Sydney Levy, Molly Posa, Maria Kelly, J Reeves Samaha, Jaclyn Otero
A 15-year-old female presented to the emergency department with a 1-day history of pain and swelling of her right eye following ocular contact with a caterpillar. Caterpillars of the white-marked tussock moth and other related species possess hairlike structures called setae, with angled barbs along their length, allowing them to travel linearly upon penetration of an enemy, resisting backward movement and becoming very difficult to extract once imbedded. When these fine, pointed hairs contact the surface of the eye, they can easily migrate in, eliciting movement of the globe, blinking, and rubbing of the eye in an attempt to remove the offending agent, potentially leading to ophthalmia nodosa...
2023: SAGE Open Medical Case Reports