Severe ocular injury and its management following self induced plant extracts: A case report

Abstract

IntroductionHomemade and folk remedies’ use is widely practiced in under developed countries, of the used materials are plant extracts, lemon juice and some dried insect bodies. Case presentationWe report a case of severe ocular injury and its management after self administered plants seeds in both the eyes of a 47-year-old man who had bilateral severe ocular damage after he put the seeds of a plant Lepidium Sativum (Rashad) in his eyes. He reported severe ocular pain and redness, conjunctival epithelial defect and symblepharon. A conjunctival biopsy was taken which turned out to be negative for the immunological staining studies for Ocular Cicatricial Pemphegoid (OCP). The patient’s visual acuity improved from 20/40 before treatment to 20/25 after treatment with no further sequelae after 3months follow-up. ConclusionsSelf induced plant extracts can cause ocular complications. Public awareness is necessary to help in discouraging the use of these harmful plant extracts in human eyes.