Corneal Abrasion and Ulcer : The cornea is a thin clear, transparent dome type layer that covers our eye’s iris and pupil. The cornea is like a window that lets light enter the eye. Tears defend the cornea against bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The iris is the colored part of our eye, and the pupil is the black center. All light that enters our eye and allows us to see strikes our cornea first.
A corneal ulcer is an open sore that forms on the cornea. It’s usually caused by an infection. Even small injuries to the eye or erosion caused by wearing contact lenses too long can lead to infections.
Flying dust, specks of metal, grains of sand, a fingernail, an animal claw, or other foreign objects can scratch our cornea. Contact lenses can also scratch or irritate our cornea.
A minor scratch is called a corneal abrasion. (Most corneal abrasions are minor and heal quickly).
Sometimes a corneal abrasion is accompanied by inflammation in our eye. This is called iritis. An infected corneal abrasion can also become a corneal ulcer. Corneal ulcer is a serious condition.
What to look for with Corneal Abrasion?
Our cornea contains many nerve endings, so even a minor scratch may feel very uncomfortable and painful.
If you have sudden eye pain with tears and rapid blinking, as well as some eye redness, you may have a scratched cornea.
How is a Corneal Abrasion and Ulcer diagnosed?
After dropping muscle relaxant in the affected eye, to relax the eye muscles and widen patient’s pupil; give some fluorescein drops to the patient to highlight imperfections in the surface of the cornea.
A corneal anesthesia will help to temporarily ease pain. Now carefully examine the eye, using the slit-lamp and magnification tools, to check for scratches and foreign matter.
Corneal Ulcer
The main cause of corneal ulcers is infection; for example:
Acanthamoeba keratitis
This infection most often occurs in contact lens wearers. It is an amoebic infection and, can lead to blindness.
Herpes simplex keratitis
Herpes simplex keratitis is a viral infection that causes repeated flare-ups of lesions or sores in the eye. A number of things can trigger flare-ups, including stress, prolonged exposure to sunlight, malnutrition or anything that weakens the immune system.
Fungal keratitis
This fungal infection develops after an injury to the cornea involving a plant or plant material. Fungal keratitis can also develop in patients with weakened immune systems.
Other causes
Other causes of corneal ulcers include:
- Dry eye
- Eye injury
- Inflammatory disorders
- Wearing unsterilized contact lenses
- Vitamin A deficiency
People who wear expired soft contact lenses or wear disposable contact lenses for an extended period (including overnight) are at an increased risk for developing corneal ulcers.
Symptoms of a Corneal Ulcer
Symptoms of an infection include:
- Itchy eye
- Watery eye
- Pus-like discharge from the eye
- Burning or stinging sensation in the eye
- Red or pink eye
- Sensitivity to light
Symptoms and signs of the corneal ulcer itself include:
- Eye inflammation
- Sore eye
- Excessive tearing
- Blurred vision
- White spot on the cornea
- Swollen eyelids
- Pus or eye discharge
- Sensitivity to light
- Feeling like something is in the eye (foreign body sensation)
All symptoms of corneal ulcers are severe and should be treated immediately to prevent blindness.
A corneal ulcer itself looks like a gray or white area or spot on the usually transparent cornea. Some corneal ulcers are too small to see without magnification, but the patient feel the symptoms.
Some patients may also develop a severe loss of vision along with visual obstruction due to scarring over the retina. Corneal ulcers can also cause permanent scarring on the eye. In rare cases, the entire eye may suffer damage.
Although corneal ulcers are hundred percent treatable with just D Eye drops, and most patients recover quite well after 10-15 days treatment, without any reduction in eyesight.
How is a Corneal Abrasion and Ulcer diagnosed?
One test used to check for a corneal ulcer is a fluorescein eye stain. For this test, an eye doctor places a drop of orange dye onto a thin piece of blotting paper. Then, the doctor transfers the dye to the eye by
lightly touching the blotting paper to the surface of the eye. Then the doctor uses slit-lamp (a microscope) to shine a special violet light onto patient’s eye to look for any damaged areas on the cornea. Corneal damage will show green when the violet light shines on it.
If patient have an ulcer on his/her cornea, the doctor will investigate to find out its cause. To do that, the doctor may numb patient’s eye with eye drops anesthesia, then gently scrape the ulcer to get a sample for testing. The test will show if the ulcer contains bacteria, fungi, or a virus.
