So you've got Cornea Damage
Cornea damage can occur in a variety of ways. Most of the time, you'll damage your eye and you won't even remember how. Damage to your cornea can be caused by a simple dry eye, some dust or dirt in your eye, or rubbing your eye the wrong way.
We take our eye health a bit for granted. We relay heavily on our eye lashes to keep particles away from our eyes and we hope that our immune system is strong enough to combat what ever our hands bring into our eyes. However, cornea damage is not to be taken lightly. You need your cornea to regulate how much light your eye takes in. Even the slightest scratch can cause permanent eye damage.
Symptoms Of Cornea Damage
A painful eye can cause even the calmest of persons to freak out. Here are some classic symptoms of corneal damage.
1. Red eye
2. Burning sensation
3. Sensitivity to light
4. Watery eye
5. Blurry Vision
What To Do If You Have The Symptoms of Cornea Damage
You've determined that you have most, if not all, of the common symptoms, what should you do next?
1. Stay calm and keep your eye closed.
2. Flush out your eye with sterilized saline solution.
3. Grab a pair of sunglasses or prescription sunglasses
4. Try to keep your eye closed for a few hours. This will help the eye calm down and begin to heal.
5. If pain or burning sensation persists, then go to your eye doctor within 24 hours of incident.
If you decide to go to your doctor right away, that's great. Better safe than sorry. You don't want to wait around to see if you'll be able to bounce back on your own from an injury to your eye. However, the eye is one of the most resilient parts of the body. If you feel yourself getting better within a few hours, you're most likely going to be just fine.
As the pain subsides, blink more often then you would regularly. Blinking keeps the eye moisturized and promotes healing. Before you go to sleep, apply drops to your eye, especially if your doctor prescribed them. If you decided to tough if out without a doctor's visit, then purchase drops that are like tears. The PH level is neutral so it does not cause irritation to the eye.
Keep wearing sunglasses or sun-readers, even indoors. This will help your damaged cornea regulate the light coming into your eye a bit better. Check out the sun-readers available here. There are even some bi-focals and light tinted ones. http://www.americanreadingglasses.com/reading-glasses/sunreaders/
Monitor you eye for the next few days. If you find that you still feel irritated or the pain and discomfort continues, you may have gotten an infection. See you doctor immediately.
Want to prevent this in the future? Practice some daily eye love. Keep your eyes moisturized. Tear drops are great. Put a few drops a day in each eye. Wear sunglasses when you are out side and the correct prescription glasses when you read or write. Never wear a magnification that is not yours. Make it a practice to wear protective goggles when you work outside. Sounds silly, but if you're an avid gardener or even a daily runner, pollen and small particles in the wind can be harmful. Don't feel silly about protecting your eyes.
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