title: Capsicum spray injury of the eye.
abstract: We report a case of moderate-grade chemical injury to an eye following exposure to capsicum spray. A 75-year-old man presented with chemical injury to the conjunctiva and cornea following exposure to capsicum spray. The corneal epithelial defect healed in 2 weeks following the initiation of medical treatment. His unaided visual acuity had improved to 6/18 (6/9 with pinhole) after 6 weeks. Such a case illustrates that the safety of the commercially available capsicum sprays should be assessed before marketing as they may cause serious injury to the eye.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. sujata_das@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Sujata
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: Atif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chohan
authors.forename: Grant R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Snibson
authors.forename: Hugh R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002057:Burns, Chemical / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D002212:Capsicum / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005126:Eye Burns / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014945:Wound Healing