Why can't you look at a quartz lamp?

In this article, we will look at the symptoms of eye burns from a quartz (bactericidal) lamp and figure out how to properly treat such an injury.

Today everyone can buy a quartz lamp. They are used to disinfect living spaces; with special lamps you can even cure colds, ulcers, skin ulcers and much more. But it must be used with great caution; you must strictly adhere to the instructions so as not to harm yourself or others. For example, prolonged exposure to a lamp can cause dry skin, eye injury, among a host of other unpleasant consequences. Eye burns from a quartz lamp are one of the most common injuries in such cases. But it is not only possible to get a burn from using a quartz lamp at home, but also in medical institutions, beauty salons and other places.

Burn degrees

Eye burns from quartz can be caused by being exposed to a UV lamp for a long time. The degree of burn is determined by the time spent in the irradiation area and the power of the device. There are several degrees of severity of damage:

1. 1st degree - mild form of damage;
2. 2nd degree - moderate form of damage;
3. 3rd degree - severe form of damage.

Symptoms

Let's look at the symptoms for each degree of quartz burn.

Light shape

An eye burn from a germicidal lamp of this degree can occur if a person faces the lamp for a short time and looks directly at the light. Wherein:

1. there is a slight pain in the eyes;
2. eyelids swell;
3. redness is observed;
4. abundant release of tear fluid begins;
5. Sensitivity to light appears.

Mild symptoms may not appear immediately, but only a few hours after exposure.

Medium shape

If you stay under the influence of the device for a longer period of time, a burn may occur not only to the eyelids, but also to the conjunctiva of the eye. An eye burn from a quartz lamp of this degree causes severe pain, as well as redness of the eye. However, it is almost impossible to open it.

Severe form

Occurs in extreme cases. It occurs during very long exposure to the device and at a close distance, which can only happen due to some kind of accident and similar cases. With this form, blisters and crusts form on the eyelids, the eyes experience unbearable pain and cannot be opened.

Treatment and first aid

With moderate and severe forms of damage, a person notices the symptoms of a burn immediately.

At the first signs, immediately contact a specialist; under no circumstances undertake treatment yourself. But while you are waiting for a specialist, the victim needs to provide first aid. But be extremely careful not to harm the victim further.

So, the following actions are necessary:

1. remove the lamp or see the victim, preferably in a dark room, since the burn causes pain from bright light;
2. if the pain is unbearable, you need to take a painkiller;
3. a cold compress from available means (ice, food from the refrigerator, etc.) should be applied to the affected eyes;
4. When transporting a patient to a medical facility, eyes should be protected with dark glasses.

Sometimes, if you have any knowledge of medicine, or you know exactly how to provide first aid for a burn from a quartz lamp, you can perform more significant actions:

1. The mild form allows, in addition to the above, the application of an ointment with antibiotic properties (tetracycline, chloramphenicol) to the affected area and the use of an anesthetic (analgin);
2. In case of a moderate form of the lesion, it is necessary to drop drops with an anesthetic (Alcaine, Ledocaine) into the eyes, and lubricate the affected area well with eye gel - Korneregel;
3. In severe forms, first aid is contraindicated; the victim must be taken to a specialist immediately.

What not to do

We will also describe actions that should not be taken in case of a burn from a quartz lamp:

1. apply pressure and scratch the affected eye;
2. try to rinse it with water;
3. apply gauze or cotton compresses to the eye;
4. pierce bubbles when they form.

It is better to prevent a burn than to treat it. Therefore, try to protect your eyes from exposure to the UV lamp; do not use the devices if you do not know the operating instructions. If you purchased such a drug, read the instructions carefully, or better yet, consult a specialist; do not allow children to use it.

If this trouble occurs and you or your loved one are burned by a UV lamp, you need to urgently provide first aid and see a doctor as soon as possible.

At first glance, handling a quartz lamp does not require any restrictions. However, it is not. The consequences of careless behavior with a quartz lamp, for example, uncontrolled time spent under its rays, can result in injury to the organs of vision. An eye burn from a quartz lamp in this case is the most common injury.

Trouble can occur not only when using the mentioned device at home, but also in a hospital or other institution where “quartzing” is often used.

If such a misfortune happened to you or your loved ones, then Under no circumstances should you carry out treatment on your own! After all, speaking about the eyes, as well as their treatment, it should be noted that any careless procedure is fraught with side effects, and in the very opposite case, loss of vision. That is, for any problems of the visual organs, it is necessary to contact specialized institutions to receive qualified assistance from a specialist in this narrow field.

