The human eye is a unique organ, through which we see everything that is around us. But when the eye is affected by various negative factors, for example extremely high or low temperature, hot sparks, chemicals, then we can not only lose our visual acuity, but even lose such a divine gift as the ability to see. Today we learn how to help a person who burns eyes under the influence of various factors. After all, properly provided first aid will not only facilitate the patient's condition, but also keep him a clear look.
What is eye burn?
This is an injury to the front of the organ of vision, resulting from excessive chemical, temperature or radiation exposure. Most often you can find a thermal burn of the eye with burning particles, welding or chemical elements. With such a trauma, the conjunctiva and the skin of the eyelids, the cornea, the tear ducts and the deeper structures of the organ of vision, all the way to the posterior parts of the eye, first suffer.
Degrees of defeat
Eye burn can be divided into 4 categories:
- The first stage - damage only the surface of the eye.
- The second degree - there is a slight darkening and redness of the cornea of the eye.
- The third stage is a very strong opacification of the cornea. The eye is covered with a dense film.
- The fourth degree is injury and cornea, and retina.
Eye retardation: causes of
- Exposure to bright light after prolonged exposure to darkness.
- Influence of ultraviolet radiation. Although this does not threaten a person's sight loss, there are cases when sunlight, which is reflected from the snow, falls sharply into the eyes of a person and can harm him( the so-called snow blindness, which is often found in the north of Russia, for example, in the city of Vorkuta).In addition, a retinal burn can occur due to the fact that the person will observe a solar eclipse without glasses.
- Exposure to light from a searchlight and laser beams.
Corneal burn: causes
- Working with chemicals such as acid, cosmetics, perfumes, medicines, paints, etc.
- Thermal damage to the eye - a burn of the cornea of the eye obtained by the action of hot liquid, such as boiling water, steam, hot oil.
- Working with a welding machine.
- Combined burn of the cornea of the eye - damage when using combustible objects or mixtures.
Symptoms of defeat
The following indicators can be considered as signs of injury:
- frequent headaches;
- burning in the eyes;
- redness of the white shell of the organ of vision;
- edema of the eyelids;
- dislike of penetration of light;
- tear;
- vision impairment;
- sensation of something stranger in the eye.
First aid in getting an eye burn by welding
- The sufferer should be offered painkillers "Analgin", "Diclofenac", and also antihistamines "Suprastin", "Tavegil".
- The person should be taken to a darkened room, where the sun's rays will not fall. If there is no way to identify him in such a room, then at least you need to put on his eyes dark glasses.
- Call an ambulance.
Treatment of eye burns resulting from working with the
- welding machine. Upon arrival, the doctor first helps the patient who burns the eye with welding, as follows: he dilutes several crystals of potassium permanganate in boiled water, then he rinses the eyes with this solution and takes the patient to the hospital.
- Already in the medical institution, the doctor removes the foreign body by injecting the drug with soluble calcium.
- After the eye is cleaned, antiseptic ointment is applied under the eyelids. Then the patient is identified in the hospital( if necessary), where the doctor appoints him further treatment. Or the specialist can let the patient go home, but on condition that he will come to the polyclinic to check the injured eye.
Prohibited receptions
If a person received eye burn with welding, the following methods of so-called "treatment" will not lead to anything good:
- Rubbing. Of course, the patient at this moment feels as if he was poured sand under his eyelids. However, this feeling is caused by the inflammatory process, and not by the presence of some particles in the eyes. Therefore, friction can only complicate the situation.
- Flushing eyes with tap water. The matter is that in this case it is possible to bring an infection easily, and such cleaning will not give the proper effect. Use for such manipulations can only boiled water.
- Tips grandmothers: instillation in the eyes of honey, aloe juice, tea leaves. These methods can not be strictly applied, since the effect from them can be directly opposite.
Chemical eye burn: what is it?
This is the ingress of ammonia, acids, alkalis and other chemical components into the body of vision at work or at home. Chemical burn of the eye is the most dangerous, because it leads to the fact that a person can simply remain blind. The severity of such damage is determined by the temperature, chemical composition, concentration, as well as the amount of substance that provoked the emergence of such a dangerous situation. In this burn, the patient may have symptoms such as:
- lacrimation;
- cutting pain in the eyes;
- fear of light;
- loss of vision( in severe cases).
In addition to affecting the organ of vision, the skin around it also suffers. It is very important to give the person first aid in a timely manner. And how to correctly do this, read below.
First aid for chemical eye burn
- First of all, it is necessary to eliminate the irritant from the conjunctival sac. This should be done through abundant washing. To do this, use physiological saline. If it is not found on the scene, then in the extreme case, ordinary clean water will come in large quantities.
- After this, it is recommended to apply a sterile bandage to the affected area.
- Call an ambulance urgently.
Treatment of chemical burns
After the injured person is brought to a medical facility, doctors begin to perform such manipulations:
- Washing of the eye with medical fluid.
- If the burn is alkaline, the ophthalmologist prescribes to the patient ascorbic or citric acid. For mild and moderate lesions, vitamin C is prescribed for 2 g for 1 month. In severe burns - 10% solution in an artificial tear is instilled 14 times a day immediately after the injury for 2 weeks.
- When the organ of vision of II and III degree is affected by the conjunctiva of the eyeball, 25-100 thousand units of penicillin diluted in a solution of novocaine are injected daily.
- A good effect is injected with glucose in combination with subcutaneous administration of 8-10 units of insulin.
- For the prevention of secondary infection, a specialist can prescribe sulfanilamide preparations inside and antibiotics intramuscularly.
- If the chemical eye burn is severe, then plastic surgery is indicated. During the healing period, local cortisone, a fibrin film of donor blood, is used.
What is the thermal damage to the organ of vision?
This is a damage to the tissue cornea and eyeball due to interaction with agents such as fire, hot steam, heated liquids or molten substances. Thermal burn of the eye is often found both in production and in everyday life. He often goes in combination with the same defeat of the face, legs, hands and whole body.
First aid for thermal damage
How to help a person at first?
- The person who volunteered to support the victim, you need to wrap your fingers with a sterile bandage and maximally open the eyelids to the patient.
- The organ of vision of the affected person should then be cooled underwater for 20 minutes. The temperature of the liquid should not be more than 12-18 degrees. For cooling, use any suitable container that can create a flow of water. For example, it can be a syringe without a needle, a rubber bottle or a plastic bottle. Another way to cool the eye: put your face in a suitable container with cool water and blink occasionally.
- Antiseptic "Levomycetin" or "Albucid" should be injected into the affected body. After that, cover the eyes with a sterile cloth and give the victim a pill of any analgesic.
- Be sure to call an ambulance.
Treatment of thermal eye burn
Therapy of this lesion is quite specific and complex, therefore it must be dealt with by specialized specialists in the ophthalmological department of the hospital. Before treating a thermal eye burn, the doctor should evaluate the area of tissue damage and the severity of the lesion.
As a rule, with this type of injury, anti-inflammatory and restorative therapy is prescribed, which helps to restore damaged tissues. Surgical intervention is indicated if it is necessary to eliminate the necrotic layers of the organ of vision and in case of its restoration.
Eye burn, the treatment of which must be performed promptly, is a damage that occurs when certain factors( chemicals, high or low temperature, radiation exposure) influence the body. It is very important, at the time of the defeat of the body, to provide the person with the first medical aid in order, firstly, not to harm him even more, and secondly, to help cope with the pain before the arrival of an ambulance.