

A special blue light is then used to evaluate the stained eye to determine if corneal damage is present. The stain temporarily makes your eye look yellow but goes away after a few minutes. A numbing eye drop to allow your eye to be examined and a painless dye called fluorescein may be put onto your eye to aid in the examination.Your eye doctor looks at the surface of your eyes using special equipment, such as a slit lamp, made especially for examining the eye's surface.Your eyelids, pupils, back of the eye, and vision are checked.To make the diagnosis, your eye doctor or the physician in the hospital's emergency department will take a history, examine your eyes, and discuss recent exposure you may have had to ultraviolet light. When may I resume my regular activities?.What can I expect to feel once the numbing eye drops have worn off?.Is there anything I should do to prevent this injury from happening again?.Will I develop any scarring or permanent visual loss from a corneal flash burn?.Have you found a reason for my symptoms?.If you are unable to discuss your situation with an eye doctor and you have changes in your vision, have blurry vision, see flashing spots or light, or have worsening eye pain or pain with the movement of your eyes, then you need to go to a hospital's emergency department for an evaluation. When to Seek Medical Careīecause the eyes are very sensitive to disease and damage, any blurred vision, change in vision, or worsening eye pain needs to be evaluated by your eye doctor. This is very different from a corneal abrasion due to an injury, where, ordinarily, only one eye is involved. In most cases, both eyes are involved, although the symptoms may be worse in the eye that received more ultraviolet radiation. Reflection of the sun off the snow at high elevation (snow blindness)Īny time from 3-12 hours after overexposure to ultraviolet light, you may begin to notice symptoms:.Radiation damage to the cornea leading to a flash burn can be caused by ultraviolet light from various sources: Corneal damage from a corneal flash burn or from a disease may cause pain, changes in vision, or loss of vision.The corneal surface consists of cells similar to those in the skin. The cornea covers the iris (the colored part of the eye), focuses light on the retina, and protects deeper structures of the eye by acting like a windshield to the eye.A corneal flash burn (also called ultraviolet keratitis) can be considered to be a sunburn of the eye surface. The cornea takes the brunt of the damage if proper eye protection is not worn, such as dark glasses or goggles while skiing in bright sun. Eyes, particularly the cornea (the clear window of tissue on the front of the eyeball), can be damaged easily by exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun and from other sources of ultraviolet light, such as a welder's arc, a photographer's flood lamps, a sun lamp, or even a halogen desk lamp.
