Child small laceration/iritis Part One

[sashasmom]

11 year old daughter was hit in eye by rock thrown by child.  Had iritis & 1.5mm X 1.5mm deep corneal abrasion (scarred) to the stroma in central axis.  Pupil was 3mm larger than other & did not react to light.  She did not receive treatment for it until 6 days after because she was at a summer camp & she was not taken to a doctor.  She got back & we saw the pupil & learned of the injury & many symptoms she had had for days.  She saw an ophthalmologist asap.  Vision was/is blurred.  About 20/30 (corrects to 20/25).  Given a steroid/antibiotic drop for about a wk - this reduced the size of the scar slightly, then a mild steroid until the iritis was gone.  Pupil size & reaction to light was normal after a couple of wks.  Saw a corneal specialist at 7 wks when ophthalmologist noted scar was more dense.  Specialist said wound is still healing.  He did not feel she would have further problems.  Optometrist noted refraction in her eye changed from -0.5 (at a visit 3 mos. prior to injury) to +0.5 & she has a traumatic acquired astigmatism.  Due to headaches with schoolwork, she will soon get glasses.  She wears eye protection for P.E.  

Due to the length of the post the questions are in Part Two.  I tried REALLY hard to make it shorter!

[Sandy Feldman, MD, MS]

Dear sashasmom,

I would recommend that you seek the care of an eyeMD with whom you and your daughter feel comfortable.  She should be evaluated to determine whether progression of the lens is occurring.  Due to the iritis, a drop to reduce the inflammation was needed. I cannot comment on why the doctors feel that she should not wear contact lenses. Perhaps, you could ask them further.  Steroids can sometimes, reduce the size of the corneal scar but by no means are they totally curative. Scarring will depend upon the injury, depth, etc.  Please take one step at a time and speak with your eyeMD about your daughter’s condition.

Dr. Feldman

Sandy T. Feldman, M.D., M.S.
ClearView Eye and Laser Medical Center
San Diego, California

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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