{"id":3821,"date":"2022-05-03T11:47:20","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T10:47:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/guidelines\/cornealabrasion\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T11:55:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T11:55:34","slug":"cornealabrasion","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/guidelines\/ophthalmology\/cornealabrasion\/","title":{"rendered":"Corneal Abrasion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span>Corneal abrasions are a common presentation, and generally result from minor trauma to the eye, such as from a fingernail, or a foreign body, particularly if the eye is then rubbed.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Symptoms: pain, watering, foreign body sensation, light sensitivity<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Signs: fluorescein drops will stain the abraded area of the cornea<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>JC &amp; BC 28\/1\/26<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs\" data-active-tab=\"0\"><ul class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-links\"><\/ul>\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Referral Guidelines<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Primary Care Management<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<p>Corneal abrasions in adults can be managed by community optometrists. The majority heal within 24-72 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Treatment :<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Chloramphenicol 1% eye ointment &#8211; 3 times daily for 3 days.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Frequency &amp; duration guided by severity &amp; response to treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Optional lubricating ointment (e.g. Xailin Night) may be added in-between, i.e. alternating with the chloramphenicol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Simple analgesics such as paracetamol or ibuprofen may be required for pain relief<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">After healing:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Following healing, use of lubricants may be recommended, for 3-6 months, particularly if the patient has a history of dry eyes, or other corneal problems, in order to prevent recurrent erosion syndrome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A typical regime would be a lubricant ointment at night (e.g. Xailin Night) and optionally lubricant drops (e.g. carbomer, sodium hyaluronate) 4 times daily. Lubricant eye drops &amp; ointments can be purchased &#8216;over the counter&#8217; in pharmacies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Children<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Children with signs of corneal abrasion can be referred to the hospital eye clinic; although corneal abrasions in children can also be managed by community optometrists where they feel confident to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Treatment is generally as per adults \u2013 however children do not generally get recurrent corneal erosions and hence longer term lubricants are not required.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Resources and Links<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Corneal abrasions are a common presentation, and generally result from minor trauma to the eye, such as from a fingernail, or a foreign body, particularly if the eye is then rubbed. Symptoms: pain, watering, foreign body sensation, light sensitivity Signs: fluorescein drops will stain the abraded area of the cornea JC &amp; BC 28\/1\/26<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":4212,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[468],"class_list":["post-3821","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-corneal-abrasion"],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"NHS Lothian","author_link":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/author\/nhs-lothian\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":" <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/category\/ophthalmology\/corneal-abrasion\/\" rel=\"tag\">Corneal Abrasion<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Corneal abrasions are a common presentation, and generally result from minor trauma to the eye, such as from a fingernail, or a foreign body, particularly if the eye is then rubbed. Symptoms: pain, watering, foreign body sensation, light sensitivity Signs: fluorescein drops will stain the abraded area of the cornea JC &amp; BC 28\/1\/26","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3821"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26367,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3821\/revisions\/26367"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}