The 9-11 Terrorist Attacks

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A disaster of any sort is hard to imagine, but just remember back to the 9-11-01 terrorist attack on the twin towers in New York City. A plane flew into the twin towers taking them down. The debris from the blast injured many people and one of the injuries was an ocular injury of the eyes. This type of injury involves the surrounding structures of the eye and the eye itself. The result can be a decrease or total loss of vision. During a blast, people are subjected to anatomical and physiological changes from direct or reflective over pressurization impulse created by a detonated force impacting the body’s surface. Most of the damage is due to flying debris, which then in turn will affect about 28% causing morbidity to rise. The trauma usually …show more content…
Also a test involving staining the surface with fluorescein dye identifies a minute foreign body or abrasion to the cornea. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can’t be completed until proven that no-metallic foreign bodies are present.
Once the findings are conclusive then the doctor will either prescribe medical or surgical treatment. Injuries to eyes require immediate attention and surgery if needed. The doctor will also assess whether the patient has had a recent tetanus vaccination, if not, one will be administered. The eye is then anesthetized to ease the examination. Usually in this case patients are hospitalized to reduce danger of intraocular complications. When repairing the eyelid, the surgeon usually instills an anesthetic and then sutures. Antibiotics such as ceftazadime, vancomycin, and clindamycin are prescribed as well. If there are any issues with nausea or vomiting, anti-emetics can be prescribed. With the eye injury the patient may have to rely on family to assist them with follow up surgical instructions. This would be due to vision loss or hearing loss from the blast. With this said, verbal and oral communication is written due to the impact of blast causing tinnitus or vision loss due to