Corneal ulcer due to negligence when iron filings are shot into the eye

Hanoi: A 36-year-old man was shot with iron filings while welding a door. He did not go to the doctor until his eye became severely infected and he went to the hospital, where he developed a corneal ulcer.

After the accident, he used saline drops at home, but his eyes still hurt. After being examined at Hanoi Eye Hospital 2, he was diagnosed with corneal ulcers and a foreign object still in his eye. The doctor prescribed removal of the foreign object, combined with the use of anti-infective drugs.

On December 5, Dr. Mai Thi Anh Thu, Department of Examination, Hanoi Eye Hospital 2, said that the patient had a foreign object shot into the eye but came to the hospital late after 24 hours, missing the golden time for treatment. If left for too long, the iron rust seeped into the corneal parenchyma, making it more difficult to remove the foreign object, the cornea was scratched and infected, leading to ulcers.

Patients with corneal ulcers will feel discomfort, dull pain in the eyes, red eyes, watery eyes, glare, swollen eyelids... If not treated promptly, these symptoms can progress to become more severe, leading to serious complications such as corneal perforation, endophthalmitis, and blindness.

Doctor Thu said that any foreign object (dust, insects, pieces of rock, iron filings, pebbles...) that gets into the eye has the potential to scratch the cornea because this is a transparent layer of tissue located on the outermost layer of the surface of the eyeball.

When the cornea is damaged, it causes changes in image reception because it is also the part that first comes into contact with light, allowing light to pass through to help the human eye see, while also breaking the barrier that protects the eyeball from infectious agents.

Depending on the level of corneal damage, there will be different solutions. In case of iron filings being shot into the eye, the patient must absolutely not rub the eye with his hands because it can make the condition worse. Do not remove the foreign object yourself, but blink into a glass of clean water to help the foreign object float out. Then, quickly go to a reputable eye medical facility to have the foreign object examined and removed under a microscope.

"The effectiveness of treatment depends on how early or late the patient comes to the hospital. Many cases of subjectivity lead to infection, and the disease turns from mild to severe," said Dr. Thu.

Treatment of post-traumatic eye infections is complicated, costly, time-consuming and the results are often not as expected. Therefore, to prevent accidents and eye injuries, the best way is to protect your eyes. Do not be subjective, regularly use labor protection when working in environments with a lot of smoke, dust, when turning, welding... Wear glasses when going out to protect your eyes from sand, dust and limit eye exposure to ultraviolet rays. When a foreign object falls into your eye, go to the hospital immediately for timely treatment.

Le Nga

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