Burns to the eye

General

In the field of industrial and occupational medicine in particular, it often happens that injuries caused by chemical substances, especially acidic or alkaline liquids, occur. The injury usually happens within a few seconds of inattentiveness on the part of the patient, who suddenly gets a drop or even larger amounts of the liquid in the eye (burns of the eye).

Initial measures

They involve rinsing the eye immediately with an eye wash bottle. First aider methods are required here (Burns to the eye). Most of the establishments have such bottles. Alternatively, the opened eye can be held under running water or rinsed with the help of a hose. The patient will reflexively pinch the affected eye. The eye must be open, if necessary this must be done by forcibly stopping the first aider. It must also be ensured that the draining water does not run into the opposite eye.

In addition, the first aider should ensure appropriate self-protection. The rinse should not take less than 15 minutes. Ectropionation (Tilt the eyelid upwards) so that as many areas of the eye as possible can come into contact with the irrigation fluid. If available, anesthetic eye drops should be administered after rinsing, as it cannot be ruled out that the patient will experience severe pain from the chemical burn. While a first aider is providing the patient with rinsing, another person should, if necessary, notify the eye clinic and instruct them immediately (chemical burns to the eye).