Eye injuries
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Follow the links below to find trusted information about eye injuries.
Last reviewed: May 2018
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First aid for eye injuries
Information on managing and treating eye injuries including burns, wounds, objects and smoke.
Read more on WA Health website
Eye Injuries in the Workplace | myVMC
Eye injuries in the workplace: There are a range of agents found in workplaces that can cause eye diseases, disorders or injuries. While many of these agents are often also found in everyday living environments, exposure at dangerous levels is most likely to occur in the workplace.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Eye injury foreign object in the eye
A small speck of wood, metal or sand lodged in the clear surface of the eye is called a corneal foreign body.
Read more on WA Health website
Eye injury something in your eye | National Centre for Farmer Health
Eye injuries can occur when flying particles lodge in your eye. Some common examples include wood chips, metal filings, dust, insects and grain. Read more..
Read more on National Centre for Farmer Health website
Fireworks injury - NT.GOV.AU
Burn injury, eye injury and fireworks safety, including sparklers and dud fireworks.
Read more on NT Health website
Eye injuries - foreign body in the eye - Better Health Channel
Don't try to remove a foreign body from your eye - go to your doctor or hospital emergency department for help.
Read more on Better Health Channel website
Eye injury flash burns | National Centre for Farmer Health
Flash burns occur when the cornea (the clear tissue that covers your eyes) has been exposed to ultraviolet light. Flash burns are like sunburn in the eye. Read more...
Read more on National Centre for Farmer Health website
Eye injury corneal flash burns
Corneal flash burns occur when a very strong light burns the surface of the eye (the cornea).
Read more on WA Health website
Eye injuries - chemical burns - Better Health Channel
Always wear safety goggles or a face shield when handling liquid or powder chemicals.
Read more on Better Health Channel website
Eyes - flash burns - Better Health Channel
Flash burns are like sunburn in the eye and can affect both your eyes. Find out more.
Read more on Better Health Channel website
Top results
Educational interventions for preventing eye injuries | Cochrane
Eye injuries are a preventable cause of blindness, yet remain a significant disabling health problem that affects all age groups. Despite health and safety requirements and widespread legislation, injuries can still occur at home, in the workplace, during recreational activities or as a result of road crashes.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Patching the eye following a simple corneal abrasion caused by trauma or foreign body | Cochrane
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Eye patches for corneal abrasion | Cochrane
The aim of this Cochrane Review was to find out what effect using an eye patch for corneal abrasions has on healing and pain relief compared with not patching. Cochrane researchers collected and analysed all relevant studies to answer this question and found 12 studies.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Eyedrops made from autologous serum as a treatment for dry eye | Cochrane
Dry eye is a common disorder of the tear film, which is a layer of tears covering the surface of the eye. Dry eye affects many adults older than 40 years of age. One common treatment for dry eye is artificial tears, which provide lubrication to the surface of the eye. However, artificial tears lack the biologically active components found in natural tears that are critical to the maintenance of the tear film. Eye drops made by separating the liquid and cellular components of the patients blood, known as autologous serum eye drops, have been shown to possess many of the same biological nutrients found in natural tears. Because of this, autologous serum eye drops are believed to be a better tear substitute and have become a common treatment for dry eye.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Amniotic membrane transplantation for the treatment of ocular burns | Cochrane
Ocular surface burns vary in severity from mild and self-limiting to devastating injuries characterised by failure of regeneration of the ocular surface, leading to blindness and disfigurement. The historical use of amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) to treat eye burns during the acute phase has re-emerged in recent years, although its precise effects on the healing process have not been proven by randomised controlled trials (RCTs). One RCT conducted in India included a subset of patients who fulfilled the criteria for analysis in this review. The participants included 68 men and women of all ages with chemical or thermal burns to the ocular surface, who were randomised to treatment with conventional medical therapy alone or to medical therapy and AMT in the first seven days after injury. Conventional medical therapy included topical steroids, antibiotics, sodium ascorbate, sodium citrate, tear substitutes and cycloplegic drops, and oral vitamin C. Pressure-lowering drops and/or oral acetazolamide were prescribed if required. Data from the RCT were analysed to compare corneal wound closure rates by the 21st day after the injury and visual outcomes at final follow-up. The burns were classified as moderate or severe. In the moderate category, the AMT group had a higher proportion of eyes with complete epithelial closure by day 21 (not statistically significant) and significantly better visual acuity at final follow-up. There was a high risk of bias resulting from the uneven characteristics of the control and treatment eyes at presentation and from the failure to mask personnel and outcome assessors involved in the study. This reduced confidence in the study findings.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Prevention and treatment regimens for recurrent corneal erosion | Cochrane
