Fluorescein Eye Staining: Introduction and Indication

00:00 Hello, my name is Glenna Lashley and I'm a family nurse practitioner.

00:05 Here at Lecturio, we realize that many students don't always get the chance to see or talk through skills like fluorescein eye staining during their academic preparation.

00:15 I'm going to share my tips and tricks to make you comfortable while you're performing this procedure. This is one of those skills that you may shy away from because you don't feel as confident. But diagnostically, the application of fluorescein eye staining gives you so much more information about what's actually going on with the eye.

00:36 With this additional information, you are much better positioned to identify things such as corneal epithelial defects, corneal abrasions, foreign bodies, and infections instead of just guessing.

00:49 Before I talk you through the steps and talk you through the application, let's take a quick look at what you are planning on being able to really see with this stain. So here you can see the cornea.

01:01 We're actually going to be looking at the surface of the cornea.

01:06 As with any other procedure there are supplies and steps you need to know.

01:11 I will talk you through the steps and then show you the act or demonstrate the actual procedure. As always, I will give you some insights along the way.

01:21 First, you want to think about patient consent before doing anything to someone, even if they've already had it done before, you want to make sure that you explain the procedure thoroughly. You want to explain that the goal is actually to visualize the surface of the eye, and improve your ability to be able to diagnose what's going on with the patient and provide the best treatment.

01:44 The procedure should not hurt.

01:46 So emphasize that they should tell you if they're having any pain.

01:51 If the patient presents with excessive tearing or if the issue is greater than 48 hours old, it is likely significant and will need a referral to ophthalmology.

02:02 Other reasons to automatically refer would be a history of eye surgery, unstable diabetic eye disease, or visible signs and symptoms of infection, particularly with purulent discharge.