Chemical Eye Burns (cont.)
Medications After You Go Home
- For very minor injuries, you may need nothing more than artificial tears or lubricants for dry eyes.
- For more significant injuries, you will need prolonged therapy with potentially many medications to heal your eye.
- Until the surface of the eye heals, it is at a higher risk for an infection; therefore, topical antibiotics may be used in the form of eyedrops or ointments.
- Topical steroids are used to reduce inflammation and to facilitate healing early in the recovery period after a chemical injury. These medications should be used judiciously under the guidance of an ophthalmologist, because they can cause long-term complications, such as infections and glaucoma.
- Other medications used to support corneal repair include topical citrate and ascorbate drops, oral antibiotics (for example,tetracycline, doxycycline), and oral vitamin C.
- If your eye pressure is too high, glaucoma medications may be used temporarily to control the pressure.
- Pain medications by mouth may be necessary, and dilating eyedrops are often also used to control pain and to aid recovery.
- If your eye has been seriously damaged, you may need a surgery to control glaucoma, remove a cataract, or other procedures to restore a healthy ocular surface and eyelids.
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