Symptoms and degrees of burns

As with any injury, first aid is important. An eye burn from a quartz lamp is accompanied by certain symptoms, depth and characteristics of tissue damage, depending on the time spent in the quartz room, as well as the placement of the eyes relative to the lamp. In addition, such burns are distinguished from other eye injuries (for example, by ultraviolet radiation). They can be of varying degrees, and both the cornea and conjunctiva, and eyelids can be affected.

Minor burns eyelids are accompanied by relatively mild pain, swelling and redness. This is usually observed if a person did not look directly at the lamp, or was not facing it for long. Light burns of the conjunctiva are most often isolated. That is, nothing suffers except this tissue. This happens when you look at the lamp briefly. And it appears after a few hours and is accompanied by moderate redness, the appearance of lacrimation and pain when contemplating light. A burn from a quartz lamp causes lacrimation, photophobia, and eye pain. It is possible to open the eye for a few seconds, then it closes reflexively. It is difficult to open the eyelids.

Moderate burn characterized by damage not only to the eyelids, but also to the cornea and conjunctiva.

Severe burns occur, as a rule, due to thermal damage from the rays of a quartz lamp if it was close to the face. The lesions appear as yellow or dark gray crusts on the eyelids, making it impossible to open the eyes. The eyelids swell, turn red, blisters appear, and severe pain accompanies opening the eyes. Symptoms of moderate and severe burns of the conjunctiva appear much earlier. In this case, the eye becomes very red, the victim complains of severe pain, which is accompanied by lacrimation and photophobia.

First aid

As mentioned above, eye treatment requires only specialist intervention, and you should not self-medicate. However, it is worth mentioning first aid for eye burns from a quartz lamp, as well as what you should categorically avoid.

First aid:

1. Calm the victim, remove him to a darkened room;
2. Insist on a categorical ban on pressing and rubbing your eyes;
3. Clean the affected area around the eyes from contamination;
4. Give painkillers;
5. Apply a cold bandage. Ice can be applied, but without applying pressure, that is, a thin bandage must be placed between the ice and the eye;
6. When transporting, the patient should wear dark glasses;
7. To provide qualified assistance and further treatment, take the victim to a specialized institution, an emergency room.

In some cases, professional ophthalmologists recommend providing more effective first aid. It is possible if you have initial medical knowledge, as well as information about the symptoms of eye burns from a quartz lamp. This system of measures contains the following recommendations:

1. For a slight burn of the eyelid, it is permissible to treat the surface with an ointment containing antibiotics, as well as use painkillers;
2. If you have symptoms of moderate severity, you should drip your eyes with drops containing an anesthetic (a couple of drops of novocaine). If there is a violation of the conjunctiva, the visual organ should definitely be instilled with an anesthetic. In addition, it is necessary to apply Tetracycline (eye) or Kornegel ointment behind the eyelid.
3. For severe burns, assistance should be provided exclusively by a doctor. After all, the cornea, sclera, and sometimes deeper-lying tissues suffer.

Strictly prohibited!

1. Press or rub the affected eye, even if the irritation is very strong;
2. Rinse your eyes, because plain water will not cause positive changes, and the impurities it contains can only make things worse;
3. Use a cotton bandage - it will additionally warm the eye, which is unacceptable.
4. Open any bubbles that appear.

To summarize, it is necessary to once again emphasize the exceptional importance of timely consultation with a doctor in case of eye burns from a quartz lamp. Qualified treatment of such burns differs from damage by ultraviolet radiation, and therefore has its own characteristics of first aid and further treatment.

Quartz lamps are used to destroy various bacteria, and it is not recommended to be in the room when working with them, unless this is a therapeutic quartz treatment procedure.

But even in this case it is necessary to take care of eye protection, since quartz lamps, affecting the organs of vision, can lead to thermal burns.

Peculiarities

Quartz lamps are used in different conditions:

1. in kindergartens;
2. in sanatoriums;
3. in hospitals and clinics;
4. in some cases, such equipment is also used at home.

If you follow simple precautions, it is impossible to get an eye burn from a quartz lamp, but sometimes such injuries still occur. Depending on a number of factors, the burn can be of varying degrees.

This is influenced by the power and number of lamps, the time a person spends in the room with the quartz lamp turned on, as well as the duration of direct exposure of the quartz lamp to the organs of vision.

