Should I be worried about my 3-year-old's vision since he got a corneal infection from a stick?
JUN 19, 2014
Question:
My 3-year-old son got hit with a stick in the eye and the emergency room advised us that he has a severe cornea infection. The doctor didn't think it was ruptured because he couldn't see puss or liquid forming from the ripped portion of the cornea. When he woke this morning, my son wouldn't open his eyes. When we forced the eye open, clear liquid came out. We took him to our optician today and he said to see an ophthalmologist. Should we be worried about his vision?
Answer:
Trauma to the eyes of toddlers and preschool children are among the most difficult assessments we do. There is fear and pain making an exam very difficult, as you describe. In addition the ophthalmologist does not want to put pressure on the eye to do the exam. In spite of the difficulties the injury needs to be fully evaluated by an ophthalmologist to ensure that the eye, the eye lids, and structures in the eye socket were not injured and there is no evidence of a piece of the stick left behind.