As a public service announcement to my fellow cyclists, today I suffered a
corneal abrasion. I did an 18 mile commute this morning into a moderate headwind but otherwise uneventful.
I wear eyeglasses and had no problems with anything blowing into my eyes.
About one half hour after arriving at work, and just sitting quietly at a meeting, my eye felt like it had a particle in it. I saw no foreign material in the eyelid, nor did anyone else, and it was not relieved at an eyewash station. I was lucky enough to get an appointment with an eye specialist at about an hour after the onset, and he did identify some black particles, and diagnosed the abrasion. From an online medical textbook:…
Originally Posted by Up-to-Date.com
….Patients with a foreign body may or may not recall an episode with material falling or flying into the eye since, depending upon the type and size of the foreign body, symptoms may not be immediate, or they may be immediate, then abate for awhile, then recur….
Patients may have had severe pain for several hours by the time they seek care. They are visibly uncomfortable, pacing or rocking or rubbing the eye, and they can be disruptive to a waiting room. ..
Most corneal abrasions heal regardless of therapy in 24 to 72 hours. Vision should return to normal in that time,
My eye doctor claimed 24 to 48 hours to recovery, and my colleague (female), who asked me if I poked myself with an eyeliner wand, claimed she has gotten better overnight.
I wasn't able to work today as it was difficult even to just keep the uninvolved eye open because that irritated the affected eye. The eye doctor didn't think a patch would be useful, though I used an improvised one for a while until I realized it was probably further abrading the cornea. I was given an antibiotic ointment and I've spent most of my day with my eyes closed.
I took Alleve for the pain, and have some heavy-duty analgesics available if I need them to sleep tonight. Pain management to get over the initial phase is discussed in that article...
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
[after a crash]…with abrasions on my arms, knees, and a couple ugly ones on my face; and a gash about 1 inch long requiring 18 stitches to close. But not to worry, I’m OK, though I haven’t checked out the bike.
I think my brand new eyeglasses made the gash. Ironically, since I had a corneal abrasion a few weeks ago I have been wearing goggles over my eyeglasses and I have to wonder if the goggles pushed the eyeglasses into my face...