While on a business trip abroad, my husband had an accident - automobile battery exploded and his eyes got sulfuric acid burns. I’m very concerned about his eyes; he was admitted to a local health institution and kept there for two days. How damaging can chemical eye burns actually be? Is there a possibility of losing sight?
Chemical eye burns are not unusual in the sphere of eye injuries. They are usually not serious and although they may cause great pain, they don’t really damage the eye. There are, of course, burns that are very serious and may result in partial or total loss of sight. Your husband has suffered an acid burn - sulfuric acid from the battery caused burns and possible damaging of the front part of the eye. Luckily, acid burns tend to be less heavy and dangerous than those caused by alkali substances. In cases of acid and alkali burns it is crucial to provide specialist care, which is in your husband’s case done, so the reason he is being kept in hospital is probably that the acid penetrated deeper than the cornea (the top layer of the eye). Doctors are obliged to monitor the state of every patient complaining about pain, tearing or irritation. Your husband’s state will probably improve in a day or two and if the measures taken in the case of this accident were appropriate, there is no reason to expect any complications.