Let’s talk about corneal abrasions, or scratches on the surface of the eye!
The cornea is the clear outer layer on front of the eye that helps your eye to focus light. The cornea is also a barrier against bacteria, viruses, dirt, and particles and can filter out some harmful light. When there is injury to the cornea, like a corneal abrasion or an ulcer, it is be extremely painful.
WHAT IS A CORNEAL ABRASION?
Corneal abrasions are typically caused by trauma or a tear to the outermost layer of the cornea. This can be due to mechanical trauma like from eye rubbing or a poke in the eye, as a result of friction from contact lens wear, or foreign objects in or to the eye.
There is also a common genetic cornea condition called Map-Dot-Fingerprint Dystrophy (a.k.a. Epithelial Basement Membrane Dystrophy, Anterior Basement Membrane Dystrophy, etc.) where you may be at higher risk of spontaneous corneal abrasions because the top layer of the cornea is only loosely attached to the rest of the cornea.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?
In any corneal abrasion, the symptoms can range from mild irritation to severe eye pain with foreign body sensation. Most corneal abrasions will cause sensitivity to light, a pink or red eye, and excessive tearing.
HOW DO WE TREAT THIS?
If you think you have an abrasion, it is important for you to see an eye doctor. An abrasion is treated with antibiotic eye drops or ointment, and the type of antibiotic is dependant on what caused the injury in the first place.
If the abrasion was caused by a dirty object or a contact lens, we usually want to use a stronger antibiotic but for most clean abrasions, an antibiotic ointment is adequate coverage and soothing to the eye.
COMPLICATIONS
There are two major complications from a corneal abrasion. If the abrasion results in an infection or a corneal ulcer, this will require medical treatment for weeks to months with stronger antibiotics and may result in a corneal scar and permanent vision loss. You will most likely need to remain under the close watch of a corneal specialist to make sure the infection is under control and to help with vision recovery once the infection resolves.
Another complication of a corneal abasion is recurrent corneal erosion, where the area does not heal well and may require a corneal procedure to smooth out the cornea.
Regardless, if you think you have a corneal abrasion, it is important that you get your eyes checked. A corneal abrasion may not start as a serious condition but every devastating corneal ulcer starts out as an abrasion.