Foreign Body In Eye

What Is It?

Eyelashes prevent most particles or objects from entering the eye, and tears usually are able to rinse out particles that do get in the eye. Occasionally, a solid object or projectile can adhere to the eye or embed itself below the surface of the eye.

Foreign bodies in the eye can be small specks of dirt or eyelashes, or larger objects such as stones, nails or glass. The eye is damaged easily. The most common type of eye injury is a corneal abrasion — a scratch in the transparent layer that lies over your pupil (the center of your eye) and iris (the colored part). If the foreign body sticks to the undersurface of the eyelid, the scratch occurs when the object rubs against the cornea as you blink, and the scratch will be in a vertical line.

Symptoms

Symptoms can include itching, irritation or redness of the eye. Eye pain, light sensitivity and blurry vision are symptoms that suggest that a corneal abrasion may have occurred.

Diagnosis

If you visit your doctor, he or she will shine a light into your eye to look for the object and may turn your eyelid up with the aid of a cotton swab. Your doctor will examine the margins of your eye as you look in different directions. Sometimes eye drops containing a local anesthetic agent are used to make this examination more comfortable.

Your doctor should check your vision quickly using an eye chart. If your doctor suspects that you may have a corneal abrasion, he or she can examine your eye after applying a small amount of "fluorescein" dye to the surface. Your doctor may apply the dye using a paper strip. When the strip touches your eye, a film of fluorescein will mix with your tears and float easily across the surface of your eye. Fluorescein collects in areas that are injured and glows when viewed under blue light.

Expected Duration

Some foreign objects can be removed easily and do not cause any damage to the eye. Others are more difficult to remove and can injure the eye.

With proper treatment, symptoms of a mild corneal abrasion almost always improve or disappear completely within 24 to 48 hours. For more severe abrasions, symptoms often persist longer.

Prevention

Use protective eyewear at work if appropriate, such as during construction work and when playing sports. At work, protective eyewear can reduce the risk of a corneal abrasion by up to 90 percent because these abrasions often are caused when a foreign object gets in the eye. If you play a sport, use goggles to protect your eyes from sand, dirt and other objects. If you require glasses to see clearly, you can have goggles made with prescription lenses.