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

[Zootal]

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)?

[atsamman]

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

[OnTheWaterfront]

Hey guys,

I suffered a corneal abrasion in my right eye on Feb 22nd. I had very sharp pains and redness in the eye but the pain went away about a day and a half later
Its now a week later (March 1st) and there I still have slightly blurred vision in my right eye.
Has this been the case for anyone else? Should I leave it to get better on it's own accord or should I see someone about it?

[Nothwoods]

Very good thread... I had a corneal abrasion about a month ago, healed up nicely after a week, but I still had a "rust ring".  Went to the ophthalmologist and had the ring removed two weeks ago, it's been very slow to heal, but finally seems to be better.  Luckily the injury is not in my line of sight, but since having the ring removed my vision has been worse in that eye.  Prior to the injury, my vision was better than 20/20 in both eyes, the injured eye is has definetly not returned to normal, and there is a tiny dimple (about .5 mm) where the rust ring was.  I'm hoping it eventually returns to normal, and I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar problem.

[OptimusLFC]

Hi,
   I am from India and 23 yrs of age. I recently had an eye infection(only for Left eye). I think it was Conjuctivitis. So I didn't consult any eye doctor. I took some pain killers and Anti-biotics. It lasted for nearly 10 days and now it's gone.
    Since that day, I have been experiencing some kind of blurred vision in that eye and it's really uncomfortable. So, Please someone tell me How to deal with it.
Should I consult an eye doctor?

[Zootal]

My ophthalmologist told me to get gel like eye drops and use them at night for six weeks.

And yes, your eyes can hurt and be sensitive for many weeks after the abrasion "heals". Most doctors and PAs etc. are not ophthalmologists, and don't know that much about the eyes. I found this out the hard way. Weeks of pain and of being told nothing was wrong. I finally went to the ophthalmologist, and she looked at my eye for ten seconds and goes "uh huh, I see what is wrong". She recognized immediately what the Optometrist and PAs and Nurses could not figure out.

[DebbyA]

It is too late for this person..maybe not...but many of us have dry eyes during and after injury. If your eyes are still dry, (I am an RN)..my ophthalmologist stated using "Tears" such as over the counter  Refresh Tears...or such...use them during the day. They also come in Gel formula for night time relief of dry eyes. I say this because I scratched my cornea again...and it has been 5 days. As we get older...some of us should use these daily. They will help heal scratched corneas after the round of antibiotic drops.  Hope this helps some of you!