Eye burns from lime occur as a result of violating safety rules, most often when coming into contact with chlorinated water or other chemicals. In this case, the patient develops severe burning of the eyes, their swelling and redness. It is important to provide the patient with first aid in a timely manner, because with prolonged contact of the mucous membrane with lime, complete blindness can develop.
If white gets into your eye, you need to rinse it under running water for a long time.
Causes and mechanisms
The following factors can cause eye burns from lime:
- careless use of chemicals by adults;
- carelessness when contacting hazardous substances;
- children's curiosity;
- repair or construction work;
- use of aggressive substances in everyday life;
- features of work activity;
- carelessness when contacting car batteries;
- alcoholism.
The substance promotes the formation of albuminate compounds, which are characterized by increased resistance.
A lime burn to the eyes poses a huge danger to humans, as it can cause serious consequences. It has its own characteristics, because slaked lime is a strong alkali and must be neutralized to stop the damaging effect. Chemical burns are not rare, as they occur as a result of violation of safety rules when coming into contact with lime or other chemicals at home and at work. Severe damage caused by quicklime is due to its ability to emulsify and dissolve skin oils. It is also capable of forming persistent albuminates and penetrating into the deep layers of tissue.
After contact with alkali, wet necrosis and loose scab with a dirty white tint can be seen on the mucous membrane of the eye. In addition, the affected tissues are unable to regenerate normally after a burn, since particles of the substance remain at the site of damage. In this case, a burn can occur if a drop of liquid gets in, which is most often bleach. The patient also experiences discomfort when the eyes come into contact with crystals.
Eye burn with lime: general information
An eye burn, including from lime, is much more dangerous than burns to the skin of the body. Our eyes are characterized by increased tenderness and sensitivity. This means that if there is delay, a person may remain disabled for the rest of his life. He will partially or completely lose his vision.
But it is through our eyes that we receive most of the information from the outside world. The victim will lose not only his ability to work, but also all the colors of his life. Just imagine that a blind person will no longer be able to read, watch movies, admire nature and magnificent works of art!
And an eye burn from lime is complicated by the ingress of its particles directly into the tissue of the eye. That is why you should be aware of the possible consequences, as well as measures to assist the injured person, because he who is warned is armed. Unfortunately, no one is immune from accidents at work or at home.
Symptoms
When the mucous membrane of the eyeballs is damaged by calcium carbide or other chemical reagents, the patient develops a number of clinical signs:
After receiving an injury, a person may feel a strong burning sensation in the visual area.
- lacrimation;
- photophobia;
- swelling;
- headache;
- burning sensation in the visual analyzer;
- dizziness;
- redness of the mucous membrane;
- the appearance of circles or flickering;
- feeling of soapiness of the skin;
- impairment or complete loss of vision.
There are 4 degrees of burns, which depend on the severity of tissue damage:
- Initial. The surface layers of the epithelium are damaged with the development of redness and slight swelling.
- Average. The cornea is completely damaged and a film forms on it along with erosion.
- Heavy. Necrosis of the deep layers of the eye occurs. As a result, a white-yellowish scab is formed, and the cornea becomes dull and swells greatly.
- Very heavy. The cornea, conjunctiva and sclera are affected. A scab is formed with a brownish-gray tint, and the cornea has the appearance of porcelain.
General signs indicating the presence of a burn
If lime mortar or calcium carbide fragment gets into the eye, the person will experience the following symptoms:
- Discomfort in the area of the affected organ.
- Copious flow of tears.
- Bright red tint of the sclera.
- The appearance of swelling.
- The appearance of fog before the eyes.
- Difficulty when trying to open the affected organ.
- Light intolerance.
- Feeling of a foreign object, sand.
- The appearance of blisters on the surface of the skin of the eyelids.
If lime gets into your eyes, what should you do in this case? First of all, it is necessary to thoroughly rinse the affected organ with water to prevent the dangerous substance from penetrating into deeper tissues.
