Definition
Injuries to the eye can be caused by numerous triggers, such as blows, impacts, stitches, UV rays or corrosive substances and can in principle affect all structures of the eye, including the eyelids, tear organs, cornea, conjunctiva, retina, vitreous body and optic nerve. It is also possible to damage several of these structures at the same time. Injuries to the eye vary greatly in their extent, ranging from superficial, usually harmless injuries to serious, deep-reaching injuries that penetrate the eye and can lead to loss of vision. Injuries to the eye can be accompanied by severe pain, and the severity of the pain often does not allow any conclusion to be drawn about the extent of the injury to the eye. Since the severity of the injury cannot be predicted by the person affected, and since some injuries to the eye are acute or can lead to blindness as a late consequence, it is always advisable to consult an eye doctor.
Causes
There are numerous causes for eye injuries. Often, injuries to the eye are of mechanical origin. In the following you will find an overview of the most common causes.
- Injuries caused by foreign bodies in the eye
- Blue eye
- Eyeball contusion
- Fractures of the orbit
- Retinal detachment
- Burns of the eye
- Physical injury to the eye
- As well as diseases caused by vascular injuries in the area of the eye
Foreign body injuries occur relatively frequently in ophthalmology. The patient usually complains of a suddenly appearing foreign body sensation with simultaneous strong tear formation. Foreign bodies can enter the eye of the affected person during leisure activities or industrial accidents and cause both superficial and deep-reaching, penetrating injuries.
In many cases, the patient can remember the situation and may be able to tell the doctor what and how a foreign object entered his eye. In addition to anaesthetic, the ophthalmologist applies fluorescent eye drops to the eye and then shines a blue light into it. This enables him to detect the smallest scratches, which light up yellow.
The treatment is carried out with antibiotic-containing eye ointment or eye drops, which must be taken by the patient for several days. A blue eye, colloquially violet, is a bruise (hematoma) around the eye. It is caused by a blow or fall under external influence.
It takes about two weeks before the skin around the eye returns to a completely normal color. When treating a haematoma (bruise) on the eye, as with all bruises, particularly rapid cooling is necessary immediately after the bruise has been caused. Blunt force in the area of the eyeball or the orbit causes a contusion of the eyeball.
The bruise of the eyeball is caused by, for example, a fist, snowball throw, champagne cork. It causes pain and, depending on the severity of the contusion, deterioration of vision. Temporary double images are possible.
The increased intraocular pressure is reduced with medication and controlled by constant follow-up examinations. Retinal injuries are usually treated with laser surgery. This topic might interest you: Ocular contusionsAther mechanical causes are fractures of the orbit caused by blows or impacts on the eye, for example in accidents, as well as open injuries to the eye caused by cuts, punctures or bites.
and orbital fracturesRetinal detachment is the separation of two layers of the retina from each other. Causes are hereditary, missing fixation of the two layers, tears in the retina, diabetes, bleeding from the vessels of the choroid covering the retina or tumors (due to displacement of the retina). The symptoms sometimes announce themselves by flashes of light, and visual impressions, which are described as “small mosquitoes”, “falling curtain” or “billows of smoke” by those affected.
The only effective treatment option is rapid surgical joining of the two retinal layers (otherwise the patient may go blind). Especially in the field of industrial and occupational medicine, injuries caused by chemical substances, especially by acidic or alkaline liquids, occur frequently. In the case of a chemical burn of the eye, pain occurs in and around the eye.In any case, eye burns are an acute emergency requiring immediate first aid measures directly at the scene of the accident and medical treatment.
For initial treatment, the eye should be rinsed directly with an eye wash bottle. Alternatively, the opened eye can be held under running water or rinsed with the help of a hose. The eye must be open.
Furthermore, injuries to the eye are possible due to physical causes. These include burns to structures of the eye, especially the cornea, caused by sunlight (UV radiation), which can occur, for example, when looking intensively at the sun or during activities in the snow. Welding work can also cause damage to the cornea as a result of the strong UV radiation, which is known as blinding.
All articles in this series: