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Corneal superficial injury - Management
How should I manage a superficial corneal injury that is not referred?
- Remove the foreign body if present (and this is appropriate).
- Offer or advise analgesia for pain relief.
- Paracetamol or ibuprofen is recommended first-line.
- Consider offering a one off dose of a cycloplegic (e.g. cyclopentolate 0.5%) if available.
- To prevent secondary infection prescribe:
- Topical chloramphenicol first-line, four times a day, for 7 days.
- Consider prescribing fusidic acid, twice a day (7 days), as an alternative if:
- Treatment four times a day is impractical (e.g. in children or elderly people).
- The person is pregnant.
- There is a personal or family history of blood dyscrasias, such as aplastic anaemia.
- The person is intolerant of chloramphenicol.
- Advise the person not to wear contact lenses until the corneal abrasion has completely healed and, where possible, for 24 hours after finishing treatment with topical antibiotics.
In depth
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