Corneal transplants
In severe cases, the corneal ulcer may warrant a corneal transplant. A corneal transplant involves the surgical removal of the corneal tissue and its replacement with donor tissue, but like any surgical procedure, there are risks; This surgery may cause future health complications such as:
- Rejection of the donor tissue
- Development of glaucoma (pressure within the eye)
- Eye infection
- Cataracts (clouding of the eye’s lens)
- Swelling of the cornea
Treatment for Corneal Abrasion and Ulcer
For patients: If you scratch your eye, or get something in your eye, rinse it with clean water or saline solution or with natural milk immediately.
Blinking several times may help remove sand, grit, or other foreign matter from your eye. Don’t rub your eye, touch your eyeball, or put any other solutions or substances on your eye.
For doctors: If diagnoses is a corneal abrasion, for signs of infection, you have to decide if patient need a topical antibiotic in the form of eye drops, pain killers, antihistamines (H-2 receptors) or D Eye drops that is best option for all above problems and is without any chemicals and steroids.
If you’re experiencing any symptoms of a corneal abrasion, see a healthcare provider right away for further evaluation.
Once the doctor discovers the cause of the corneal ulcer, he/she can prescribe an D Eye drops, antibacterial, antifungal, or antiviral eye medication to treat the underlying problem.
In case of inflamed and swollen eye, allopathic doctors always prescribe corticosteroid eye drops which could be creat lot of other problems with the passage of time.
Here are some Homeopathic medicines for corneal abrasion and ulcers:
Silicea Ter
Angles of eyes affected. Swelling of lacrimal duct. Aversion to light, especially daylight; it produces dazzling, sharp pain through eyes; eyes tender to touch; worse when closed. Vision confused; letters run together on reading. Styes. Iritis and irido-choroiditis, with pus in anterior chamber. Perforating or sloughing ulcer of cornea. Abscess in cornea after traumatic injury. Cataract in office workers. After-effects of keratitis and ulcers of cornea, clearing the opacity.
Secale Cornutum
Pupils dilated. Incipient cataract, senile especially in women. Eyes sunken and surrounded by a blue margin.
Kalium Bichromicum
Supraorbital neuralgia, right side. Eyelids burn, swollen, oedematous. Discharge ropy and yellow. Ulcers on cornea; no pain or photophobia. Descemetitis, with only moderate irritation of eye. Croupous conjunctivitis; granular lids, with pannus. Iritis, with punctuate deposits on inner surface of cornea. Slight pain, with severe ulceration or inflammation.
Conium Maculatum
Photophobia and excessive lachrymation. Corneal pustules. Dim-sighted; worse, artificial light. On closing eyes, he sweats. Paralysis of ocular muscles. In superficial inflammations, as in phlyctenular conjunctivitis and keratitis. The slightest ulceration or abrasion will cause the intensest photophobia.
Causticum
Cataract with motor disturbances. Inflammation of eyelids; ulceration. Sparks and dark spots before eyes Ptosis. Vision impaired, as if film were before eyes. Paralysis of ocular muscles after exposure to cold.
Natrum Muriaticum
Feels bruised, with headache in school children. Eyelids heavy. Muscles weak and stiff. Letters run together. Sees sparks. Fiery, zigzag appearance around all objects. Burning in eyes. Give out on reading or writing. Stricture of lacrimal duct with suppuration. Escape of mucoid pus when pressing upon sac. Lachrymation, burning and acrid. Lids swollen. Eyes appear wet with tears. Tears stream down face on coughing. Asthenopia due to insufficiency of internal recti muscles. Pain in eyes when looking down. Cataract incipient.
Gelsemium Sempervirens
Ptosis; eyelids heavy; patient can hardly open them. Double vision. Disturbed muscular apparatus. Corrects blurring and discomfort in eyes even after accurately adjusted glasses. Vision blurred, smoky. Dim-sighted; pupils dilated and insensible to light. Orbital neuralgia, with contraction and twitching of muscles. Bruised pain back of the orbits. One pupil dilated, the other contracted. Deep inflammations, with haziness of vitreous. Serous inflammations. Albuminuric retinitis. Detached retina, glaucoma and descemetitis. Hysterical amblyopia.
Pulsatilla Pratensis
Thick, profuse, yellow, bland discharges. Itching and burning in eyes. Profuse lacrimation and secretion of mucus. Lids inflamed, agglutinated. Styes. Veins of fundus oculi greatly enlarged. Ophthalmia neonatorum. Subacute conjunctivitis, with dyspepsia; worse, in warm room.
