18 November 2020

Kelly Osbourne wears eye patch after make-up disaster

Our Clinical Adviser provides tips on what to do if you have a corneal abrasion.

Following reports that Kelly Osbourne scratched her eye while having mascara applied, the College of Optometrists has issued the below advice:

If you’ve experienced a scratch and the redness or watering has continued hours later, you may have a corneal abrasion. To help, we’ve created some top tips to guide you:

  • Rinse, rinse, rinse – Make sure you rinse your eye with saline, NOT tap water. This will help to flush any foreign objects from your eye, including make-up debris. 
  • Blink! - Blinking can help get rid of any small objects you may have missed.
  • Don’t touch your eye! - Rubbing your eye could disrupt the healing process, and in some cases, make the scratch worse.  It’s also important not to use another implement; fingers, cotton swabs and other objects could hurt your eye more.
  • Keep the UV rays away - It may be the case that your eye appears to be more sensitive to light following the scratch. Wearing sunglasses is a good way to protect your eyes throughout the year. Make sure they carry the “CE” mark to ensure that the sunglasses offer a safe level of UV protection.
  • Avoid wearing contact lenses - Wear spectacles if you have them as wearing your lenses could cause an infection and delay healing.
  • Contact your optometrist - If have further concerns or pain, contact your local optometrist.

For further guidance on make-up and eye health, visit our advice page.

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