A case of the blues: Inadvertent ocular injury from accidental instillation of blue ink. uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • PURPOSE: Many consumer products and non-ophthalmic medications are packaged in plastic "eye dropper" bottles, posing a risk of accidental ocular chemical injury when these substances are mistaken for eye drops. OBSERVATIONS: We present the case of an elderly glaucoma patient who mistook blue stamper ink for the glaucoma medication Combigan®, and suffered ocular injury as a result. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPORTANCE: The packaging of non-ophthalmic products in plastic "eye dropper" bottles poses a significant risk of accidental ocular chemical injury. Elderly individuals with low vision and/or cognitive deficits may be at particular risk of accidental injury. Ophthalmologists have been calling for a greater distinction between the packaging of ophthalmic and non-ophthalmic products for over 35 years, but to date little progress has been made in this regard.

publication date

  • June 10, 2020

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC7296186

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 85086456200

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1016/j.ajoc.2020.100773

PubMed ID

  • 32566800

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 19