By Mayo Clinic Staff

Overview

A corneal abrasion is a superficial scratch on the clear, protective "window" at the front of the eye, called the cornea. The cornea can be scratched by contact with dust, dirt, sand, wood shavings, plant matter, metal particles, contact lenses or even the edge of a piece of paper.

Symptoms

  • Pain.
  • Blurry vision.
  • A gritty feeling in the eye.
  • Tearing.
  • Redness.
  • Sensitivity to light, also called photophobia.
  • Headache.

Treatment

In case of a corneal abrasion, seek prompt medical attention. Left untreated, the abrasion could become infected and result in a sore known as a corneal ulcer. In the meantime, take these immediate steps:

  • Rinse your eye with clean water or a saline solution. You can use an eyecup or a small, clean drinking glass positioned with its rim resting on the bone at the base of your eye socket. If you have quick access to a worksite eye-rinse station, use it. Rinsing the eye may wash out a foreign object.
  • Blink several times. This may remove small particles.
  • Pull the upper eyelid over the lower eyelid. This may cause your eye to tear, which may help wash out the particle. Or it may cause the lashes of your lower eyelid to brush away an object from under your upper eyelid.

Use the following pointers to avoid making the injury worse:

  • Don't try to remove an object that is embedded in your eye or makes your eye difficult to close.
  • Don't rub your eye after an injury.
  • Don't touch your eye with cotton swabs, tweezers or other instruments.
  • If you use contact lenses, don't wear them while your eye is healing.

Most corneal abrasions heal in a few days but should be treated with antibiotic drops or ointment to reduce the risk of infection.

From Mayo Clinic to your inbox

Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health. Click here for an email preview.

To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.

Aug. 08, 2024