Dear patient:
A few years ago, I had a call from a patient in the early morning asking if I could see her. She had accidentally touched her eye with a dry eye bottle and had 10 out of 10 pain. When she arrived at the office I examined her eye and took a picture. The picture below shows a severe corneal abrasion. I treated her eye with a bandage contact lens, artificial tears, and antibiotic drops. She returned for a follow-up the next day and unfortunately had started to develop an iritis. Over the next few days, I saw her daily and the iritis turned into a posterior synechiae, which is where the iris touches the lens posterior to the iris. Steroid and cycloplegic drops were started. The condition eventually resolved without scarring or any sequelae. This case points out why I tell patients to use two hands when they put drops in their eyes and to put the drop into the lower lid; that way in case they inadvertently move the bottle it hits the lower lid instead of their eye. Please be careful when putting drops in.
Thank you for your continued support.