As a result of such damage, both the outer layer of the mucous membrane and the deeper layers of the eye can be damaged. In the second case, injuries to the retina and cornea are possible.

Burn symptoms

When a victim receives a burn from a quartz lamp, the following symptoms are observed::

1. change in color of the mucous membrane;
2. swelling of the mucous membrane;
3. gradual decrease in corneal sensitivity;
4. increased lacrimation;
5. pain;
6. blepharospasm;
7. in severe cases, rejection of damaged tissue is possible.

Burn degrees

Standing near or looking at an ultraviolet lamp while it is in operation can cause mild, moderate or severe burns. Each type of damage has its own characteristics and signs.

When mild degree serious problems can often be avoided, but certain symptoms will still appear.

This is a pain syndrome, redness of the mucous membrane of the eyes, swelling and slight swelling of the eyelids, while the deep tissues of the eyeball are not affected, and the burn affects only the mucous membrane.

Typically, such damage occurs when briefly looking at a working quartz lamp at close range. Symptoms do not appear immediately, but 5-7 hours after exposure of the eyes to the lamp radiation.

At moderate severity the same symptoms are observed, but not only the eyelids and mucous membranes are affected, but also the cornea.

If you are close to a working lamp and when looking at it, you may experience severe burn. In such cases, after some time, dark gray or yellowish crusts form on the eyelids, which prevent the eyes from fully opening (most often it is impossible to open the eyes even a little).

Significant swelling is observed on the eyelids, and blisters may appear, characteristic of thermal swelling of the skin. Unlike mild burns, in this case the symptoms do not appear after several hours, but almost immediately.

Immediately after receiving the injury, the victim feels persistent pain in the eyes, which can be relieved with painkillers.

Eye burn with a quartz lamp: treatment

What to do if your eyes are burned by a UV lamp?

For any eye burns Self-medication is not recommended and consult a doctor as soon as possible.

But since most often you have to wait for some time for qualified assistance, you can take the first measures to minimize the consequences yourself.

You must act quickly and strictly in accordance with the instructions, non-compliance with which can lead to loss of vision:

1. The victim must take to a dark place, since with burns the eyes begin to react painfully to any light sources.
2. If the victim complains of severe pain, you can give him an oral painkiller, but Do not instill painkillers into affected eyes under any circumstances.drops.
3. Important keep someone from touching their eyes and even more so make sure that he does not rub his damaged eyes.
4. Needed on the eyes apply a cloth soaked in cold water, but any cold product from the refrigerator will do as an alternative. This is done to reduce pain.
5. After this you need to wait for the doctor, providing the patient with maximum peace, closing the curtains on the windows and, if possible, providing him with sunglasses.

In the future, the doctor, having established the degree of the burn, can prescribe appropriate treatment. Basically, all therapeutic measures consist of using a 0.25% solution of dicaine and instilling novocaine, which, depending on the degree of damage, can be two or five percent. The ophthalmologist may also prescribe instillation of a 0.1% solution of adrenaline.

Despite the almost complete contraindication to any traditional medicine, To relieve pain from burns from a quartz lamp, you can gently lubricate your eyelids with Vaseline or peach oil.

You can also significantly reduce the manifestations of inflammation by applying lotions based on chamomile or calendula decoction to the affected eyes.

Most of these burns are moderate to mild injuries and take no more than two to three days to heal.

During this period, the patient should avoid going outside and not looking at light sources. In severe cases, treatment of a burn with a quartz lamp lasts much longer and can have a number of serious consequences..

Consequences and complications

The eye is a complex and sensitive organ that reacts sharply to damage of any nature. As a result of a quartz burn, ophthalmological diseases such as dry eye syndrome, glaucoma, cataracts, and in rare cases, retinal detachment can develop.

Such complications can occur both due to the severity of the injuries, and can be provoked by incorrect actions of the victim himself or those around him during the initial, pre-medical care.

In such cases, it is especially dangerous to apply cotton wool to the damaged eye, as it will have a warming effect and provoke the spread of inflammatory processes..

Useful video

From this video you will learn more about the symptoms and treatment of eye burns:

The severity of the complications directly depends on how quickly you can get the victim to the hospital or call a doctor. Burns from a quartz lamp rarely cause serious visual impairment, but sometimes the result of such an injury can be reduced visual acuity or loss of vision.