Eyes And Teeth

Question 1

How should you examine the eyes?

Answer 1

pull down the lower lid and have the patient look up

Flip the upper lid over a small stick or cotton swab and have the patient look down

Do not rub, never remove with force

Question 2

How should you remove small foreign bodies from the eyes?

Large foreign bodies?

Answer 2

small: remove gently by irrigating with clean water; close the eye with a bandage and evacuate

Large: leave in place; stabilize with gauze; cover and protect; evacuate

Question 3

Someone has a cut near their eye. How do you decide if they should be evacuated for
treatment?

Answer 3

if the laceration cuts through the full thickness of the eyelid or the laceration is on the margins of the eye itself

Question 4

One of your campers has been complaining of eye irritation all day. How do you decide
if he should be evacuated?

Answer 4

hyphema (blood in the colored part of the eye); loss of vision; blurred or double vision from injury; impalement; acute severe pain; foreign body that cannon be removed; or eye irritation lasts more than 24 hours

Question 5

What kind of bleeding in the eye does not need to be evacuated (what does it look like?)
What kind of bleeding in the eye should be evacuated right away?

Answer 5

subconjunctival hemorrhage (bleeding in the whites of the eye) - only evacuate if resulting from direct blow

hyphema (bleeding in the iris) - immediate evacuation and avoid blood thinning medications

Question 6

What is snow blindness?

What can you do to devise goggles to prevent this?

Answer 6

sunburn on the surface of the eye

make a fold of tape and cut small slits in the areas of the eyes and attach to the head or wear sunglasses labeled as being “UV absorption up to 400 nm (nano meters)” and covers side of vision (wrap around)

Question 7

How can you treat lost fillings, crowns, and chipped teeth in the backcountry?

Answer 7

rinse mouth and remove debris; fill the hole with temporary filling material

place a thin film of soft, temporary filling material in the crown and place the crown back on the tooth

Question 8

What should you do if someone’s tooth is knocked out?

Answer 8

put the tooth back in its socket or place the tooth in milk, coconut water, a cup of patient’s saliva, or save a tooth solution
do not scrub or disinfect
do not let it dry out