Eye trauma: pain

Dear Doctor,

Two days ago while I was playing with my son, he(19 months old) poked me in my Lt. eye with his index finger forcefully. I had my eye closed, so he did not scratch my cornea. I had no change in vision nor did I develop any redness. However since that incident I have had mild pain in that eye (3-4/10 in intensity). I thought it would be temporary. However, now almost 36 hours later, I still have mild discomfort. My vision is 20/15 in both eyes. My Lt eye is my dominant eye.The pain is an achy kind. There is no worsening on moving my eyeball in any direction. Intermittently the pain disappears, but has not gone away completely. The nearest eye Dr is nearly 2 hours away and it would be difficult for me to be evaluated by an eye Dr.

Why do I continue to have pain when the trauma was relatively mild and I have no vision changes? Will lifting heavy weights (at work or at gym) be OK? When do you think the pain may resolve on its own?

Thanks.

[Timothy D McGarity, M.D.]

I'm sorry for your pain and that you live so far away from help, but you should seek the care of a trained EyeMD tomorrow. You could have traumatic irits. It doesn't sound like a potentially blinding condition which you have described, but I can't say for sure. Good luck.

[freundharvey]

Dear Dr,

Thanks for your comments. I did seek help yesterday and you are right on target. I was diagnosed with mild anterior uveitis. I was given Bromofenac once daily for 5 days. Lukily there was no damage to the retina. I was informed that I should get better in 5-7 days.

[eunjung]

Dr. McGarity,

I have some related questions to freundharvey's thread. Could uveitis or iritis have a delayed appearance after an injury? Also, can a mild-to-moderate case uveitis/iritis be easily caught in an exam if it's symptoms are on-and-off?

Thanks

[Timothy D McGarity, M.D.]

Yes. Yes and No. Uveitis is not one entity, rather a whole subspecialty of ophthalmology. In general, there are different types of uveitis: Infectious, Autoimmune, Traumatic, and on and on. If you are referring to traumatic Iritis (aka post traumatic anterior uveitis), if the symptoms are resolving, then typically so are the clinical signs. Other types of uveitis (nontraumatic) can wax and wane. Good luck!