Eye Trauma - Beryl Carvalho - Eyes Alive

Eye Trauma

Physical or chemical injuries of the eye can be a serious threat to vision if not treated appropriately and in a timely fashion. The most obvious presentation of ocular (eye) injuries is redness and pain of the affected eyes.

Losing an eye is traumatic

The loss of an eye can be an extraordinarily difficult psychological experience. Whether the loss occurs from an illness or an injury it need not adversely affect the quality of your life. In fact, those who still have a fellow sighted eye can continue to live their lives as usual. However, the emotional trauma that accompanies the loss of an eye takes time to heal and adjust to.

The most common frustration for the victim of eye loss is the insecurity that arises from not being able to make eye contact in the same manner as they did before. Eye contact is central to human communication conveying our emotions and helping us connect. As we know, the eyes play a major role in facial expression and the loss of an eye impacts this greatly; leaving those that have lost an eye feeling despondent, unattractive and self-conscious. The truth is people are afraid of what they don’t know and can unwittingly stare at or even bully people who have lost an eye. This can, unfortunately, lead to low self-esteem and depression.

It is so encouraging to work with patients who go from an introvert with faces downcast when they arrive at our practice, to well-adjusted and open people who interact easily with others. We even work with suicidal patients whose mind-set improves tremendously when they receive their first eye prosthesis.

We can help

There is a solution that can address these issues exceptionally successfully. A high quality ocular prosthesis can restore facial balance, vastly improve appearance and most importantly give the wearer their confidence back. Once you have decided that a prosthetic replacement is right for you, we are here to help you through the process every step of the way.

I Have Lost My Eye

Overcoming the shock and trauma of losing an eye can be an intense emotional journey.

While adjusting to life with one sighted eye can take time, it is often the psychological trauma that patients have a harder time dealing with.

A lot of that has to do with appearance. That is where we can help ease your journey to wellness.

Our high-grade, custom-designed ocular prosthetics or artificial eyes can go a long way to improving your confidence about the way you look.

You may even think that you could never grow accustomed to wearing an ocular prosthetic but a well-made eye is not only attractive, it’s comfortable too!

Next steps

• Post-surgery you will have a spherical implant inserted into the socket
• Once healed you will make an appointment with an Ocularist
• A prosthetic eye or shell is then created to cover the surface of the implant
• This shell / ocular prosthesis is made to bear a striking similarity to the sighted eye
• The artificial eyes we make are bespoke and hand-painted taking into account colour pigmentations of the iris and the blood vessels of the sclera (white of the eye). We also ensure facial balance and eye alignment for a truly natural appearance
• It will be moulded and fabricated to fit you perfectly
• When your eye is ready for fitting we will show you how to fit and care for it

Ocularists who care

We understand that you are in shock and dealing with a major loss, but it is our true calling and our passion to help you through this process with care and empathy.

Beryl says that she loves her job.  To Beryl it is not really a job, but a passion for helping and seeing others through a difficult time in their lives.