CI17Y_:._.·· , ',.'~. BANGAl'g,RE MIR;O.R I FRIDAy,'M~RCH 13'30~9 3 ._ _ '-." _ - ..."' < ,. < _, • f Snatching away the colours of life For Sunil Kumar, the festival of colours might have heralded a world of darkness E leven-year-old Sunil Kumar was playing Holi with his friends near Seshadripuram on Wednesday when one of his friends threw a handful of colour powder on his face, most of which went inside his eyes. The boy expe- rienced severe pain and could not open his right eye while the eyelid swelled considerably. He was taken to the Samprathi Eye Hospital and Squint Centre on Wednesday night, where doctors found out that his corneal tissue had been damaged by the harsh chemi- cal colours which might lead to the loss of his vision. "On examination, we found that his vision in that eye was very poor and that there were lot of chem- icals inside. The outer layer of the cornea has been totally damaged. The chemicals in the colour were so strong that they even stained the corneal tissue. We immediately shift- ed him to the operation theatre and did a thorough wash to ensure no more damage is done," Dr Arun Sam- prathi, consultant eye surgeon and paediatric opthalmologist at the hos- pital said. He added that Sunil had been put on antibiotics and since the corneal tissue has been tom, the prognosis for vision depends on how burst in front of the fast the tissue grows back and the pres- eye. This can lead to ence of infection. "We will have to internal bleeding and continue with the treatment for a even loss of vision, Dr month. If the damage is deep, he' Samprathi said. might have poor vision or even per- BMB manent loss of vision." GRAVE DAMAGE Artifidal colours can have very harm- ful effects on the skin and eyes because of hazardous chemicals such as lead oxide, copper sulphate, chromium io- dide, aluminium bromide and mercu- ry sulphite. It is advisable to play Holi with natural colours made of flowers and vegetables as was done in the old- en days. Balloons filled with coloured water can cause great damage if they .__ I~;::==_::a ============::1
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CI17Y_:._.·· , ',.'~. BANGAl'g,RE MIR;O.R I FRIDAy,'M~RCH 13'30~9 3._ _ '-." _ - ..."' < ,. < _, • f
Snatching away the colours of lifeFor Sunil Kumar, the festival of colours might have heralded a world of darkness
Eleven-year-old Sunil Kumarwas playing Holi with hisfriends near Seshadripuramon Wednesday when one of
his friends threw a handful of colourpowder on his face, most of whichwent inside his eyes. The boy expe-rienced severe pain and could notopen his right eye while the eyelidswelled considerably.
He was taken to the Samprathi EyeHospital and Squint Centre onWednesday night, where doctorsfound out that his corneal tissue hadbeen damaged by the harsh chemi-cal colours which might lead to theloss of his vision.
"On examination, we found thathis vision in that eye was very poor
and that therewere lot of chem-icals inside. Theouter layer of thecornea has beentotally damaged.The chemicals inthe colour were sostrong that theyeven stained the
corneal tissue. We immediately shift-ed him to the operation theatre anddid a thorough wash to ensure nomore damage is done," Dr Arun Sam-prathi, consultant eye surgeon andpaediatric opthalmologist at the hos-pital said. He added that Sunil hadbeen put on antibiotics and since thecorneal tissue has been tom, the
prognosis for vision depends on how burst in front of thefast the tissue grows back and the pres- eye. This can lead toence of infection. "We will have to internal bleeding andcontinue with the treatment for a even loss of vision, Drmonth. If the damage is deep, he' Samprathi said.might have poor vision or even per- BMBmanent loss of vision."
GRAVE DAMAGEArtifidal colours can have very harm-ful effects on the skin and eyes becauseof hazardous chemicals such as leadoxide, copper sulphate, chromium io-dide, aluminium bromide and mercu-ry sulphite. It is advisable to play Holiwith natural colours made of flowersand vegetables as was done in the old-en days. Balloons filled with colouredwater can cause great damage if they
.__ I~;::==_::a============::1
Bangalore,Friday,.December 19,2008
www.dnaindia.com...................................... _ .epaper.dnaindia.com
ask the doctor
DO YOUfeel your. eyes drying up?
WHAT DOES THE DOCTOR SAY?
Dry eye syndrome (DES)is a commoneye condition that often goes undi-agnosed. DESoccurs when people ei-
ther don't have enough tears or the correctcomposition of tears on the surface of theeyes to keep them lubricated.
Tear secretion is essential for the main-tenance of eyehealth. The tear film is madeup of an inner mucous layer, a middle wa-ter layer, and an outer oily layer. All threecomponents are critical to a normal tearfilm. If any of the three layers is deficient,the person may suffer from DES.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES?Men and women of any age may develop
DES.However,certain factors are knownto trigger a higher risk of developingDES.
Advanced age is the single most importantrisk factor for DES. It affects 75% of thepopulation-over the age of 65 years.
Several diseases, such as rheumatoidarthritis, diabetes, thyroid abnormalities,asthma, cataracts, glaucoma and lupushave DESas a side effect.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?If you have DES, your eyes can feel per-
sistently gritty,itchy and painful. The sen-sations often worsen as the day extends.Stringy mucus may appear in or aroundthe eyes. Paradoxically, some may expe-rience excessively watery eyes.
Patients with the most severe disease areat increased risk of developingcorneal in-fection, scarring or ulceration. These con-ditions can cause permanent vision loss.
WHAT'S THE TREATMENT?Usually, the first line of treatment is eye
drops that act as artificial tears. Cy-closporine Aeyedrops help decrease anyinflammation on the surface of the eye.
In cases of persistent DES, permanent,reversible closure of the tear ductor punctal occlusion, may be the bestsolution.
~~_ ,,~r.
~rlff~ ~TACKLING THE PROBLEMTo help alleviate your symptomsfrom DES,you may want to try thesetips at home.A humidifier puts more moisture inthe air. With more moisture in the air,your tears evaporate more slowly,keeping your eyes more comfortable.Airconditioning decreases the humidi-ty in the air and increases dryness.Excessive air movement dries outeyes. Avoidhaving excessive airmovement by decreasing the speed ofceiling fans and/or oscillating fans.If you feel your eyes are dry whileyou are reading or watchingtelevision, take frequent breaks toallow your eyes to rest and becomemoist again.If you are using contact lenses,consult your eye doctor regarding thesafety.
Punctal occlusion allows you to retainyour own, natural tears without the both-er or expense of constantly replacing thetear fllm with artificial tears.
Tests for dry eyes can beperformed through severalmethods. Schirmer's test isdone by placing a small pieceof filter paper inside thelower part of the eyelids.The eyes are kept closed for -a few minutes and the filterpaper is taken out to measurethe amount of tear production.Fluorescein eye drops may
also be used to determinetear production. Tears mayalso be examined to see ifthey contain enough mois-ture, proteins, and othermaterials.If autoimmune diseases aresuspected as a cause, bloodtests may be performed.These tests help detect dif-ferent auto antibodies.
Dr Arun Samprathi. MBBS DOMS, DNB, FRCS (Edinburgh), Consultant in PaediatricOphthalmology & Squint, Samprathi Eye Hospital and Squint Centre
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