What to do?
Novocaine can be applied as a local anesthetic.
If lime gets into your eyes, you must call an ambulance, and at the pre-medical stage you need to alleviate the patient’s condition as much as possible. To do this, you need to rinse the organ of vision with cold running water, or better yet, a 3% Na2EDTA solution, and then remove the residue with cotton swabs. Next, you need to drip the eye with chamomile decoction or another antiseptic. It is necessary to carry out anesthesia with the help of local use of solutions of novocaine or lidocaine. After this, a sterile bandage is applied to the visual analyzer to prevent exposure to sunlight, and the patient is given hot tea and asked to rest.
First aid for eye burns with lime
If your eyes are burned with slaked lime, you must perform the following procedures:
- rinse your eyes thoroughly with a stream of running water;
- try to turn your eyelids out and carefully remove with a damp swab all the particles of lime remaining after washing;
- rinse the eyes with a 3% solution of disodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, which reliably binds calcium cations to form water-soluble complexes that are easily washed out within one day.
After this, regardless of the degree of the burn, it is necessary to hospitalize the victim in an ophthalmological hospital. If for some reason hospitalization is delayed, 2 drops of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt should be instilled into the eyes every hour.
A burn injury to the eye is very dangerous. You should not be careless if you get lime in your eyes, as this can lead to complete or partial loss of vision. First aid should be provided immediately after injury. For chemical burns to the eyes, hospitalization should not be avoided.
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In case of such damage, you should first of all call an ambulance, since professional treatment of the wound with special medications is required. There is no need to take any measures to neutralize the chemical compound yourself.
It is important! Unlike other types of burns, these burns should never be washed away with water. Lime in contact with it is converted into alkali, heat is released, and the affected area increases significantly.
Since a chemical burn with quicklime is a common household injury, first aid can be provided even before doctors arrive. The activities are as follows:
- remove clothing that has been exposed to crystals of the substance;
- remove the reagent from the skin with a clean, dry cloth;
- apply a thick layer of fat, oil, greasy ointment;
- cover the wound with a sterile bandage;
- take painkillers;
- take the victim to the hospital yourself or call an ambulance.
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If lime gets into your eyes, you need to carefully remove with a cotton swab or gauze swab those particles that were not washed out by tears.
The reagent is neutralized with solutions of Versen or Chelaton (sodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) and only after this the eyes can be washed with water.
Instillation of a local anesthetic (Dicaine) and placement of antiseptic chloramphenicol or sulfonamide ointment behind the eyelid is indicated. Then the victim should contact an ophthalmologist.
Treatment and prevention
Therapy for eye burns with lime involves eliminating the remaining chemical substance; for this, it is recommended to rinse the mucous membrane with a neutralizing substance, which in this case is a very weak acid solution. Drugs are also used that help eliminate pain and other unpleasant symptoms, as well as prevent the formation of adhesions at the site of injury in the future. Among these agents, the most common are Solcoseryl and Atropine.
Antibacterial eye drops “Ciprofloxacin” or “Levomycetin” are also used. They help prevent suppuration of the eyeball due to bacterial infection. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, for example, Nimesulide, will help relieve redness and swelling. Antioxidants are also used, which are advisable to use in the form of injections. They will help speed up regeneration and speed up the healing process of damage. The most commonly used drugs are Dexpanthenol or Methylethylpyridinol. Dorzolamide is used to relieve increased intraocular pressure.
After the necrosis site has healed, it is recommended to do physiotherapeutic procedures.
You can prevent eyeballs from being burned by lime or other alkaline solutions if you follow safety rules when contacting chlorine-containing substances. If a drop or crystal of a chemical reagent gets in contact, it is important to properly provide first aid to the victim and rinse the organ of vision with running water, and then with a weak acid solution.
