While you may not experience any problems when you are first fitted with your prosthetic eye, over time, because of a number of different circumstances, you may develop pain. While mild pain often resolves without treatment, it is important that you visit the artificial eye clinic to determine the source of your pain and to receive the most appropriate treatment for your condition. Here are three reasons for pain while wearing your prosthetic eye, and what you can do about them:

Scratched Surface

Environmental factors such as dust and air particles can get into your tears, and when you blink, it can scratch the surface of your prosthetic eye. In addition to this, you can accidentally scratch the surface of your prosthetic eye through everyday activities, including when or if you drop the eye when performing routine care.

If the surface of your prosthetic eye becomes scratched, you may experience severe irritation to your inner eyelid.  This is why it is so important to have your eye polished on a yearly basis at the artificial eye clinic to help maintain the integrity of the surface, which will help reduce the risk for potential soft tissue damage

Old Tear Collection

Another common reason for irritation while you are wearing your artificial eye is the collection of old tears in the socket. Your eye socket can change shape over time because of age, enucleation, and thinning of the skin that lines your inner eyelids.

When changes in socket dimension occur, your prosthetic eye may not fit well anymore due to pocket formation and skin stretching. Tears can accumulate in these pockets, and over time, they can excrete salt, which is highly irritating to the delicate skin underneath your lids.

If you notice that you are tearing excessively, or if you are experiencing drainage from the eye socket, see your eye doctor. You may need to be fitted for another prosthetic eye or leave it out for a period of time until the eye socket heals.

Infection

Viral and bacterial infections inside the eye socket can cause pain, tearing, and discharge. Infections can cause the soft tissue and skin that surrounds your artificial eye to become inflamed and irritated, and may even lead to a blocked tear duct.

If you experience pain or discharge, see your eye care professional as soon as possible. Your doctor may need to remove the prosthetic eye and meticulously clean the socket, and then he or she may recommended that you take a course of oral antibiotics to help clear the infection. To augment the effectiveness of your oral antibiotics, your eye doctor may also prescribe a special eye drop to place inside the socket to help maintain soft tissue integrity. 

In addition to pain and drainage, an infection inside the eye socket may lead to systemic symptoms such as fever, headache, general malaise, chills, and loss of appetite. Once you have completed your course of antibiotics, your eye will feel better, and your other symptoms will resolve as well.

If an eye socket infection is not recognized and treated as soon as possible, tissue destruction or scar tissue may develop on the underside of your eyelid, and if this develops, your prosthetic eye may no longer fit properly. 

If you develop pain or discharge from your eye socket, or if you experience fever, chills, body aches, loss of appetite, or extreme fatigue, visit the artificial eye clinic for a thorough examination. These may be signs of a viral or bacterial infection and will need to be evaluated and treated as soon as possible. When eye socket problems are quickly recognized and treated, you are less likely to experience further pain or permanent damage to the underside of your eyelid. 

For additional information, contact a company like Real Life Faces.