A 34-year-old man was struck in the left eye by a retractable washing line. Four days later, with the pain, redness, and light sensitivity getting worse rather than better, he went to the hospital.
At the slit lamp, doctors found multiple full-thickness holes through his cornea at the 6 o'clock position, all of which had already sealed themselves. One held an eyelash embedded in the back of the corneal tissue and reaching into the anterior chamber, the fluid-filled space in front of the iris. Three more of his own lashes had passed all the way through and settled in the drainage angle at the bottom of the eye. The rest of his lashes were normal.
