Corneal abrasion (scratch)

The most common types of eye injury involve the cornea — the clear, protective "window" at the front of the eye. Contact with dust, dirt, sand, wood shavings, metal particles or even an edge of a piece of paper can scratch or cut the cornea. Usually the scratch is superficial, and this is called a corneal abrasion. Some corneal abrasions become infected and result in a corneal ulcer, which is a serious problem.

Everyday activities can lead to corneal abrasions. Examples are playing sports, doing home repairs or being scratched by children who accidentally brush your cornea with a fingernail. Other common injuries to the cornea include splash accidents — contact with chemicals ranging from antifreeze to household cleaners.

Because the cornea is extremely sensitive, abrasions can be painful. If your cornea is scratched, you might feel like you have sand in your eye. Tears, blurred vision, increased sensitivity or redness around the eye can suggest a corneal abrasion.

In case of injury, seek prompt medical attention. Other immediate steps you can take are to:

-Use water to rinse the eye. Run lukewarm tap water over the eye or splash the eye with clean water. Many work sites have eye-rinse stations for this purpose. -

Rinsing the eye may wash out the offending foreign body.

-Blink several times. This movement may remove small particles of dust or sand.

-Pull the upper eyelid over the lower eyelid. The lashes of the lower eyelid can brush the foreign body from the undersurface of the upper eyelid.

-Take caution to avoid certain actions that may aggravate the injury:

-Don't apply patches or ice packs to the eye. If you do get an object in the eye itself — typically when hammering metal on metal — do not press on the eyeball.

-Don't rub your eye after an injury. This action can worsen a corneal abrasion.