EMTB9e: Interactive Ready for Review for Chapter 25

· The eye is shaped like a globe, about 1" in diameter, and is located inside a bony socket called the . The orbit is made up of the facial bones of the skull.
· Any significant injury to the face or head can potentially cause damage to the eye itself or to the muscles of the eye.
· The fluid in the back chamber of the eye is called and cannot be replaced. The fluid in the front chamber of the eye is called the and can be replaced.
· The pupil functions like a camera. The and the pupil make adjustments to light, and the retina of the eye acts like film capturing a picture.
· Nerve endings in the send impulses through the optic nerve to the brain, which interprets that message as vision.
· When assessing a patient with a suspected eye injury, assess for swollen or lacerated eyelids, bright red conjunctiva, irregular pupil(s) or eye movements, and changes to the that make it appear rough or dry.
· Foreign bodies on the surface of the eye should be irrigated gently with normal solution. Always flush from the region of the eye closest to the nose toward the outside, away from the midline.
· If the foreign body is on the underside of the eyelid, remove it gently with a cotton-tipped applicator. Never remove foreign bodies stuck to the .
· If a foreign body is impaled in the eye, provide the following care in this order:
— Stabilize the object in place with a bulky dressing using roller gauze or a cup to minimize movement.
— Transport to the hospital for further medical treatment; small metal fragments embedded in the eye must be treated by an ophthalmologist.
· Chemicals, heat, and light rays can all cause burn injury to the eyes, resulting in permanent damage.
· Irrigate chemical burns with saline solution or clean water for a minimum of 5 minutes; then apply clean, dry dressings to the eyes and transport promptly.
· Immediately transport a patient with heat burns to the eyelid. Cover both eyes with a sterile, moist dressing.
· Burns to the eye from exposure to rays may become painful several hours after exposure. Ease the patient's pain and discomfort by placing a sterile, moist dressing over the eyes, and then transport.
· For a patient who has sustained a lacerated eyelid that is bleeding, apply gentle manual pressure; do not apply pressure to the globe of the eye itself. Instead apply a moist, sterile dressing to prevent drying, cover the eye(s), and transport.
· You should never attempt to reposition a . Cover the affected eyeball with a moist, sterile dressing, cover both eyes, and transport to the hospital.
· can cause a variety of injuries to the eyes and their supporting structures. These injuries include hyphema, retinal detachment, and blowout fractures.
· Any patient with the complaint of painful vision, double vision, or decreased vision after blunt trauma should be transported to the hospital for appropriate treatment.
· Maintain a high index of suspicion for patients with unequal pupils——they may have an illness of or an injury to the brain. Remember, some people are born with one pupil larger than the other. Ask your patient during the assessment whether he or she normally has unequal pupils.
Never remove contact lenses from an injured eye unless there is a .