Self-inflicted eye injuries: a review

Abstract

Purpose: To review the pathogenesis, clinical characteristics, and management of self-inflicted eye injuries.

Methods: Review of the medical literature.

Results: Psychiatric theories of pathogenesis for self-inflicted behaviour include religious and sexual ideation, symbolism, guilt, and displacement. Biological theories include disorders of serotonergic, dopaminergic, and opiate neurotransmitters. Clinical characteristics of self-mutilators include acute or chronic psychoses, drug-induced psychoses, other psychiatric conditions, and certain organic states. The majority are young-to-early middle-aged male subjects, though it can also rarely occur in children. Management of self-inflicted eye injury requires close cooperation between ophthalmologists and psychiatrists as well as other medical specialists, to ensure quick resuscitation of the patient, prompt diagnosis and treatment of any injuries, and treatment of the underlying behaviour that led to the injuries.

Conclusions: Self-inflicted eye injuries are a rare but important group of ophthalmic conditions that require close cooperation between different medical specialties to ensure optimum care of the often severely disturbed patient.