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| ARTICLES |
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| Year : 1981 | Volume
: 29
| Issue : 1 | Page : 39-40 |
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Perforating injury of cornea by flying bat
RL Agarwal, JMP Agarwal, CK Nagar, Shashi Bhasin
13, Gyan Marg, Udaipur, India
Correspondence Address:
R L Agarwal
13, Gyan Marg Udaipur, Rajasthan
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
PMID: 7287124 
How to cite this article:
Agarwal R L, Agarwal J, Nagar C K, Bhasin S. Perforating injury of cornea by flying bat. Indian J Ophthalmol 1981;29:39-40 |
Injuries of human eye resulting from the pecking of birds are rare and are mostly caused by owls and roosters. The mother owl is particularly dangerous when defending her young[1]. Long legged shore birds such as storks and cranes have been said to defend themselves against children by pecking exactly in the centre of cornea, resulting in a triangular injury with prolapse of the uveal tissue. On the other hand, injuries from domestic fowls are much less frequently seen.
The present case is reported because of the fact that there is common belief in rural parts of India that, the bat has affinity to injure the eye. We have come across this injury for the first time. Also we could not trace any other report in literature where the injury to the eye has been caused by the collision of a flying bat.
| Case report | |  |
W.S. 25 Yrs. resident of Salumber (Dist. Udaipur) came to eye OPD with pain, watering and diminution of vision in LE, following collision with a flying bat at night 8 days back, while passing under a tree on way to his farm. Following collision the bat fell down and remained on the ground for about 10-15 minutes.
On examination, there was no injury mark on face and lids. Palpebral aperture on left side was narrowed due to lid oedema. Conjunctiva was chemosed and circum-corneal congestion was moderate. An oblique mark of perforation in the cornea extending from 8 to 2 O'clock and about 2-3 mm in width had become opaque. A leash of vessels extending 4 to 5 mm inside the limbus on the temporal side with few dot hemorrhages was seen. Anterior chamber was irregular in depth, shallow in upper temporal quadrant and absent in central area where iris was adherent to cornea. Pupil was small and irregular. A white fluffy mass consisting of lens matter and exudate was projecting from pupillary area. Intraocular pressure was raised PL and PR was present [Figure - 1]. Patient was treated on the line of uveitis and at the time of discharge he had good PL and PR with controlled I.O.P. and with no evidence of active vveitis.
| Discussion | | |
Injuries to human eye resulting from flying bat are extremely rare. Bat is perhaps the only vertebrate mammal that commonly lives in deeper and totally dark parts of the caves, buildings and trees. Where they hang upside-down; The hind feet are modified for clinging. They are nocturnal in habit and do not need their eyes at all. Hearing takes the place of vision in guiding flying bats through darkness.
The bats orient themselves by emitting high frequency orientation sounds and receiving the echoes as they bounce off the objects. The orientation sounds consists of short clicks or sound pulses. Lasting from 0.0002 to 0.1 second. Sonar pulses extended over distance of a few inches to about 100 feet. A bat in possession of its normal faculties can easily avoid collision with person, inspite of the fact that it makes fast, sharp dives in dark. Thus this is an accident that the bat struck the eye ball of this patient resulting in a perforating injury.
| Summary | | |
A rare case report of perforating eye injury caused by a flying bat is documented[2].
| References | | |
| 1. | Duke, Elder. S., 1974, System of Ophthalmology. Mechanical Injury Part-1, 324, XIV. Henry Kimptan  |
| 2. | Encyclopaedia Britanica, Ltd.,-William Benton 265-267, Vol.-3. 1768. |
[Figure - 1]
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