Oxygen Therapy Helps Heal Chemical and Thermal Burns in the Eyes

Scientists at the Department of Ophthalmology, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, treated 24 eyes of 22 patients with acute chemical and thermal burns in their eyes. Thirteen of the eyes also received oxygen therapy — an oxygen mask applied over the eyes for one hour, twice a day.

In the oxygen therapy group, injuries on the surface of the eye healed in 10 to 21 days, vs. 28 to 95 days in the group that didn’t receive oxygen. Blood vessels healed in 10 to 21 days in the oxygen group, vs. 25 to 105 days for the others.

The oxygen group had more transparent corneas with less redness three and six months afterward and regained better visual acuity after healing. Symblepharon (when the eyelid adheres to the eyeball) didn’t occur in the oxygen group, but it did in three eyes of the other group.

The study report appeared in the American Journal of Ophthalmology in May.