Acid Nitricum
Eyes dull and sunken. Aching and shootings in eyes. Pressure and stinging in eyes. Inflammation of eyes, especially after suppressed syphilis or after the abuse of Mercury. Ulceration of eyes. Fistula lachrymalis. Specks on cornea. Swelling of lids. Frequent lachrymation, especially when reading, with painful sensitiveness of eyes.
Difficulty to open eyes in morning (they are surrounded by a yellow circle). Paralysis of upper lids. The pupils contract with difficulty. Myopia. Diplopia. Mist, spots, nets, sparks, and black spots dancing before eyes. Sight confused, eyes clouded. Eyes dazzled by daylight. Double vision of horizontal objects. Obscuration of sight while reading; short-sighted. Iritis, which continually relapses; also old cases spoiled by Mercury. Smarting of eyes after iritis. Constantly recurring pustular ophthalmia. Proliferation of cornea, result of scrofulous inflammation.
Mercurius Solubilis
Lids red, thick, swollen. Profuse, burning, acrid discharge. Floating black spots. After exposure to glare of fire; foundrymen. Parenchymatous keratitis of syphilitic origin with burning pain. Iritis, with hypopyon.
Mercurius Corrosivus
Eyes inflamed and prominent. Look fixed.-Burning and dryness of eyes. Inflammation of eyes, pain pressing, burning, the pupils lose their roundness, are angular, eyes feel too small. Inflammation of the iris, with irregular-shaped pupil. Pupils contracted, with red face. Eye sparkling, very movable. Pupils contracted and insensible. Excessive photophobia and acrid lachrymation. Redness of conjunctiva. Pains behind eyeballs, as if they would be forced out. Lids everted, swollen, red, excoriated, burning, and smarting; edges covered with thick crusts or pustules. Tearing as if in bone above left eye, near root of nose, and in other parts of the bone. Objects appear smaller. Double vision. Retinitis: haemorrhagic; albuminuric. Iritis. Kerato-iritis. Episcleritis. Hypopyon. Phlyctenular ophthalmia.
Arsenicum Album and Eyeballs Burning
Burning in eyes, with acrid lachrymation. Lids red, ulcerated, scabby, scaly, granulated. Oedema around eyes. External inflammation, with extreme painfulness; burning, hot, and excoriating lachrymation. Corneal ulceration. Intense photophobia; better external warmth. Ciliary neuralgia, with fine burning pain.
Hepar Sulphuris Calcareum for Corneal Abrasion and Ulcer
Pain, as if the eyes were driven, or drawn back, into the head.-Painful and difficult movement of the eyes.-Heat, pressure and shootings in the eyes.-Throbbing in and about the eye.-Pressure in the eyes, as from a foreign body (sand).-Pain, as from ulceration, immediately above the eye, every evening.-Inflammation of the eyes and of the eyelids, sometimes erysipelatous, with pain as of a bruise, and of excoriation, on being touched.-Pimples above the eyes, and on the eyelids.-Specks and ulcers on the cornea.-Nocturnal lachrymation and agglutination of the eyelids.-Spasmodic closing of the eyelids (at night).-Eyes prominent.-Obscuration of the sight on reading.-Photophobia by day, and by candle-light.-The eyes ache from the bright light of day, when moving them.-Confusion of sight, in the evening, by candle-light, alternately with clearness of vision.-The objects appear to be red.
Calcarea Sulph
Sees only half an object. Ophthalmia with purulent discharge. Ulceration of cornea. Eyes protrude.
Euphrasia Officinalis
Catarrhal conjunctivitis; discharge of acrid matter. The eyes lacrimation all the time. Acrid lachrymation; bland coryza. Discharge thick and excoriating. Burning and swelling of the lids. Frequent inclination to blink. Free discharge of acrid matter. Sticky mucus on cornea; must wink to remove it. Pressure in eyes. Little blisters on cornea. Opacities. Rheumatic iritis. Ptosis.
Zincum Metalicum
Pterygium; smarting, lachrymation, itching. Pressure as if pressed into head. Itching and soreness of lids and inner angles. Ptosis. Rolling of eyes. Blurring of one-half of vision; worse, stimulants. Squinting. Amaurosis, with severe headache. Red and inflamed conjunctiva; worse, inner canthus.
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Dr. Sayyad Qaisar Ahmed (MD {Ukraine}, DHMS) ; senior research officer Dnepropetrovsk state medical academy Ukraine; is a leading Homeopathic physician practicing in Al-Haytham clinic, Umer Farooq Chowk Risalpur Sadder (0923631023, 03119884588), K.P.K, Pakistan.
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