received an eye burn under the influence of various factors. After all, correctly rendered first aid will not only alleviate the condition of the patient, but also keep him a clear look.
What is an eye burn?
This is an injury to the anterior part of the organ of vision resulting from excessive chemical, thermal or radiation exposure. Most often, a thermal burn of the eye can be found with burning particles, welding or chemical elements. With such an injury, the conjunctiva and the skin of the eyelids first of all suffer, then the cornea, lacrimal ducts and deeper structures of the organ of vision, up to its posteriordepartments.
Degrees of defeat
Eye burn can be roughly divided into 4 categories:
- The first stage is damage to only the superficial part of the eye.
- Second degree - there is a slight darkening and redness of the cornea of the eye.
- Third stage - there is a very strong clouding of the cornea. The eye is covered with a thick film.
- Fourth degree - mutilation of both the cornea and retina.
Retinal burn: causes
- Exposure to bright light after prolonged exposure to darkness.
- The influence of ultraviolet. Although this does not threaten a person with loss of vision, there are cases when sunlight, which is reflected from the snow, sharply enters a person’s eyes and can harm him (the so-called snow blindness, which is often found in the north of Russia, for example, in the city of Vorkuta). In addition, a retinal burn may occur due to the fact that a person will watch a solar eclipse without glasses.
- Exposure to spotlight and laser beams.
Corneal burn: causes
- Working with chemicals such as acid, cosmetics, perfumes, drugs, paints, etc.
- Thermal damage to the organ of vision - a burn of the cornea of the eye, obtained by exposure to a hot liquid, such as boiling water, steam, hot oil.
- Working with the welding machine.
- Combined burn of the cornea of the eye - damage when using combustible objects or mixtures.
Symptoms of defeat
Featuredinjuries can be considered the following indicators:
- frequent headaches;
- burning eyes;
- redness of the white membrane of the organ of vision;
- eyelid edema;
- dislike light penetration;
- teary;
- vision deterioration;
- feeling of something else in the eye.
First aid for eye burn welding
- The victim should be offered painkillers Analgin, Diclofenac, as well as antihistamines Suprastin, Tavegil.
- The person should be taken to a darkened room where the sun's rays will not fall. If it is not possible to identify him in such a room, then at least you need to put dark glasses on his eyes.
- Call an ambulance.
Treatment of an eye burn resulting from working with a welding machine
- Upon arrival, the doctor first helps a patient who has received an eye burn by welding, as follows: he dilutes several potassium permanganate crystals in boiled water, then he rinses his eyes with this solution and takes the patient to the hospital.
- Already in the medical institution itself, the doctor removes the foreign body by injecting a drug with soluble calcium.
- After the eye is cleaned, an antiseptic ointment is applied under the eyelids. Then the patient is determined to the hospital (if necessary), where the doctor prescribes further treatment for him. Or the specialist can let the patient go home, but on the condition that he comes to the clinic for a check-upaffected eye.
Forbidden moves
If a person got an eye burn by welding, then the following methods of so-called "treatment" will not lead to anything good:
- Rubbing. Of course, the patient at this moment feels as if he had poured sand under his eyelids. However, this sensation is caused by the inflammatory process, and not by the presence of any particles in the eyes. So friction can only make matters worse.
- Rinsing eyes with tap water. The fact is that in this case, you can easily bring the infection, and such a cleansing will not give the desired effect. Only boiled water can be used for such manipulations.
- Advice from grandmothers: instillation of honey, aloe juice, tea leaves into the eyes. These methods should absolutely not be used, since the effect of them can be just the opposite.
Chemical eye burn: what is it?
This is the ingress of ammonia, acids, alkalis and other chemical components into the organ of vision at work or at home. A chemical burn of the eye is the most dangerous, since it is he who leads to the fact that a person can simply remain blind. The severity of such damage is determined by the temperature, chemical composition, concentration, as well as the amount of the substance that provoked the appearance of such a dangerous situation. With this burn, the patient may experience the following symptoms:
- lacrimation;
- cutting pain in the eyes;
- fear of light;
- vision loss (in severe cases).
Except defeatorgan of vision, the skin around it also suffers. It is very important to provide first aid to a person in a timely manner. And how to do it right, read below.
First aid for chemical eye burns
- First of all, it is necessary to eliminate the irritating substance from the conjunctival sac. This must be done by copious washing. To do this, use a saline solution. If it is not found at the scene, then in extreme cases ordinary clean water in large quantities will do.
- After that, it is recommended to apply a sterile bandage to the affected area.
- Urgently call an ambulance.
Chemical burn treatment
After the victim is brought to a medical facility, doctors begin to carry out such manipulations:
- Washing the eye with healing liquid.
- If the burn is alkaline, then the ophthalmologist prescribes ascorbic or citric acid to the patient. With mild and moderate damage, vitamin C is prescribed 2 g for 1 month. For severe burns, a 10% solution in artificial tears is instilled 14 times a day immediately after the injury for 2 weeks.
- In case of damage to the organ of vision II and III degree, 25-100 thousand units of penicillin diluted in novocaine solution are injected daily under the conjunctiva of the eyeball.
- Glucose injections combined with subcutaneous injection of 8-10 units of insulin have a good effect.
- To prevent a secondary infection, a specialist can prescribe sulfa drugs by mouth and intramuscular antibiotics.
- If the chemical burn of the eye is severe, then plastic surgery is indicated. During the healing period, local cortisone is used, fibrin film from donor blood.
What is thermal damage to the organ of vision?
This is damage to the tissue cornea and eyeball as a result of interaction with agents such as fire, hot steam, heated liquids or molten substances. Thermal eye burns are common both at work and at home. It often goes in combination with the same lesion of the face, legs, arms and whole body.
First aid for heat injury
How to help a person at first?
- The person who volunteered to support the victim should wrap her fingers with a sterile bandage and open the eyelids to the patient as much as possible.
- Then you should cool the organ of vision of the affected person under water for 20 minutes. The temperature of the liquid should be no more than 12-18 degrees. For cooling, you need to use any suitable containers that can create a flow of water. For example, it can be a syringe without a needle, a rubber balloon or a plastic bottle. Another way to cool the eye is to dip your face in a suitable container of cool water and blink periodically.
- An antiseptic "Levomycetin" or "Albucid" should be dripped into the affected organ. After that, cover the eye with a sterile napkin and give the victim a tablet of any analgesic.
- Be sure to call an ambulance.
Treatment of thermal eye burn
TherapyThis lesion is quite specific and complex, so it should be de alt with by specialized specialists in the ophthalmology department of the hospital. Before treating a thermal eye burn, the doctor must assess the area of tissue damage and the severity of the damage.
As a rule, with this type of injury, anti-inflammatory and restorative therapy is prescribed, which helps to restore the affected tissues. Surgical intervention is indicated if it is necessary to eliminate the dead layers of the organ of vision and in case of its restoration.
An eye burn, which must be treated promptly, is an injury that occurs when certain factors (chemicals, high or low temperature, radiation exposure) affect the body. It is very important at the time of organ damage to properly provide first aid to a person, so that, firstly, not to harm him even more, and secondly, to help cope with pain before the ambulance arrives.
