5-Minute Emergency Consult
Corneal Abrasion
Basics
Description
Description
- A tear or defect in the corneal epithelium
- May be traumatic, spontaneous, due to foreign body, or contact lens wear
Etiology
Etiology
- Traumatic:
- Human fingernail
- Contact lens manipulation
- Environmental elements: Branches, sand/stones
- Chemical burn
- Airbag deployment
- Pepper spray
- Makeup applicator
- Foreign body related:
- Wood
- Glass
- Metal
- Rust
- Plastic
- Fiberglass
- Vegetable matter
- Eyelid foreign body
- Contact lens related:
- Overworn
- Improperly fitting or cleaned
- Flash burn
- Spontaneous:
- Usually previous traumatic corneal abrasion or an underlying defect in the corneal epithelium
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Citation
Schaider, Jeffrey J., et al., editors. "Corneal Abrasion." 5-Minute Emergency Consult, 6th ed., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2020. Emergency Central, emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307158/all/Corneal_Abrasion.
Corneal Abrasion. In: Schaider JJJ, Barkin RMR, Hayden SRS, et al, eds. 5-Minute Emergency Consult. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2020. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307158/all/Corneal_Abrasion. Accessed October 31, 2025.
Corneal Abrasion. (2020). In Schaider, J. J., Barkin, R. M., Hayden, S. R., Wolfe, R. E., Barkin, A. Z., Shayne, P., & Rosen, P. (Eds.), 5-Minute Emergency Consult (6th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307158/all/Corneal_Abrasion
Corneal Abrasion [Internet]. In: Schaider JJJ, Barkin RMR, Hayden SRS, Wolfe RER, Barkin AZA, Shayne PP, Rosen PP, editors. 5-Minute Emergency Consult. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2020. [cited 2025 October 31]. Available from: https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307158/all/Corneal_Abrasion.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - Corneal Abrasion
ID - 307158
ED - Barkin,Adam Z,
ED - Shayne,Philip,
ED - Rosen,Peter,
ED - Schaider,Jeffrey J,
ED - Barkin,Roger M,
ED - Hayden,Stephen R,
ED - Wolfe,Richard E,
BT - 5-Minute Emergency Consult
UR - https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307158/all/Corneal_Abrasion
PB - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
ET - 6
DB - Emergency Central
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -
