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corneal abrasion - blurred vision and eye still tender one week later

I suffered a corneal abrasion one week ago. Got hit in face with small tree branch. Eye very painful, vision clouded. Went to urgent care. Diagnosed corneal abrasion and sent me home. Gave me Neo/poly/dex drops. Put one drop in eye 4 times a day for one week. Today is the seventh day, and the last day I am to use the drops.
Followed up with eye doctor (optometrist) on third day. She put dye in eye and used slit lamp microscope thing. She said abrasions were healing nicely, there is some clouding of cornea. This was mostly cleared up two days later at a second visit (five days after injury) and she said I didn't need to see her unless things got worse.

Today is day eight (it happened a week ago today). My vision is still slightly blurred and lights are slightly streaked (astigmatism?). I can read and use the computer just fine, the blurring is not enough to keep me from doing that, but still noticeable. I look at a point light source, and I can see a slight streaking effect. The eye has no visible symptoms - no redness, no swelling, no puffiness, etc. It is tender and drys out easily, and I tend to keep it closed part of the time.

Is this normal to still have some discomfort and drying after a week? How long do these symptoms normally last? Do vision changes like this eventually go away? And lastly, how long should I wait before going back to my eye doctor if I'm still having discomfort or vision changes don't go away? (Or should I have seen an ophthalmologist instead)?
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177275 tn?1511755244
The eye does not heal quickly, that is a myth. It takes 4-6 weeks for the cornea to be as strong as it was before the injury. Moreover poor healing is a problem (use the search feature and read about recurrent cornea erosions). Keep using the ointment for 10-14 days and artificial tears during day. if not back to normal tomorrow see an Eye MD ophthalmologist.
Helpful - 1
4 Comments
Hi there, I have dry eyes and my toddler accidentally poked me in the eye with his finger. I have had a corneal abrasion in this eye before (some 14 years ago) and have recurrent corneal erosion from time to time. The eye with the previous corneal ersosion is my driest eye and typically it's this one that has been poked in the eye!! The pain is easing slightly (almost 48 hours on), but my eyes are super dry. Is this a normal response and does this normally quickly improve? I am a lecturer and will have lots more of marking soon and don't know how I'll be able to do it with the dryness and associated pain! I use carmellose sodium drops every hour and lacrilube eye ointment at night and have done for 12 years. Any advice/reassurance would be greatly received. Thanks, Laura
It would be expected  for your eye to heal much slower than normal and it could set up a whole round of recurrent cornea erosions (RCE)  This is a comprehensive review on RCE  http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/836224    Plus you can use the search feature and read the many posts about dry eyes and RCE.  Also go to my web page and I have an article on RCE and another on dry eyes. I suggest you see an ophthalmologist. Ask about going on restasis or Xidra for the dry eyes.
Hi i suffered a corneal abrasion two weeks back(after surviving a car accident,probably caused by glass piece hit in the eye)  and i have consulted an opthomologist and have been undergoing regular treatment/follow up since then.. I'm getting better in all other aspects ie the swelling redness sensitivity to light,  irritation and pain are all gone but the opacity still persists..  My doctor asked me to give it a month or two..  And asked me to have a regular check up..  Is that anything i can do to get better soon and get rid of this blurness in vision permanently
Hi i suffered a corneal abrasion two weeks back(after surviving a car accident,probably caused by glass piece hit in the eye)  and i have consulted an opthomologist and have been undergoing regular treatment/follow up since then.. I am getting better in all other aspects ie the swelling redness sensitivity to light,  irritation and pain are all gone but the opacity still persists..  My doctor asked me to give it a month or two..  And asked me to have a regular check up..  Is there anything i can do to get better soon and get rid of this blurness in vision permanently?  Pleae help
Avatar universal
Hi , I have Bell's palsy
And due to dry eye I went to eye clinic , I had erosion on my eye , it's not in my line of sight but on the blue part , a few days ago I got my right eye stitched partially in the corner to help , they gave me anti biotic , some tears to put in and lacri  lube at night , they then called me back in two days , they said I had ulcer , so they tried 1 drop of anti biotic every hour , same with tears , and lacri lube 6 times and told me to call back yesterday , I did and she said it was healing , and to call back in over a week continuing to use the antibiotics 1 per hour , my eye is a bit blurry but turning whiter , she didn't say that my eye sight would be affected long term , and it should heal in 2 weeks , do you think I should get my eyes checked in a few days or wait for 12 days ? And is that a long time to have antibiotics in eye as it stings ?
Di you think I should heal ok ? Thanks
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Yesterday I was hit in the eye with a thin metallic wire that caused a corneal abrasion that also overlapped the pupil area.  I went to an urgent care clinic that provided the diagnosis.

