EYE,FOREIGN BODY IN

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General Illness Information

Medical Term:

EYE, FORIEGN BODY IN

Common Name:

None Specified

Description:

Embedding of a small speck of metal, wood, stone, sand, paint or other foreign material in the eye.

Causes:

Airborne foreign material accidentally gets into the eye

Prevention:

Wear protective eye coverings (guards or spectacles), if your occupation or hobby involves the risk of eye injury. Spectacles made of polycarbonate plastic lenses with a minimum center thickness of 3 millimeters, and industrial strength frames are considered most protective.

Signs & Symptoms

	Severe pain, irritation and redness in the eye.
	Foreign body visible with the naked eye (usually). Sometimes the foreign body is very small, trapped under the eyelid and invisible except with medical examination.
	Scratchy feeling with blinking.
	Increased tearing.

Risk Factors

	Windy weather.
	Occupations or activity, such as carpentry or grinding in which fine particles of wood or other materials fly loose in the air.

Diagnosis & Treatment

Diagnosis is based on history and clinical examination. Eye examination may include staining the eye with a harmless substance (fluorescein) to outline the object and examine the eye through a magnifying lens
General Measures:
	Don't rub the eye.
	Keep the eye closed, if possible, until you are examined.
	Ask someone else to drive you to the doctor's office. Don't try to drive yourself
	The procedure to remove the object will be determined by its size and location within the eye.
	An eye patch will be applied to keep the eye closed.
	Follow-up examination should be done in 1 to 2 days.

Medications:
	.Antibiotic eye drops to prevent infection.
	Pain relievers may be prescribed
	Local anesthetic eye drops.

Activity:
Resume your normal activities gradually after removal of the foreign body and the patch, if one is applied. Don't drive with a patch on one eye.

Diet:
	.No special diet.

Possible Complications :
	Infection, especially if the foreign body is not removed completely
	Severe, permanent vision damage caused by penetration of deeper eye layers.

Prognosis

Most objects can be removed simply under local anesthesia in a doctor's office or emergency room.

Other

'Nothing Specified'.