What is it about ?
By “eye injury” is meant any injury to the eye itself or to the eyelid, whether due to a voluntary act (punch) or to an accident (foreign body, irritant substance, scratch, etc.). ..). It still happens that children cause eye injuries with sharp objects (nails, darts, catapult projectiles …). The most common eyelid lesions are black eye and cuts.
How to recognize them?
A change in eyesight is always a warning sign: being blind (blindness), blurred vision or double vision can be consequences of a serious eye injury. Another sign is the deformation of the pupil.
Eyelid injury
If there is bleeding in the eyelid, it swells and turns blue. Most often, the eye itself has nothing, and the eyesight is not changed. If there is a cut, you should check to see if the wound goes beyond the edge of the eye and extends inward. A sore that extends into the eye socket is often more serious because it can be associated with other damage to the eye.
Damage to the eye itself
a bleeding in the conjunctiva can be recognized by a red spot in the white of the eye. There are usually no other symptoms.
Most often one can see a foreign body. If it got into the eye at high speed (for example during grinding or from a hammer blow on a stone), it may have pierced the eyeball. There is then often a significant bleeding and a deformation of the pupil (“teardrop pupil”).
A corrosive substance in the eye causes redness, pain, tearing, and sensitivity to light. The person cannot stand bright light anymore.
Sore, burning eyes and sensitivity to light may also develop after a too much exposure of the eye to ultraviolet (UV) rays, for example after a session in a tanning booth or during winter sports.
In the event of a blow to the eye (fist, balloon …), the orbit, the eyelid and the eye itself can be damaged.
Decreased eye mobility, changes in the pupil, or double vision always indicate a serious injury (for example, a fracture of the eye socket, cracks in the internal tissue of the eye) .
How is the diagnosis made?
The doctor will ask you what exactly happened and carefully examine the eye and vision (visual acuity). If in doubt, he will refer you to an ophthalmologist. This will check if your vision is normal. Using an ophthalmoscope, he will examine the inside of the eye to see if there is internal bleeding or damage to the retina.
To visualize superficial lesions of the eyeball, he will place drops of a dye (fluorescein) on the eye. If you suspect a fracture of the orbit, you will need to have an x-ray.
What can you do ?
On a black eye, you can put cold compresses or an ice pack. If there is any dust in the eye, you can try to remove it with the corner of a tissue.
If an irritating or corrosive substance is splashed into the eye, rinse thoroughly with water or physiological saline for 10 minutes. You can keep your eye under the tap or dip your open eye in a bowl of water. Write down the name of the product.
Do not use ointment or eye drops without having the eye examined first. In case of injury to the eyelid or the eye itself, cover the eye with a sterile bandage and consult the doctor.
Pain and burning sensation in the eyes after a too much exposure to UV light disappear spontaneously within 24 hours.
What can the doctor do?
The general practitioner can treat small injuries (black eye, light bruising, small superficial eyelid wounds, foreign body, superficial bleeding from the conjunctiva and mild chemical burns). He usually checks the injury after a day, and certainly if symptoms persist.
He will withdraw a foreign object under local anesthesia or stitch up small wounds.
Small bleeds go away on their own and do not require treatment. To prevent infection, the doctor will often prescribe antibiotics in ointments or eye drops.
He will refer the patient to an ophthalmologist for the treatment of injuries that extend beyond the edge of the eyelid or the inner corner of the eye as well as for the treatment of deep wounds, severe bruises, burns or corrosions (acid, lime or soda). caustic), eye socket fractures and injuries with impaired vision.
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