Eye injuries may be caused by several causes, from blows and contusions at a high speed with blunt objects to perforations caused by penetrating objects or burns caused by chemical products Treatments will vary depending on the type of injury, and may include from antibiotic eye drops to complex surgical interventions.
| Penetrating eye injuries | Closed globe injuries (contusions) |
|---|---|
| Caused by a perforating object | Caused by a blunt object |
| It may cause an infection There might be a presence of foreign bodies It may require a surgical treatment The eyeball integrity may be endangered It has a worse prognosis | Inflammations may occur It may lead to a high ocular pressure It may cause haemorrhages, cataracts, ruptures, tears in the retina and choroid, and retinal detachment. |
There are two types of eye injuries: closed globe injuries and penetrating injuries.
What is a closed globe injury?
A closed globe injury is an eye contusion, and is caused by a blunt object, such as a padel, tennis or golf ball, that hits at a high-speed the eye surface and may damage several structures.
Damages may include:
What is a penetrating eye injury?
A penetrating eye injury is what we known as an eye perforation. In such cases, there is a loss of continuity of the eye globe, that may cause its content to leak out. These are very serious cases that require urgent interventions, and in which foreign bodies may even be present within the eye. Therefore, the infection risk is very high. Most of these patients end up suffering a substantial vision loss.
This kind of eye injury has a particularly negative impact in pediatric population: it represents the main cause of monocular blindness in children. Furthermore, pediatric patients with penetrating eye injuries present a course with more more complication than adults.
Besides the young age, there are several risk factors for a worse prognosis: prior poor visual acuity, a posterior affectation, a wide injury, a vitreous hemorrhage, a retinal detachment and endoftalmitis. In order to improve visual prognosis, it will be specially important the cooperation of the patient, which can be challenging in these cases, and going to the emergency room as soon as possible.
Eye injuries are very frequent in ophthalmology emergency rooms. The typical profile of a patient suffering from an eye injury is a young adult of working age, between 20 and 40 years old. Moreover, several activities are related to the occurrence of such injuries.
Visual acuity in such patients will depend on the type of injury. In some patients, vision is almost unaffected. In some others, loss of visual acuity may be very serious and irreversible, even reaching the levels of legal blindness.
In some cases, where there is an eyeball rupture, which is a very serious injury, the patient may even lose the eye and require an eye implant or prosthesis, known as artificial eye.
It is essential that any patient that suffers from an eye injury goes to the ophthalmology emergency room in order to undergo a comprehensive examination including visual acuity, ocular pressure and eye fundus under dilation.
In some patients, due to means opacity, a huge inflammation or an haemorrhage, the retina may not be visible, reason why additional tests, such as ultrasounds, must be performed in consultation, in order to assess the state of the retina.
In some cases, an ocular CT scan may be even necessary in order to rule out a possible orbital bones fracture, or fracture of bones that surround the eyeball, as well as to confirm there are no injuries in muscles, or even rule out the presence of a foreign body within the eye.
The treatment of eye injuries will depend on the type of injury:
Glaucoma entails a loss of the vision field, usually asymptomatic until later stages of the disease. If it is not treated properly, it can induce blindness.
In most cases, the vision can be recovered after a surgery for retinal detachment: But if it is not treated, the patient’s vision could be irrevocably lost.
Our goal is to ensure that our patients recover their vision and that they do so depending as little as possible on their glasses.
Contact us or request an appointment with one of our specialists.
