Medical Myth Guidelines and Sample These articles, which appear in the Culture and Medicine section, are usually commissioned, but we welcome spontaneous submissions. These articles are up to 1000 words, with up to 5 references. Applying eye patches in patients with corneal abrasions caused by direct mechanical injuries, such as trauma or foreign body removal, is common because of the belief that it reduces pain and aids healing.
Good evidence exists, however, that patching neither aids healing nor reduces pain.
Indeed, theoretic evidence suggests that patching may reduce healing and therefore routine application of patches should be abandoned. Patterson et al performed a randomized, prospective study to look at discomfort experienced by 33 patients with mechanical corneal abrasions. The prescribed treatment was tobramycin ointment with or without eye patching. The patients were asked to rate their pain using a visual analogue scale at baseline and after 24 hours. The changes in the mean pain score between the 2 groups over 24 hours were not statistically significant.