Dross in the eye is the most common reason for patients to seek emergency medical care. It is a small iron chip that can bring a lot of problems to the patient. Most often, a foreign body is in the eye of a person in case of non-observance of safety during the work with the welding machine.
What does the patient feel?
If a person gets dross in the eye, almost instantly he begins to experience sharp pain. The presence of a foreign body in the eye causes a feeling of discomfort, interference, burning, pain, the mucous membrane turns red. Diagnosed with lacrimation, increased photosensitivity, swelling of the eyelid, blurred vision.
Sometimes when a foreign body enters the eye, the patient does not observe pronounced symptoms. This is uncharacteristic of a thermal burn of scale. Symptoms will instantly show themselves, giving a signal about the need for medical care.
How to behave in case of injury?
Iron oxide, once in the patient’s eye, is attached to the surface of the cornea, then it undergoes an oxidation process and rusts. The cornea in the area of injury becomes brown.
It is very difficult, even impossible, to independently remove a foreign body from the eye. The only thing that can be done before providing ophthalmic care is to carry out a series of manipulations:
- Rinse the eye under a stream of cold running water (the duration of the procedure is 15-20 minutes).
- Drop eye drops containing an antiseptic.
- Put a compress on the eyelid of the damaged eye in the form of gauze soaked in cold water, or a chilled tea bag. Alternatively, you can use half the washed, peeled potatoes or just dip your face in a container of cool water.
- Fix the compress with a bandage, put a patch on top.
- See a doctor.
In carrying out the above measures is, in fact, the first aid for eye injury.
What should the patient not do in case of injury?
Did you get a speck, a cilium or a dross in your eye? Do not do the following to avoid complicating the situation:
- rubbing the eye;
- frequent blinking;
- squinting eyes;
- instillation of aloe juice, honey and other folk remedies in the eye.
Diagnostics
Regardless of whether a speck or dross has gotten into your eye, professional diagnosis involves a preliminary examination of the mucous membrane of the eye. For this purpose, a slit lamp is used. Symptoms that may appear may be the reason for an ultrasound or radiography.
Dross in the eye is usually located on the surface of the cornea, sometimes penetrates deeper. The degree of penetration depends on the size of the foreign body and the speed with which the particle strove into the eye. Metal shavings belong to deep-lying foreign bodies.
What is the descaling process?
Before removing the scale from the eye, local anesthesia of the eye is carried out by one of the antiseptics. The patient is seated in front of a slit lamp. The specialist removes a slice of the surface of the cornea with a particle of metal and removes the foreign body using a needle from a 10.0 syringe. After the procedure, the damaged eye is instilled with an antibiotic solution.
What awaits the patient next?
The doctor removed the scale in the eye. What to do next? It is necessary to undergo anti-inflammatory treatment. To this end, ophthalmologists prescribe antibacterial drugs, as well as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The course recommended by specialists lasts five days. You can use antibacterial drugs in ointment form. In the case of deep scale, the doctor appoints NSAIDs and inside.
The healing process of the cornea usually takes 7-14 days. Cases of the formation of epithelial translucent opacities are frequent. In the case of localization of a foreign particle in the center of the cornea, it may come to a decrease in vision.
The cornea has dimmed: how to correct a situation?
In case of corneal opacity after an eye injury , consult an ophthalmologist. Honey drops have proven themselves to be effective and safe against a “cloudy look”. This treatment method cannot be called exclusively folk, many experts advise a remedy in case of a similar problem. The medicine is based on May flower honey. Before use, it must be diluted and used throughout the year. Honey should not be diluted with ordinary, but with distilled water, which can be purchased at a pharmacy.
The breeding scheme is as follows. In the first week, dilute half a teaspoon of honey with water in the amount of 3 tablespoons. In the second and subsequent weeks (up to and including the 5th), increase the amount of honey by half a spoon (the amount of water remains unchanged. In the sixth week and further we dilute the components in a 1: 1 ratio.
Treated in a similar way is contraindicated in patients suffering from viral diseases of the eye, especially provoked by the herpes virus. Otherwise, the disease will worsen.
Lack of first aid for injury than what is fraught?
What if first aid for eye injury is not provided? What can patient inaction result in? Among the consequences of this may be:
- cicatricial deformity of the eyelid on the affected eye;
- the growth of eyelashes in the wrong direction;
- inability to fully open the affected eye;
- fusion of the eyelids;
- adhesion of the tear ducts;
- the appearance of "blurry vision";
- decreased vision;
- dry eye syndrome;
- ocular cataract;
- the inflammatory process of the eye structures, which is the cause of partial loss of vision;
- glaucoma - an increase in intraocular pressure;
- active formation of rust near a foreign particle - a change in the color of the eye structures.
Therefore, the scale in the eye and the normal functioning of the eye are incompatible things. Such an injury requires immediate medical attention.
At risk in the case of the described eye injury are people who regularly use a welding machine or grinder in their work and daily life. Dross in the eye - a serious problem that threatens the health of the victim. The primary measure of protection against a metal shard in the eye is wearing special glasses. Follow the safety rules during the work, and your eyes will be protected!