Corneal Abrasion- Causes & Treatment

A corneal abrasion is a common injury to the eye. It occurs due to the scratched cornea or scratched eye which further causes significant discomfort. For those who don’t know, the cornea is the eye’s outermost layer. It is the clear, dome-shaped surface that covers the front of the eye. The cornea is responsible for focusing your vision. In case if any problem occurs with the cornea, it affects the vision. A corneal abrasion occurs when the cells of the top layer are damaged.

Causes of Corneal Abrasion- There are many causes of corneal abrasion. Some of the important ones are discussed below-

• It may occur when something hits the cornea of the eye. For example, if a person while driving, drives without the shades and something hits in the eye that can cause abrasion to the cornea.
• A foreign particle, such as a piece of sand, soil, or wood, may remains under the inside of the upper lid or lower part and cause scratches of the corneal surface every time that you blink.
• Sometimes corneal injured due to some high-speed particles that may penetrate the eye and injure deeper structures also. For example- a small metal fragment flying into the eye if an individual use a grinding wheel without protective eyewear. This may cause a serious injury to the eye that even demands immediate operation. If not done it may cause permanent loss of vision.
• A hot cigarette ash flying into the eye may cause a corneal abrasion.
• Tree branches, a pet, sports equipment, a finger, paper, makeup brushes, workplace debris, and other sharp equipments may pose a danger to the front surface of your eyes.
• A common cause of a corneal abrasion is a young child accidentally poking you in the eye with her fingernail.
• Extreme exposure to UV rays or other harmful rays may affect the corneal abrasion.

Treatments- Treatment for a corneal abrasion depends on the severity of the wound and the injury. Minor injuries can be treated just by non-preserved lubricating drops. Otherwise, the body itself has the ability to heal the injury. If the scratch is a little bit bigger in size then there are some antibiotic eye drops that limit the infection in the eye. But the large corneal abrasion takes more time to heal and cause a permanent scar that might affect the vision of an individual. If you want to know more about corneal abrasion, consult patient care center in NJ. For more information, visit our website.