Retained intracorneal human hair fragment: An unusual case of occupational trauma

Abstract

A 32-year old male hairdresser presented with redness and irritation of the left eye for past 15 days. A fragment of hair was found embedded in deep corneal stroma with minimal scarring. No evidence was found of previous or current inflammation incited by this foreign body. The position and depth of the hair fragment was documented by anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and its effect on the corneal endothelium was assessed by specular microscopy. Hairdressers should take adequate precautions to prevent ocular injury although human hair appears to be well tolerated by the cornea.

Chronic, Stromal Foreign Body of Presumed Human Origin, following Corneal Abrasion

“…The consequences of intraocular cilia are variable. There have been reports of uveitis, endophthalmitis, and focal keratitis, whereas others may remain quiescent for years within the stroma [3, 4]. In this case, the authors decided to remove the foreign body due to the patient's symptomatic presentation with persisting irritation, pain, and photophobia despite topical treatment with steroids.…”

“…There have been plentiful reports of animal hair, such as tarantulas and caterpillars, causing simple conjunctivitis, keratouveitis, panuveitis, chorioretinitis, and ophthalmia nodosa following trauma [1, 2]. However, reports of human hair embedded in the cornea are rare [3, 4] We report the first case of a corneal foreign body consisting of a presumed human hair follicle following a corneal abrasion in Canada.…”

Management of impacted corneal foreign bodies: A review

“…31 Some surgeons prefer to leave the intrastromal hair in situ if the vision is unaffected and no active inflammation. 32 Ocular trauma can also cause entrapment of cilia in the cornea and conjunctiva. In case of multiple lashes, the central ones can be removed through the epithelium while those on the limbus via a conjunctival peritomy.…”