Every year, approximately 1 million Americans suffer from an eye injury. Abrasions and foreign objects in the eye make up almost 90% of those injuries. Therefore, prevention as well as proper care is needed to protect and treat the eyes of industrial workers.
Very common particles (metal from welding, glass, marble, wood)
can get embedded in the front of the eye called the cornea. It is
essential that a foreign object is removed from the cornea in a timely
manner by eye care professionals. If not, a particle such as metal can
cause rust rings to spread on the cornea in as little as 2 hours!
If you delay proper treatment, you increase the risk:
- eye infection
- scarring on the eye resulting in permanent loss of vision
- inflammation of the eye causing severe pain and complication
Signs and Symptoms
- Mild to severe pain
- Scratchiness sensation in eye
- Tearing
- Sensitive to light
- Difficulty opening eye
- Continued red eye
- Continued burning sensation
If you think you have a foreign object in your eye:
- Do not rub your eye.
- Keep your eyes closed, avoid excessive blinking.
- Seek eye care professional immediately. Do not try to remove it; you can cause further damage to the eye.
