Professional Eye Injuries

Professional eye injuries — traumas and burns have been de­scribed in detail. Besides the eyes are exposed to physical, chemi­cal and toxic factors at the industrial enterprises, they are dust, smoke, harmful substances of the air (compounds of benzene, trin­itrotoluene, arsenic, phosphorus, lead, etc.). Eye damage is most frequently observed at the enterprises of coal, cement, flour-grind­ing, sowmill and chemical industries.

Toxic Eye Injuries

Industrial toxicology numbers several hundred of toxic substanc­es which can cause pathologic changes of the eye in increased con­centration. The conjunctiva is most commonly affected. The clini­cal course corresponds to chronic conjunctivitis: redness of the eyes, sensation of the foreign body, lacrimation, fever, heaviness in the eyelids, mucous discharge. On examination there is hyperperia; the conjunctiva is fluffy, velvet-like.

Treatment consists of disinfectant drops and ointments, astrin­gent remedies, desensitizing therapy. The main task is to eliminate the cause of the disease, therefore in professional conjunctivitis first of all it is necessary to take preventive measures directed at elimi­nation of professional harmful effects, improvement of work con­ditions at the enterprises.

In toxic exposure of the eyes there may be affection of the ac­commodation apparatus, for example in benzene intoxication. Intox­ication with compounds of phosphorus, benzene, lead, hydrogen cy­anide, etc. results in affection of the retina and optic nerve: there are oedema, haemorrhage and later atrophy of the optic nerve. In­toxication with tetraethyl lead often promotes development of toxic glaucoma, and trinitrotoluene causes complicated cataract.

Date: 2015-02-03; view: 916