Ocular trauma: Doctors raise the need to stay cautious to prevent eye injuries

With the festival of Deepavali recently concluded, ophthalmologists in Chennai saw many patients seeking treatment for fire cracker-related eye injuries. While such cases tend to spike during the festive season, doctors point out that cases of eye trauma are seen throughout the year. Workplace accidents, road traffic accidents as well as domestic incidents continue to contribute to eye injuries, raising the need for awareness on eye safety, and remembering what not to do soon after an eye injury to prevent complications and to protect vision.

S. Soundari, regional head, clinical services, Dr. Agarwals Eye Hospital, Chennai, said “The most common eye injury we see is a foreign body in the cornea. This mostly occurs in motorists. Next are construction workers, who often present with iron or dust particles in their eyes. We also see at least one or two school students each month with pencil-related injuries that have caused corneal tears. Most of them are in primary school,” she said.

Corneal foreign bodies, corneal abrasions or in the eyelid lacerations are among the most common injuries seen, Nisar Sonam Poonam, Orbit and Oculoplastic Surgeon, consultant at Sankara Nethrayala, said.

“People wear helmets while riding two-wheelers but the visor may be up. As a result, dust or foreign body can enter the eye. The common reflex is to rub the eye. But you should never do that. If a foreign body enters the eye, do not try to remove it on your own. If you have persistent foreign body sensation, watering, redness or blurred vision, see a doctor at the earliest. Rubbing the eye could result in the object getting embedded in the eye. Eye injuries left untreated could cause vision threatening complications including eye infections,” she said.

Dr. Soundari added that there are homemakers and household helpers who come with chemical injuries caused by cleaning agents at home. “Very rare, but we also see students with chemical injuries while handling chemicals in the school and college laboratories. It is important to take forward the awareness to wear protective glasses at least in the laboratories. In addition to all this, at least one shuttlecock injury is reported every two months. This is a severe injury when the cock hits the eye causing a closed globe injury and lens subluxation (lens moves from its position),” she explained.

Thorn prick injuries among farm workers from rural parts of neighbouring districts are also seen.

This Deepavali, hospitals saw a steady flow of persons with ocular trauma caused by fire crackers. “This time, there were 22 patients with cracker injuries of which three needed surgical intervention and the remaining had simple injuries. None had vision loss,” she said.

Firecracker eye injuries range from minor superficial burns to grievous eye injuries which can result in eyeball rupture and vision loss. Bystanders are equally affected, Dr. Nisar added.

“When crackers are held by hand and lit, accidents could cause severe damage to the eyes due to the proximity. There could be corneal tears or blood collection. In fact, many of those injured are bystanders. It is important to burst crackers by maintaining proper distance,” M.R. Chitra, director in-charge, Regional Institute of Ophthalmology and Government Ophthalmic Hospital (RIO-GOH), said.

Workplace injuries are commonly seen at the RIO-GOH, she said, adding that for instance, it could be a machinery tool that loosened and hit the eye, or an injury caused by an iron particle at a construction site. They also receive cases of ocular trauma from assaults and road traffic accidents.

Dr. Chitra said that in case of a chemical injury, the eyes could be washed with water but in the case of other injuries, immediately seeking ophthalmic care is crucial.

“We also see injury to the eye due to blunt trauma in which people may come in with a black eye, sub-conjunctival bleed, bleeding inside the eye, even fractures or muscle injury around the eye. We also come across eyelid injuries caused by animal bites in both children and adults,” Dr. Nisar added.

With workplace injuries commonly encountered, protective gear is a must in industries to ensure safety for workers. Doctors said that while helmets should be a must for workers such as construction labourers, protective gear for the eyes will help in preventing injuries.