Eyes that have suffered severe trauma require removal and replacement with artificial eyes. Some of the most grim optical trauma cases involve veterans of wars in the Middle East.
Second Lieutenant Peter Sprenger has a glimmering blue ocular prosthetic, and a story behind it. He was blinded in one eye by a suicide car bomber in Iraq. Lt. Sprenger, 26, shrugs off the experience, and simply talks about having “a missing eye.”
There have been so many cases of soldiers needing prosthetic eye care that the Veterans Administration recently re-wrote its rules about paying for ocular prosthetics.
This is a new development, as are modern prosthetic eyes that can be worn even when sleeping. There is also a new generation of artificial eye lubricants – using silicone – which is especially effective for the newer devices that can be left in for a long time.
Finding a Good Prosthetic Eye Lubricant
Veterans and their families are familiar with the need for “lube” or “drops” for artificial eyes. People with prosthetics suffer “dry eye”. Tears that bathe the eyeball cannot soothe the socket from the natural irritation of having a piece of plastic or glass or acrylic there.
A veteran named Carl, who lost an eye to an explosion in Iraq, explains. “I had adjusted quite well with the (prosthetic) eye and accepted that I would be using eyedrops forever. I heard about (a brand of silicone prosthetic eye lubricant) and asked my ocularist about it. He said it is safe as he recommends it.” Carl found it online and calls it “affordable and accessible”.
Reasons Oculists Recommend Silicone Eye Care Products
1. Silicone does not completely dry. When used to moisten an ocular implant, it lasts far longer than older saline “artificial tears”.
2. Silicone is available in 100% strength.
3. The FDA approved medical-grade silicone for use with ocular prosthetics.
4. Silicone is thick and viscous. It spreads evenly over the replacement orb, and stays in place.
5. The lubricating ability of silicone has been known for years, and has been safely used in other personal care products.
6. Some over-the-counter lubricants are oil or alcohol based, and should be avoided, according to the website Combat Magazine.
In the new film about veterans, “The Messenger”, there is a scene in which a character’s wounds are introduced when we see him using ocular lubrication. Ocular prosthetics and drops are a reality in the service world of today.
Many brave soldiers shrug off their replacement implants. Lieutenant Sprenger simply refers to his “missing eye”. He went through rigorous testing to prove he could remain in the Army, and will graduate from Office Candidate School and lead a unit, according to a feature story on the Army Times website.
Two final thoughts
There is no good reason to use old-fashioned saline eyedrops when silicone formulas are available at the touch of a web search engine.