Quite often, situations happen when a foreign body enters the eye. It can be eyelashes, small winged insects, dust particles. Much less often there may be elements associated with any human activity, such as metal or wood shavings. Contact with a foreign body in the eye, depending on its nature, can be considered hazardous or not. If first aid is not provided correctly, then a minor problem can turn into a serious situation.
Causes of foreign body ingestion
The situations due to which alien elements can get into the organs of vision are different. If a foreign body is felt in the eye, the reasons for this may be as follows:
- Non-observance of personal hygiene. In this case, various elements fall most often in the eyes of small children who do not wash their hands after the street and begin to rub their face with them. The smallest garbage, grains of sand, dust gets into the organs of vision.
- Industrial injuries. They usually arise if a person works in production, where metal or wood is processed on machine tools. The flying particles can change their trajectory and at high speed get into the eye, penetrating deep into it, which leads to severe injury.
- Strong wind. In this case, the vortices pick up dust, small sawdust and other particles that can get into the face from the ground.
- Contact lenses. If you handle them correctly, then they will not cause any harm to humans. But when used with dirty hands, foreign bodies are often brought into the eyes.
- Woolen clothes. If you put a sweater made of wool over your head, very thin fibers remain on the eyelashes, which after a while imperceptibly fall into your eyes.
Signs of a foreign body in the eye
The sensation of a foreign body in the eye can manifest itself as a slight discomfort, or intolerable pain. It depends on how badly damaged the organ of vision, and the location of a foreign object.
Usually a foreign body in the eye causes pain and discomfort. Lacrimation, redness, burning, bleeding from superficial vessels may occur, photosensitivity increases, soft tissues swell, vision begins to blur.
Very rarely, if a small and sharp foreign particle enters the eye, the symptoms of damage are completely absent or very slight. A person may not be bothered by anything, but if there is a suspicion that a foreign body is in the eye, he should immediately contact an ophthalmologist.
What is the danger of a foreign object getting into the eye?
Foreign elements in the organ of vision cause its toxic or mechanical damage, as well as inflammatory reactions (blepharitis, keratitis, conjunctivitis, uveitis), hemorrhages and secondary complications.
The safest is the presence of a foreign body in the conjunctival sac. If the subject is sharp, it easily penetrates the cornea or sclera. And if he flew at high speed, then they are damaged.
If the foreign body in the eye is iron or copper, often there is such a nuisance as metallosis, which is a chemical reaction with the tissues of the eye. Its danger lies in the fact that visual acuity begins to decrease, twilight blindness may occur, the field of vision will narrow , other symptoms appear. If a foreign object has been in the eye for quite some time, then very serious complications can occur.
How to provide first aid?
If a foreign body is felt in the eye, first aid should be provided as soon as possible. It is necessary to examine the organ of vision, raising the upper eyelid and lowering the lower. In some cases, such manipulation is quite enough to remove a trapped item.
How to remove a foreign body from the eye? When it is detected, it is necessary to determine whether it is hard or soft. If the item is soft, you can try to remove it. You can’t move it along the surface of the eye and do not poke at its center, but you must make a point from the tip of a clean handkerchief and try to grab this particle with it so that it sticks to it, after which it is removed.
If the object cannot be removed, it is forbidden to rub the eye, otherwise the foreign body will only penetrate deeper into it, which may lead to additional injuries. The affected organ of vision should be kept closed for as long as possible, since blinking can increase irritation.
After that, a blindfold is applied to the eye so that it does not press on the eyeball, and seek medical help.
Diagnostics
If the patient complains of a foreign body sensation in the eye, a diagnosis should be made. The examination consists in the implementation of a vision test procedure and a thorough examination of the membranes of the eye with a special lamp.
Also, an ultrasound device, an ophthalmoscope and eye x-ray can be used for examination.
Removal of a foreign body in a hospital
If it was not possible to pull out a foreign object from the organs of vision on your own, or if this poses a danger to human health, the victim must be urgently taken to the hospital to provide qualified assistance. Complex cases require the involvement of an ophthalmologist.
The doctor removes a foreign body from the eye using a wet swab that moistens in an antiseptic, or performs jet washing with a special solution. These manipulations are carried out if an extraneous particle is on the surface of the eye.
If the speck has invaded the conjunctiva, then its removal is carried out using an anesthetic solution, since this procedure is quite painful. First, the doctor drops a solution into the eye, and after he begins to act, he removes a foreign object with tweezers or a needle. After removing it, the eyes are washed, and sodium sulfacyl is placed behind the eyelids. Usually, after eliminating a foreign particle, the inflammation passes very quickly, but sometimes the patient may feel a little discomfort. Usually this happens due to microtraumas on the conjunctiva.
Sometimes a foreign body can get on the cornea. In this case, the specks lie deep in the eye, as they have infiltrated with great force. It can be wooden fragments, metal shavings, glass. Some time after the penetration around an extraneous particle, an infiltrate occurs. If you do not remove the speck in a timely manner, then suppuration will form around it very soon. To confirm the diagnosis, biomicroscopy and diaphanoscopy are performed. Then an anesthetic is instilled into the eye, and a foreign object is removed with a special tool. After that, a bandage is applied to the organ of vision and a course of antibiotics is prescribed.
Foreign particles enter the eye cavity quite rarely. In this case, a foreign object penetrates the choroid or vitreous body. This can lead to iridocyclitis, clouding of the vitreous body, as well as dystrophy and retinal detachment. If a foreign object enters the eye with great force, this may cause it to crush.
Prevention
Preventive measures to prevent foreign particles from entering the eyes are personal hygiene and industrial safety regulations. If the work involves the operation of the machine, be sure to wear safety glasses. Young children need constant monitoring, and older ones are advised to clarify the rules of personal hygiene.
Conclusion
Thus, if you suspect that there is a foreign body in the eye, you can try to get rid of it yourself. But this should be done only if the organ of vision is not harmed. If, for example, metal chips have flown in, you need to use the help of an ophthalmologist, otherwise serious complications may arise.