ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a case study of a 38-year-old car mechanic who is admitted to Emergency Department with a 1-day history of progressive pain in his right eye. He remembers angle-grinding a piece of exhaust at work without any eye protection. He found it very difficult to sleep and is concerned that there is something in his eye. The pain appears to be better in a dark environment and if he keeps his eyes closed. This patient has a corneal foreign body. Any patient reporting sharp pain with photosensitivity, watery discharge and foreign body sensation should prompt the emergency physician to review the ocular surface. Slit lamp examination of the eye should involve a systematic review of the upper and lower external eyelid, the conjunctiva and cornea. Most conjunctival foreign bodies can be removed by simply irrigating the eye or by using a cotton bud tip soaked in topical anaesthetic.