When I woke up today, most, if not all of the chronic pain from the trauma of the injury is gone, and I'm keeping the eye coated with ointment and mostly covered.  

It's now been about 18 hours and the sharp pain from the abrasion has not improved.  Given the quick healing time of the eye should I be concerned if I wake up tomorrow and that sharp pain from opening and moving the eye has not improved?  

These injuries are the worst!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Yesterday I was hit in the eye with a thin metallic wire that caused a corneal abrasion that also overlapped the pupil area.  I went to an urgent care clinic that provided the diagnosis.

When I woke up today, most, if not all of the chronic pain from the trauma of the injury is gone, and I'm keeping the eye coated with ointment and mostly covered.  

It's now been about 18 hours and the sharp pain from the abrasion has not improved.  Given the quick healing time of the eye should I be concerned if I wake up tomorrow and that sharp pain from opening and moving the eye has not improved?  

These injuries are the worst!
Helpful - 0
177275 tn?1511755244
Try leaving notes for these people on their home pages as this discussion has recently been inactive.
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Avatar universal
Hi I am so sorry that it happened to you. I am in a similar position. But, doctor didn't say anything about corneal transplant as I have some blurry vision with the injured eye

Can you please update me on what happened finally ? Did you recover your vision and back to normal ?

Please let me know as I am very much tensed if I will ever see normally again. Thanks.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi, I am so sorry that it happened to your daughter. Recently I had a corneal laceration but, only the cornea part is damaged a bit, the doctor stitched it up and put me on some eye drops.

I just want to know, how it went with your daughter ? Is she fully recovered. Can she see normally now ? I hope everything went fine in the end.

Thanks
Helpful - 0
177275 tn?1511755244
The information is also included on my home page in the blogs I've posted JCHMD
Helpful - 0
177275 tn?1511755244
It is unlikely you have done anything permanent to your eye. Use the search feature and read about "recurrent corneal erosions" which has information on how to get a cornea to heal completely

JCH MD
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Last week, I scratched my cornea with my finger nail by mistake. It hurt really bad and my eyes were watery and blurry. When I looked in the mirror, I noticed I had a small, clear scratch on my cornea.

I put some eye drops in it and even put some clean water in my eye too. After a while, the clear scratch went away and the pain in my eye went away too.

The only thing I'm having problem with is blurry vision. At first it wasn't that bad last week until it got worse this week.

Whenever I look at a bright screen or lights, I see a glow around it and cloudy vision. I can still see out my eye, but it just cloudy and kind of blurry.

It scared me so bad that I thought I had cataracts, but I'm only 24 years old. And the blurry vision started to happen when I scratch my cornea with my fingernail.

I just told my mom to make an appointment for me so I can see an eye doctor. I hope I didn't permanently damage my vision.

Did you think I damage my eye? Will this cloudy and blurriness go away? Because I am so scared, and I've been crying all day. ):
Helpful - 0
177275 tn?1511755244
answered in the note you sent. JCH MD
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Dr Hagan,
My 9 year old daughter was accidentally but forcefully stabbed in the eye with a pencil today. We took her to see the doctor who referred us to a specialist.
She had a full thickness corneal laceration with the pencil impacting the lens causing the lense to prolapse.
The lens was severely damaged and subsequently removed. The laceration to the cornea was long and jagged requiring 8 stitches in the central line of vision bisecting the center of the pupil.
The plan is to wait 8 weeks. Insert a false lens and hope that the cornea laceration is healed properly. If the cornea heals with a obstruction to line of sight, a cornea transplant would be pursued.
Do you agree with this line of treatment? What do you see as our best option to restore sight, if even just some of it, to our precious 9 year old girl. We are devastated. Do you think she can ever see again out of the damaged eye?
Helpful - 0
177275 tn?1511755244
Well best of luck.  Be sure you family knows about your problems as Fuchs is sometimes hereditary

JCH MD
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Read your previous response.  Yes I should have said my disease was Fuchs.I had a cataract removed and was told that accelerates Fuchs.  What I was confused about is the milky vision I have evn though the antibiotics are doing their job .  I was wearing a bandaid contact lenses but it had to be removed because of the infection. I am told there is significant improvement but the hazy sight i is frustrating....
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
The blister that burst is a result of the Fuchs.  As a Fuchs patient I am in need of the transplant as it is centrally located.
Helpful - 0
177275 tn?1511755244
Now you tell me.  That is a whole different deal.  Corneal transplants are no longer done for Fuchs Dystrophy that fail.  Generally infection is not a part of Fuchs Dystrophy.   This is a previous  response I made about Fuchs:

