Good eyesight is a true gift of nature. But they usually begin to appreciate it after any problems with the eyes arise. No one thinks about the possible negative consequences for vision due to trauma to the cornea. Even where eye protection is required and required by safety regulations, instructions are often violated and eye damage occurs as a result. The cornea of the eye is a very vulnerable area. Her injury is fraught with various problems with the organ of vision. And there are plenty of opportunities to injure the cornea - even an ordinary wind can bring a foreign body into the eye, which will cause eye disease, or uncomfortable contact lenses, which can also harm the cornea. In this article, we will look at what damage to the cornea is (a photo of the injury is presented in the article), and how it can be cured.
Cornea of the eye - functions
The cornea is the anterior portion of the eye's sclera, which is endowed with a high refractive index. This transparent film is in uncoveredspace and therefore most often exposed to various damages. Any damage to the eye cornea requires an immediate response, since it is very difficult to judge the severity of the injury by external signs and delay in treatment can cost damage to the visual functions of the eye.
The cornea consists of collagen fibers and a transparent matrix, which are covered with stratified epithelium. This protective hemisphere with a diameter of 10 mm separates the anterior eye chamber from external influences. An interesting feature: the cornea in the central part of the hemisphere, which is most susceptible to external attacks, is twice as thin as at the edges. Therefore, the eyes should be very guarded against the ingress of foreign bodies that cause damage to the cornea in these potentially weak places.
The functional purpose of the cornea is the refraction of light with a power of 40 diopters and keeping the eyes in good shape. If the cornea is injured, it will not be able to perform its functions in full. And this can cause significant damage to the visual capabilities of the eye.
Reasons
The reasons why corneal damage can occur are various, there are many of them, but you should be aware of them. These include:
- mechanical injury by a foreign body;
- violations of an infectious nature;
- metabolic disorder;
- drying of the cornea;
- congenital collagen defect;
- strong ultraviolet or radioactive cure;
- mechanical clogging: dust, midges, specks, etc.;
- hitchemical and thermal agents.
Signs of illness
Symptoms indicating that the cornea has been damaged are expressed in profuse lacrimation, reddening of the injury site, photophobia, reflex closure of the eyelids - blepharospasm. In addition, there may be:
- epithelial layer defects;
- conjunctival vasodilation;
- feeling sand;
- pain in the eyes and headaches;
- redness of the eyelids.
The depth and degree of penetration of a foreign body or wound injury may be different. According to the severity of the injury, erosion and corneal ulcer are distinguished. In case of injury, the integrity of the structure of the eye and its functional abilities are violated. Injury can be caused by a blow with a solid body or dust or chemicals entering the mucous membrane of the eye. In case of injury, timely treatment of corneal damage is very important.
What is prohibited?
Injury to the eyes can be very dangerous. This organ is so easily vulnerable that any injury can be fatal if you do not take timely measures for diagnosis and treatment. Timely treatment of corneal damage significantly reduces the risk of serious consequences. It also increases the chance of a full recovery. If an eye injury occurs, do the following things:
- rubbing your eyes with your hands - this action can drive a foreign body even deeper into the cornea or damage it by friction, and there is also a high risk of infection in the resulting wound;
- try to remove foreignitem before going to the doctor - existing damage can be aggravated;
- deal with the treatment and disinfection of the resulting wound, with the exception of chemicals, in which the first step is to gently rinse the eyes with plenty of running water;
- do not treat the cornea with cotton wool, as its particles can remain on the mucosa and penetrate into the resulting damage.
When handling the eyes, wash hands thoroughly with soap and water.
Diagnosis
Before starting treatment for damage to the cornea of the eye, it is necessary to make a visual inspection of the injury. This should be done by a qualified ophthalmologist who can determine the nature of the damage and its severity. To do this, he needs to open and lift his eyelids in order to examine the entire area of the cornea for dirt or sand, as well as other foreign formations. Special drops will help to carry out such a manipulation easily and painlessly.
When the cornea is damaged, many ophthalmologists use fluorescein for this purpose, which helps to better see extraneous inclusions on the cornea. They act for only a few seconds, during which an experienced doctor is able to see a clear picture of the injuries received. If there was damage to the cornea in a child, then these drops can not be dispensed with. Especially if this child belongs to the younger age group.
In case of damage to the cornea, a course of antibiotics is given to prevent the development of infections andoccurrence of secondary infectious diseases. At the stage of treatment, antibiotics are usually used in the form of drops and ointments, but in especially difficult cases, when there is a risk of infection, and after the end of the treatment procedures, the doctor may prescribe a course of antibiotic therapy in the form of tablets. In this case, it is important that the patient knows how to drink antibiotics correctly. Let us further consider what types of damage from external influences are and what the patient needs to do in this or that case.
Erosion
Erosion is a slight degree of damage when they are shallow and more superficial. The treatment is performed on an outpatient basis, local anesthetics, such as Lidocaine or Dikain, are instilled into the patient's eyes, and healing ointments containing antibiotics are applied, as well as drops based on hyaluronic acid and natural tears. Ointments for damage to the cornea - eye gel "Actovegin" or "Solcoseryl", they are prescribed most often. Corneal erosion is epithalized rather quickly and does not cause any complications.
