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

Alexander D Port; Ashley R Brissette; Kimberly C Sippel

doi:10.1016/j.ajoc.2020.100773

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

Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep. 2020 Jun 10:19:100773. doi: 10.1016/j.ajoc.2020.100773. eCollection 2020 Sep.

Authors

Alexander D Port¹, Ashley R Brissette¹, Kimberly C Sippel¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, Weill Cornell Medical College, 1305 York Avenue, New York, NY, 10021, USA.

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.

Keywords: Alkali corneal burn; Corneal abrasion; Eye trauma; Ocular chemical injury.

Publication types

Case Reports