Flaxseeds for the ocular foreign bodies

ABSTRACT

A 72-year-old North American with woman placed a flaxseed under the upper lid of her right eye, in the hope that it would remove the foreign body that she thought was in her eye. It is interesting that this unusual folk remedy is considered an effective therapy for corneal and conjunctival foreign bodies by some inhabitants of the Appalachian region of the United States. The flaxseed caused extensive scratches of the cornea, the pain and photophobia from which incapacitated the patient. An intensive treatment with topical antibiotics and cycloplegia cured the patient in a few days. She agreed that she would not employ this therapy in her own or anyone else's eye again. [Pakistan Journal of Ophthalmology 9 2, 14, January, 1993]