Go With The Flow During an Eye Emergency

Author: Denise Ramponi, RN, CEN, CRNP, MSN

Publication: Nursing2000, Volume 30, Number 8

This article presents the use of the Morgan Lens using text and photographs, as well as providing general information on chemical eye burns. The introduction to the article is presented below:

“YOU’RE WORKING in the emergency department and receive a call from the lab: A technologist in the chemistry department has splashed acetic acid solution in her right eye and is on her way down. You quickly grab your eye emergency equipment.

When someone gets a chemical in her eye, you can help prevent damage to the cornea by irrigating the eye and restoring its normal pH. You could do this by prying open her eyelids and administering a flush solution through intravenous (IV) tubing, but this technique calls for constant attention and the use of both hands. Fortunately, you have another option.

In this article, I’ll review how to use the Morgan Lens, a molded plastic device that fits over the eye and through which you can flush irrigating solution. When properly placed, the Morgan lens rests between the cornea and the eyelid and solution instilled through the attached tubing irrigates both surfaces. Continuously bathed with fluid, the cornea remains untouched by the lens itself.”