Mowing and Eye Injury: An Insidious and Serious Enemy for the Eyes

Eye trauma refers to damage caused by direct impact in the eye. The trauma can affect not only the eye, but also the surrounding area, including the adjacent structure of the eyelids and orbital bones. There are many different forms of trauma, which vary in severity from minor injuries to emergencies. Even in cases where the trauma is visible small, medical help should be obtained in any case. It is tragic in a few seconds a fellow human being, otherwise healthy, to face severe vision loss and blindness. The cause it’s carelessness. On the occasion of two serious incidents that I faced him last year I decided to write this blog article.

Incidents of ocular trauma from a lawnmower

The first case is as follows: 27-year-old patient he decides to do agricultural work in his field and starts to uses the lawnmower. He doesn’t remember where the goggles are and in his haste to finish the work he begins the use of the lawnmower. While using the lawnmower he feels that something got into his eye, it hurts a little but he continues. The next day he goes to the ophthalmologist for examination. The eye is red and noted inflammation, without seeming to have got anything inside. Five days later, pain becomes unbearable and the eye is full of pus. It becomes axial CT scan and a small metallic foreign body is found inside the eye and severe infection (endophthalmitis). The second incident also very serious and the patient more unlucky. The metallic foreign body that entered the eye was very bigger, about 5mm and the eye became detached within a few hours retina and infection (endophthalmitis). Picture 1. The treatment was immediate. Both patients underwent vitrectomy surgery in within a few hours of their presentation to the hospital. The metallic xenon body removed. (Figure 2.) and very strong antibiotics were given for her fight infection and germs. The mechanism of the wound is the same in both cases. The high speed with which the lawnmower cuts creates fragments which they are launched in all directions and have the power and momentum to pierce the eye. It is grossly negligent to use such tools and machinery without protection. It is also very important to mention that you should special protective glasses are used and not just sunglasses. The sunglasses do not have such strong and tear-resistant lenses and moreover they do not protect from the side. However insignificant it may seem to our haste to do tasks so tragic is to neglect her safety of our eyes. Figure 1. CT scan of eye sockets with the presence of a metallic foreign body in the right eye. Figure 2. 5mm metallic intrabulbar foreign body after its removal. In the event of an eye injury, contact the ophthalmologist immediately Georgios Trichonas.