What is the benefit
Since lime solution is rich in calcium, it is often used for:
- treatment of skin diseases: eczema, ulcers and rashes;
- accelerating the healing of wounds from burns, abrasions, scratches and other skin damage. This is achieved thanks to the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of slaked lime.
- treatment of abscesses and pustules use a mixture of lime with warm vegetable oil: make compresses that help get rid of pus in a few hours;
- getting rid of lichen, candidiasis and other fungal diseases.
- Treatment of hemorrhoids - you can do sitz baths with lime water. The procedure is performed 10–12 times, after which the disease subsides.
- stopping diarrhea in a baby - lime water can be added to milk;
- getting rid of constipation - make cleansing enemas from ordinary and lime water in a 2:1 ratio;
- treatment of gynecological diseases, for example, uterine fibroids. In this case, lime water is taken orally for two weeks, one teaspoon 3 times a day;
- reducing stomach acidity;
- treatment of bladder diseases - irrigate it with a weak solution of lime water;
- replenishing calcium in pregnant women - women take the solution orally;
- eliminate teenage rashes on the face - it is recommended to wash with lime water. This is also a good product for gentle skin care of young children.
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Running water: definition and types
Symptoms of an eye burn
Photophobia, pain in the eyes, spasm of the eyelids, redness of the skin of the eyelids and conjunctiva, decreased visual acuity in all degrees of burns.
Alkali—alkali solutions cause severe eye burns that destroy tissue. When the eyes are burned with alkali, the cornea is white, the conjunctiva becomes greenish. Alkali penetrates very quickly and deeply into the cornea of a burned eye, so it is the most dangerous. Consequences: cataract disease, increased intraocular pressure.
Acid—when the eyes are burned by acid, the damage is not as severe as when damaged by alkali.
This happens because the corneal protein folds, thereby preventing severe damage to the structures. Despite this, complete or partial blindness is possible.
Substances that cause eye burns are found in fertilizers, vinegar for cooking, food preservation, detergents, etc.
Ultraviolet - eye burns from ultraviolet radiation can be caused by tanning in a solarium, prolonged exposure to the sun, in bright light, failure to comply with safety precautions when welding, when strong ultraviolet radiation occurs.
Gas, liquid - the degree of burn from hot liquid or gases largely depends on the duration and how high the temperature was. Most often, the eyelid is burned because the body’s natural reaction is to close its eyes when in danger.
Electrical burn to the eyes - characterized by cloudy cornea, hemorrhage, and retinal edema. There is no pain or it is insignificant with this burn.
Is whiteness chlorine?
Many housewives call white chlorine due to the presence of a specific aroma - how correct is this? If you study the chemical composition of the disinfectant in question, you can find sodium hypochlorite in it - this is the active element of whiteness, containing active chlorine in an amount of 95% of the total mass of sodium hypochlorite. Therefore, we can say for sure that the familiar whiteness is real chlorine - this chemical can lead to severe poisoning if used incorrectly and if safety rules are not followed.
Did you know that even a slight inhalation of chlorine vapor can lead to disruption of all body systems? Of course, chlorine vapor must enter the body in large quantities, but, for example, for a child it will be enough to simply actively sniff the white from the bottle for symptoms of poisoning to appear. And adults, at times, show amazing carelessness - whiteness gets on the skin and in the eyes, it is swallowed, which invariably leads to a condition that will require medical intervention.
Degrees of eye burns
Eye burn 1st degree - injury to the surface of the cornea. With this injury, the temperature rises and the eyelids swell. As a rule, there are no consequences.
Second degree eye burn - all layers of the cornea are injured, blisters appear on the eyelids. Timely help from a specialist will preserve vision and prevent the formation of scars.
Eye burn 3rd degree - clouding of the cornea, which acquires a dull matte color, the boundaries of the pupils are faintly visible. Treatment lasts about four weeks, usually leaving small scars, and vision becomes worse.
The fourth degree is characterized by deep injury to the cornea of the eyes, and possible loss of the lens.