In recurrent corneal erosion repeated episodes of breakdown of the corneal surface produce disabling eye symptoms and predispose the cornea (the transparent part at the front of the eye) to infection. Recurrent corneal erosions may happen after trauma to the cornea. Management may be required to prevent the recurrence of the erosions following corneal trauma or once the diagnosis is made, or both. Most episodes of recurrent corneal erosion resolve with simple medical therapy such as topical eye drops and ointment. When such simple measures fail or recurrences become too frequent, alternative treatment strategies are required. This review included seven trials with a total of 443 participants. The trials were conducted in Germany, People's Republic of China, Japan, Sweden and three in the UK. The quality of the trials was poor and the authors found the level of evidence insufficient for the development of management guidelines. There was limited evidence that oral tetracycline or topical prednisolone, or both, and excimer laser ablation, may be effective treatments for recurrent corneal erosion. More good-quality randomised controlled trials are needed to guide the management of recurrent corneal erosion.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Interventions for treating an inward turning lower eyelid in the elderly | Cochrane
Entropion is the inward turning of the eyelid, causing rubbing of the eyelashes and eyelid skin against the surface of the eye. It is one of the commonest forms of eyelid problems in older people and it more frequently involves the lower eyelid. In the early stages not all people require treatment but eventually every movement of the eye or eyelid causes trauma to the corneal surface which may lead to infection and ulceration with visual impairment. Surgery in the form of horizontal and vertical eyelid tightening is needed when the condition is severe and causes trauma to the cornea. The review authors searched the medical literature and found a single trial that met the inclusion criteria of the review. Sixty-three participants with lower eyelid entropion were enrolled and randomised to either everting sutures alone or everting sutures and a lateral tarsal strip. Eight participants were lost to follow-up. The trial showed that the combination of horizontal and vertical eyelid tightening with everting sutures and lateral tarsal strip is highly efficient for entropion compared to vertical tightening with everting sutures alone. Further research is needed to provide more credible evidence for the comparison of surgical treatments to correct an inward turning eyelid.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Medical interventions for traumatic hyphema | Cochrane
We reviewed the evidence about the effect of medical interventions for treating people with traumatic hyphema.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Efficacy of over the counter (OTC) artificial tears for dry eye syndrome | Cochrane
Dry eye syndrome is a long-term condition that is known to cause eye discomfort and visual disturbances like blurred vision. This condition affects millions of people around the world, and the first-line treatment for dry eye is typically over the counter (OTC) artificial tears. OTC artificial tears are meant to replace or supplement the tears (fluid) that naturally cover the eyes front surface (cornea and conjunctiva). There are a great number of commercially available artificial tears, yet there is currently no agreement about whether one formulation works better than another at treating dry eye. Our review attempts to bridge this knowledge gap.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Punctal plugs for dry eye syndrome | Cochrane
Dry eye syndrome, which affects 10% to 20% of adults, is a disorder of the eye's tear film and is associated with symptoms such as burning, foreign body sensation, and fluctuating vision. Punctal plugs are inserted into a small opening in the upper and/or lower eyelid. Seven randomized controlled trials (with a total of 305 participants and 601 eyes) were identified. These trials compared silicone and/or collagen punctal plugs to each other, no treatment, acrylic punctal plugs, or oral pilocarpine (a drug used to increase tear production). Punctal plugs provided symptomatic improvement and clinical outcomes also improved from baseline measurements. Adverse outcomes included epiphora (overflow of tears), foreign body sensation, eye irritation, and spontaneous plug loss. Although individual trials reported improvements among participants assigned to punctal plugs, these trials were too diverse to summarize the effects across all studies.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
