Corneal nerves damaged after trauma?

[dub]

Hi there,

I hope someone can bring some light into my case, cause this is being the worst time of my life.

I had a very stupid accident 3 weeks ago. I was de-icing my freezer and whilst smashing the ice with a knife I got some ice bouncing to my right eye, a very small piece, just enough to feel it. My eye was fine, no pain, no redness, nothing, so I gave no importance ... all started the following day, with acute pain, pressure, headache and even some blephospasm, so the next day after not feeling better I went to the eye hospital (Moorfields in London).

They said I had nothing, that I was fine, they even dilated my pupils, but the eye was still funny. As a note, my pupils remained dilated for 3 days, longer in the right eye. I was in bad pain, feeling a lot of pressure and migraines, even some blurriness ... after 4 days I went again worried about the pressure ... again they said I was fine, normal pressure, that I had dry eye and some bleph, also they saw my Lasik, so they gave no importance I guess (Mmmm Lasik? normal dry eye) ... I've never had dry eye, not even after lasik, only some bleph.

Anyway ... after 3/4 weeks of the trauma, I still have pain and some headaches, my vision is fine, but I can kind of feel my eye, small spasms sometimes and very very dry in the morning, I need drops before getting up. So I don't know if my problem is the trauma itself or having the pupil dilated so long that my inner muscles are strained. Can a small 'trauma' like that cause all this? Can it cause some damage on the corneal nerves that generate all this pain and dry eye? I am some worried after reading all these Corneal Neuralgias info ...

I am so desperate to find an answer, this pain and discomfort 24h is driving me completely crazy, so I can understand some of the people here dealing with bad eye pain ... is 1 month normal for a recovery after these small injuries? I am sure if I go again to the hospital they'll say my eye is completely fine :/

Thank you very much.

[Faith1989]

Hi there,

Did this all happen right after the accident? Or did you have some dry eye after the LASIK? I doubt if you didn't experience any pain or redness from the ice right away that much damage was done. Again, I am no doctor though. Maybe this accident caused a dry eye flare or the blepharitis to start acting up and that's what u are feeling? How long ago did u have the LASIK?

[dub]

All started right after ... I had my Lasik like 6 years ago, and never got any problem, perfect. I only have some bleph, but I never had dry eye and pain like this.

That is what I think, it was not a high impact, what speed did the piece had? Pfffff ... I can't still believe I am having problems after almost 1 month, this is why I am worried I damaged the nerves on the cornea. Or maybe this is the healing process, don't know.

[Cali]

Just because your doctors think your eyes "look" fine doesn't mean that they are. Yes, you could have corneal nerve damage. The doctors wouldn't be able to "see" this damage. If this is the case, you need to get on a a systemic treatment for cornea neuralgia (neurontin, gabapentin, lyrica, pregabalin, etc.). The sooner the better because although your eye probably is truly healed and fine, your brain is continually sending pain signals. The pain signals can't turn off. The systemic drugs work to turn off the pain signals.

This article has more info. It refers to LASIK but it will help you to understand that your problem is real even though you're being told you're fine:

http://eyeworld.org/article-treating-unexplainable-pain

[dub]

Thank you guys,

Yes, I came across that article as well, this is why I am so concerned, even though eyes look fine on the slit-lamp, they might not in a microscopic level ... And don't know if this pain is normal (healing process?, strain?, dry eye after some keratitis?) or is due to a corneal neuralgia from the nerves.

The thing is that after the impact I didn't even have red eye, nothing, ... something that serious to damage nerves would have had worse signs I guess? ... I just feel if I go again to the clinic they won't give a crap after reading some of the stories here :/

[Cali]

Thank you guys,

Yes, I came across that article as well, this is why I am so concerned, even though eyes look fine on the slit-lamp, they might not in a microscopic level ... And don't know if this pain is normal (healing process?, strain?, dry eye after some keratitis?) or is due to a corneal neuralgia from the nerves.

The thing is that after the impact I didn't even have red eye, nothing, ... something that serious to damage nerves would have had worse signs I guess? ... I just feel if I go again to the clinic they won't give a crap after reading some of the stories here :/

Yes, that is a legitimate concern, that they won't give a crap. You could try to get a corneal confocal microscope exam. That would show the actual nerves (more detailed than a slit lamp exam), but not cornea neuralgia. If your nerves went screwy where the ice hit you and healed back funny, it most likely would show that. You also might try seeing a "neurologist" or "pain management specialist" and explaining what happened. Sometimes taking a different "specialist" approach works.

As I'm sure you learned on this forum, you have to be your own health advocate and hang in there to get the right treatment. Trust your gut. If you hurt, something is wrong and it's your responsibility to care for yourself (even if you keep getting dismissed and marginalized by these doctors). We've all been there.