News agencies following Washington D.C. political leaders are reporting that one of our top elected U.S. officials had a very red eye during the February 2013 State of the Union Address and he is wearing glasses due to a corneal abrasion. 

A corneal abrasion is a scratch or cut on the surface of the cornea. The cornea is the clear part on the very front surface of the eye. This clear area covers the colored part of the eye (iris) and the pupil.  Corneal abrasions can be the result of foreign bodies moving across the eye surface, trauma to the eye, or may even be caused by mishandling contact lenses during insertion or removal.

According to ophthalmologist, Dongmei Chen, MD, PhD, of BayCare's Green Bay Eye Clinic, corneal abrasions are quite common and usually painful.  She comments, "The cornea has the highest density of nerve cells in our entire body. These cells help us recognize if something foreign is in the eye and stimulate tearing before the surface gets damaged. Unfortunately, these cells also make having a corneal abrasion a very painful experience."

Corneal abrasions are treated with antibiotic drops or ointment to protect against infection while new cells grow to replace the ones that were damaged. If an abrasion is large or deep, an eye doctor may place a bandage contact lens on the surface and keep this on until the abrasion heals. The bandage contact lens should only be inserted, handled, and removed by the eye doctor. Patients are given instructions regarding how to put antibiotics drops or ointment in the eye and when to return to the eye doctor. Patients who usually wear contact lenses as vision correction are restricted from use and will typically wear their glasses while healing.

Depending upon the size of the abrasion and the overall health of the eye surface, an abrasion may take one to five days to heal.  During this time, the eye may appear red and may be difficult to keep fully open.  Dr. Chen also stated that a follow-up visit after a corneal abrasion is typically recommended even if a bandage contact lens is not used.  According to Dr. Chen, "Sometimes a corneal erosion occurs in the area of the original abrasion after the defect has healed. The erosion happens if the abrasion heals imperfectly and the cells that grew back are not tightly attached to the cornea. The cells become detached from the cornea and the erosion occurs."  Erosions can also happen with little or no trauma to the eye. They often occur upon awakening and may be as painful as the original abrasion.

An eye doctor can determine the extent of the eye injury, provide the necessary prescriptions for medications, and monitor the healing.   If foreign bodies enter the interior of the eye or penetrate into the inner eye, patients risk vision loss or blindness. Therefore, BayCare's Green Bay Eye Clinic recommends seeking attention from a qualified eye doctor anytime a person experiences a trauma or scratch to the eye.