Within the past few weeks, I have had 2 patients that came in with some eye discomfort.
Patient #1, was a 69 year old woman that suffers from dry eyes and whenever she wakes up, she feels a sharp pain. It started about 3 years and hasn’t really improved. When she sees her family doctor, they only prescribe her artificial tears.
Patient #2, was a 29 year old male that had his corneal scratched by his baby son. Approximately 3x/week, he will feel pain when he wakes up and his vision is blurry in the morning. And the pain will subside in the afternoon.
Both of these patients experienced something we call recurrent corneal abrasions. Their superficial layer of their cornea has been sloughed off and didn’t receive the proper treatment to have their cornea properly heal. Each time they wake up, their upper eyelids will stick onto their cornea and a portion of their cornea is sloughed off causing the acute sharp pain. It does improve throughout the day when the corneal layer is being healed but only to be ripped off again when they wake up in the morning.
At Avenue Eyecare, we can assess the severity of your corneal abrasion and place a step by step plan that will actually treat this condition. Treatment may include artificial tears, saline solutions, bandage contact lenses. More difficult cases may include other surgical procedures.
If you think you may be suffering from corneal abrasions, book an appointment with Avenue Eyecare to have it assessed.
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Dr. Sherman Tung, OD FAAO