Is A Corneal Abrasion Dangerous? When Should You See An Ophthalmologist?
If you've received an eye injury and have been feeling persistent pain afterwards, you may have suffered a corneal abrasion. These occur when the topmost layer of the cornea becomes damaged due to trauma. Thankfully, they often heal quickly. However, the pain can sometimes be very intense and prevent you from opening your injured eye for long periods of time. If you've injured your eye and think that you may have a corneal abrasion, read on to learn more information about them, the potential dangers and when you should see an ophthalmologist.
What Are the Signs of a Corneal Abrasion?
The most common sign of a corneal abrasion is pain. This pain is often excruciating when the corneal abrasion is severe — your cornea contains a considerable amount of pain receptors compared to other parts of your body, so even small wounds can cause a great amount of pain. The pain often worsens when you open your eye.
If you have a corneal abrasion, you may also experience sensitivity to light. You may have discharge from your eye, and your eyelids may be sore and red.
How Does a Corneal Abrasion Happen?
Corneal abrasions are caused by trauma to your eye. Common causes include scratching your eye with a fingernail, contact lens, or mascara brush. The cornea isn't very durable, so very little force is needed to cause abrasions. In rare cases, an eyelash that's growing inward (a condition known as trichiasis) can scratch your cornea.
You're at a greater risk of corneal abrasions if you have dry eyes. Your tears act as lubricant that helps protect your cornea from being damaged. When you're not producing enough tears, it's easier for your cornea to be scratched.
Is a Corneal Abrasion Dangerous?
In most cases, corneal abrasions don't cause problems. Your cornea heals very quickly, and minor corneal abrasions should heal in a day or two. Severe abrasions that cover the majority of the cornea may require a week to heal.
However, corneal abrasions carry a risk of infection just like any other injury. The risk of infection is increased if your corneal abrasion is severe, and it's also increased if your eye injury caused foreign material to become stuck in your eye, like mascara, sand, or tree bark.
When Should You See an Ophthalmologist for a Corneal Abrasion?
You should schedule an appointment with an ophthalmologist if your pain is severe or if it doesn't go away. An ophthalmologist can give you eye drops that help control the pain. You should also schedule an appointment if your eye begins begins to become red and inflamed, since this is a sign of infection. Severe infections can sometimes, though rarely, lead to an ulcer forming in your cornea, which can eventually result in blindness. An ophthalmologist can prescribe antibiotic eye drops to you in order to treat the infection and prevent it from worsening.
If your pain is excruciating and you have great difficulty seeing out of your eye properly, you should schedule an emergency appointment with an ophthalmologist. This can be a sign that you have a corneal laceration rather than a corneal abrasion, which is a much more serious injury that can result in significant eye trauma. It requires surgical correction in order to preserve your vision.
Overall, corneal abrasions are fairly common and usually heal quickly with no complications. However, the potential complications are quite severe and can lead to vision loss. If you've injured your cornea and it doesn't seem to be healing, schedule an appointment with an ophthalmology clinic in your area — you'll receive an eye examination using a special dye in order to determine the extent of your corneal abrasion and will be prescribed eye drops in order to ease the pain and reduce your risk of infection.
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