Wounds of the cornea are considered complex injuries, especially with a penetrating nature of the wounds, they are treated inpatiently using techniques intended for use in eye microsurgery. At the same time, antibiotic therapy, systemic enzyme treatment and healing drops are prescribed. If you do not see a doctor in time with a penetrating wound, very serious consequences of damage to the cornea can occur.
Burns
Burns canbe thermal and chemical, they are treated by using microsurgery, namely, excision of the damaged layer of the cornea. In addition, a course of healing treatment with drops and ointments is carried out, as well as antibacterial, enzyme and anti-inflammatory therapy. If the burn is chemical, then you must first remove the substance that caused the injury to the cornea. To do this, you need to tilt your head to one side and hold it under an intense stream of water for about half an hour. But if the burn is caused by lime, it is forbidden to remove it with water, because under the influence of water heat is released in it, which can aggravate the degree of damage to the cornea. Lime must first be carefully removed with a napkin, and then rinsing with water should begin.
When an ultraviolet burns, you need to darken the room, as the patient is very responsive to bright light, put an antibacterial ointment under the eyelid, for example, "Tetracycline" (1%). You need to apply something cold to the eyelid and provide the patient with an analgesic ("Analgin" or "Nurofen").
Foreign body. What to do?
The foreign body is removed from the surface of the cornea with a cotton swab. In case of deep penetration, it is removed with special ophthalmic instruments. If these foreign bodies are made of plastic or glass, they are not pulled out of the wound, they themselves move to the surface after a while and then they can be easily removed. The cornea is healed with the help of drops: "Emoxipin", "Taurine", hyaluronic acid, "Natural tears", and antibiotic ointments, and you can alsoinject around the eyeball with these substances.
In some cases, you can get damage to the cornea with lenses.
Contact lenses can cause corneal injury in the following cases:
- when a foreign body gets under the lens - mechanical rubbing;
- if you are allergic to the components that make up the lens care products;
- if the rules of lens hygiene are violated, conjunctivitis and other infectious diseases appear;
- in violation of the supply of oxygen to the cornea, which leads to swelling and other hypoxic reactions.
How to use drugs correctly?
In the treatment of damage to the cornea of the eye, the main attention is first directed to getting rid of the object or factor that caused the injury, and to restore the original functions of the eye. But it also plays an important role in the prevention of infections. And when a doctor prescribes antibacterial pills, you need to remember how to take them correctly. First of all, patients and their relatives should learn that only a qualified doctor of the appropriate qualification can deal with the selection of the drug, dosage, regimen and duration of treatment.
In no case should you violate the prescribed doses and arbitrarily interrupt the treatment. Both a deficiency and an excess of this powerful disinfectant can cause serious deviations in the functioning of internal organs and human systems. Antibiotics are taken strictly according to the scheme, and this must be done at the same time withregular intervals between doses. The minimum treatment period is 7 days, unless otherwise prescribed by a doctor. Sometimes the recovery period stretches up to 2-3 weeks.
While taking antibiotics, it is forbidden to take alcohol and smoke, eat smoked meats and other harmful foods, the doctor will give separate recommendations regarding the diet. Antibiotics should be taken with plenty of clean water. You can not go to the beach and in the solarium, dye your hair and do chemical types of perms. Be sure to drink the probiotics prescribed by the doctor along with the antibiotic to restore the intestinal microflora.
What are the consequences of injury?
If you do not pay attention to eye injury in a timely manner, there may be serious consequences of damage to the cornea of the eye. The chance of getting complications is very high. These include:
- prolapse of the lens;
- development of cataracts or secondary glaucoma;
- retinal detachment;
- education walleye;
- manifestation of hemophthalmos, endophthalmos, panophthalmos.
The severity of the consequences directly depends on the degree of complexity of the injury and the timeliness of the medical care provided.
Serious complications after an eye injury
In case of unqualified treatment and poor-quality treatment of the affected area of the eye, the following complications are possible:
- sepsis - infection of the blood with infectious agents, which threatens to poison the body with toxic waste products of bacteria;
- decrease in visualeye function and even complete loss of vision;
- losing an eye;
- purulent abscess of the brain due to accumulation of pus in the cranial cavity;
- purulent inflammation of the structures and membranes of the eyeball - panophthalmitis;
- sympathetic inflammation of the he althy eye, most often fibroplastic iridocyclitis;
- accumulation of pus in the vitreous with inflammation of internal structures - endophthalmitis;
- presence of an unaesthetic scar;
- inversion of the eyelids, as well as ptosis and eversion;
- facial tissue deformation;
- disturbances in the work of the lacrimal glands.
When the patient's immune system is weakened, these complications are especially severe and acute, and there is a serious violation of metabolic processes. If the cornea has a normal blood supply, then regeneration will occur in a short time, but if infectious agents enter the affected area, a more severe degree of corneal disease - an ulcer can develop.
Conclusion
Having studied the material presented in the article, we can draw the only correct conclusion: any injury to the cornea of the eye can be very dangerous for vision. Therefore, it is very important to provide the injured person with timely qualified medical assistance. If the treatment is carried out even with a slight delay, serious complications may result.
