How can I tell if I have a scratched cornea?!

How can I tell if I have a scratched cornea?

I woke up one morning and both of my eyes were completely blood shot and they stayed that way all day. Also both hurt A LOT. I thought it was pink eye at first so I got the appropriate medication and its 2 days later now and my eyes seem almost all better but my right eye still hurts and is bloodshot still (not as bad as before but still bloodshot). Also if I look closely at it in the mirror I can see a small dot on my eye on my pupil and I think it is a scratched cornea. Any way to know for sure or should I just get my lazy butt up and go see a doctor? Also the day I woke up with really bloodshot eyes I had fallen asleep in my contacts, which I have done before but maybe thats whats scratched my eye... Anyways, any help offered would be much appreciated.

You left two clues in your description of your problem. 1) "I can see a small dot on my eye on my pupil" 2) "I had fallen asleep in my contacts". I think the chances are very good that you have a corneal ulcer. Corneal ulcers are highly linked to sleeping in contact lenses. In fact it is very unusual to see a corneal ulcer in a person who does not wear contact lenses and it is almost always in a patient who sleeps in their contacts.

A corneal ulcer is basically a bacterial colony growing on your cornea and eating your cornea for food. Sounds terrible but that's what it is. Most corneal ulcers, if you are lucky, are caused by organisms like staph. They hurt like crazy for a few days but if you stop wearing your contacts your body's immune system will fight off the infection. You will be left with a healed eye but you will have a permanent scar (spot) on the cornea. The problem is if you happen to have a corneal ulcer caused by a highly aggressive bacteria it is possible for the ulcer to penetrate completely through the cornea and cause an endophthalmitits. This is a bacterial infection INSIDE the eye that can lead to the total loss of the eye. Sounds like you probably don't have the more aggressive type or you would already be in the hospital by now fighting to save your eye. A note to the wise, though. The next time you sleep in your contacts and wake up with red, painful, irritated eyes go to the eye doctor THAT day. Hope this helped.


Oh. And yes you ought to go ahead and see your eye doctor to make sure the ulcer is resolving.