Foreign Body, Corneal

Presentation

Patients often present after eye injury from falling or airborne particles such as rust, particles from metal grinding, windblown grit, and wood or masonry from construction sites. The patient will complain of a foreign-body sensation and tearing and, possibly over time, will develop constant pain, redness, and photophobia (posttraumatic iritis). Moderate-velocity to high-velocity foreign bodies (fragments chipped from a chisel when struck by a hammer or spray from a grinding wheel) can be superficially embedded on the corneal surface or lodged deep in the corneal stroma, the anterior chamber, or even the vitreous. Superficial foreign bodies may be visualized by simple sidelighting of the cornea or by slit-lamp examination. Deep foreign bodies may be visible on funduscopy only as moving shadows, with a slight or invisible puncture in the sclera.