There is no exact definition of how many guttatta it takes to diagnosis Fuchs' Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy. Some guttatta are part of aging and do not ever become a problem. Two tests that are often helpful are corneal endothelial cell counts (the number decreases as the disease develops and progresses) and corneal pachymetry (corneal thickness) the thickness increasing as the disease develops and progresses. Family history is useful as many cases of Fuchs' are hereditary (affecting females more than males). Guttata are 'bumps' that develop on the back of the cornea when there are not enough endothelial cells to cover it. These cells are very important as they pump fluid out of the cornea and into the anterior chamber of the eye. The cornea is hydrophilic (water loving) like a sponge. When it swells and gets thicker it starts to become cloudy and blur the vision. When this happens and the impairment is severed than a corneal transplant is indicated. Recently a new operation for decompensated Fuchs' dystrophy called DSEAK (Descemet's membrane epithelial automated keratoplasty) has dramatically speeded the healing, safety and results over full thickness penetrating keratoplasty. Corneal endothelial cells do not multiply or replace themselves when damaged or cell death occurs.

Cataract surgery will not cause Fuchs' dystrophy but cataract surgery (or for that matter any surgery inside the eye) will stress the cornea and in severe Fuchs' could be the final straw that causes the cornea to compensate.

Your doctor is absolutely correct. In my patients with progressive Fuchs's dystrophy I recommend cataract surgery SOONER rather than later because the advanced, "hard" cataract will put much more stress and strain on the cornea endothelium than a moderately firm or softer cataract. Fuchs' dystrophy can decompensate on its own without any surgery taking place or any cataract in the eye.

It would be helpful to know if your mother's problem with her eye's was Fuchs' dystrophy. It is unusual for Fuchs' to cause an eye to be removed, so there's a good chance she had something else.

I would go ahead and have the cataract surgery when you vision starts to be a moderate problem for you and the cataract is the cause. By using the endothelial cell count and corneal thickness, your ophthalmologist can give you a reasonable risk of the cornea being able to stand your cataract surgery.

Good luck, new cataract surgical techniques are much, much more gentle on the eye than techniques used in the past.

JCH MD



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Avatar universal
I have much to learn about my eye disease which is Fuchs dystrophy.  It is in my right eye too but just beginning....muro 128 helps both eyes at the moment.thanks for your comments.....
Helpful - 0
177275 tn?1511755244
You are not understanding. If the vision clears up you don't need a cornea operation. Most likely what you are calling an infection has scarred your cornea to the point where your doctors don't expect it to clear up.  The purpose of cornea surgery is to restore a clear, unscarred cornea

JCH MD
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have a corneal specialist as well as an ophthalmologist...one of the blisters on the cornea has burst and I have some infection.  My question is does the cloudiness disappear after the infection is cleared up and the corneal swelling goes down.  A transplant can't be done until the infection  etcclears up.
Helpful - 0
177275 tn?1511755244
Mprgan  if you are on the list for cornea transplant tissue your ophthalmologists apparently don't anticipate your vision clearing up without a major surgery and your problem is something much more than a corneal abrasion. You need to get more details from your surgeons. Be sure you are seeing a corneal surgeon with all the latest skills and techniques as full thickness corneal transplants are not done much anymore in favor of partial thickness procedures that heal much faster, have better results and are much safer.

JCH MD
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I should mention too that I am on the list for a corneal tissue transplant.  A blister on the cornea. burst and caused this mess.  Anyone with similar experience  and the cloudy vision?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have an abrasion on the cornea and infection.  I had needle injections and oral antibiotics...the infection is healing but the vision in my left eye is still cloudy and milky...anyone know how long it takes for full sight to return?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have an abrasion on the cornea and infection.  I had needle injections and oral antibiotics...the infection is healing but the vision in my left eye is still cloudy and milky...anyone know how long it takes for full sight to return?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
hi
i've had a corneal abrasion in the center of my pupil for 3 days now the ophthalmologist  said that it's a bit deep "almost reached the bowmen's capsule)
he prescribed antibiotics eye drops in the first day
the 2nd day he gave me steroid eye drops
the vision is blurry but a bit better than the 1st day

i am worried that the blurring will be permanent
plzz help
Helpful - 0
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177275 tn?1511755244
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