Corneal Ulcer : It can occur due to various causes. Following Trauma, conjunctivitis, due to inadvertant use of Steroid eye drops & ointments, unhygenic Contact lens practices, following any surgery or exposure of the cornea to chemicals or other noxious agents. Patient will develop severe redness, pain, watering in the affected eye. It is an Ocular Emergency. One should seek immediate expert opinion and start intensive therapy as suggested by the consultant.

Microbiologic Work up: A lab test is carried out by the cornea specialist where in small amount of material is taken from the surface of the ulcer and is subjected for various lab tests and for culture. Based on the information available from the examination of the smears, the primary management is initiated which may be modified time to time by the treating cosultatnt based on the clinical response as well as any developments or information available from the lab.This is a very specialised procedure and commomly termed as Scraping for Microbiology work-up. Ulcer may take few days to weeks to resolve depending upon the size and severity. Some times if the infective process does not respond to the medical management then a surgical intervention to de- bulk the infection is suggested. This may be an emergency Therapeutic Corneal Transplant. The primary aim of this procedure is to salvage the eye if possible and reduce the load of infective area. After the surgery an Antimicrobial treatment needs to be continued. If the disease process is very agressive, the ulcer can end up in corneal perforation and such cases may need Emergency Surgical intervention.

Once the ulcer heals, it leaves behind corneal scar (an opacity ), Therefore, these cases may need Spectacle correction or Contact Lens ( Rigid Gas Permeable Contact Lens ) or at times lamellar or full thickness corneal transpalnt for vision enhancement based on the size, location and density of the scar.