Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether or not the eye is suffering from a scratch on its surface or a detached retina, since the symptoms are so similar. An ophthalmologist should be consulted about any abnormal eye symptoms, since even the mildest symptoms could be indicative of a serious eye condition.
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Corneal Abrasion
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A corneal abrasion is the technical term for a scrape or scratch on the eye's clear surface tissue that serves as the window to the eye, known as the cornea. A corneal abrasion will usually heal itself after just a few days with water and eye drops to flush out the eye
Retinal Detachment
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A retinal detachment is more serious, and occurs when the retina (the back of the eye responsible for accepting light and sending the visual image it receives to the brain) separates from its underlying tissue, usually after the occurrence of a tear in the retina. A retinal detachment requires medical attention and usually surgical treatment.
Light
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A corneal abrasion will make the patient sensitive to light, causing squinting and/or pain in the presence of bright light. A retinal detachment's typical first symptom is that the patient actually sees flashing light, and streams of light that aren't there.
Floaters
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Floaters are little specks, fuzzballs or cloud-like obstructions in the vision, sometimes caused by injury, and are thus both symptoms of a simple scratched eye as well as a detached retina.
Tearing and Pain
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A scratched eye will experience tearing and pain immediately following the injury or beginning a few hours after the injury. These symptoms are associated with the front of the eye, and more than likely indicate a surface scratch. These are short-term symptoms, in contrast to the longer-term symptoms of retinal detachment, which occurs over time.
Vision Deficiency
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A scratched eye will experience blurred vision, while this is less common for a detached retina. A detached retina causes a shadow obstruction in one's vision, which increasingly moves over the eye like a curtain or moon.
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