EYE INFECTIONS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 July 1938, Page 8

EYE INFECTIONS

EARLY TREATMENT ESSENTIAL. There are a number of infections of the eye that give considerable discomfort and pain, and some of these are actually dangerous. These infections are. especially common at this time of the year and in the spring, and one form is often known as spring or autumn catarrh. The common catarrh that occurs m this country is due to infection from ordinary pus-forming germs. The onset is usually sudden, and in some cases the pain appears so suddenly that one thinks that there is a foreign body such- as sand present, or that one has been bitten by an insect. The first sign is smarting, but there is soon swelling of the lid, and the eye becomes red and bloodshot. In many cases light is painful, and the eye is kept closed. Within a few hours there is a copious discharge which is at first watery, but later becomes sticky, and even consists of white or yellow pus. The infection may remain in one eye, but there is always the danger of the spread of the infection to the other eye. This must be carefully guarded against. The treatment of this form of conjunctivitis must be commenced as soon as possible. The eye should be bathed frequently with warm boracic lotion. The lotion is made by dissolving a half-teaspoon of boracic acid in a little boiling water and filling up to a cup with warm water. The patient lies on the Back, and the lotion is poured into the angle formed by the nose. The eye is then opened and the lotion will flow across the eye. An eye lotion glass is useful, but every care must be taken to boil the glass. In addition to the bathing, eye-drops are used. In the early stages, and if the discharge is watery, two grains of sulphate of zinc and five grains of boracic acid dissolved in one ounce of distilled water should be used. This is placed in the corner of the eye while on the back and the eye slowly opened. In the more acute cases, with much pus, twenty per cent solution of Argyrol is the better solution for the drops. In addition to these measures, it is necessary to prevent the lids from sticking together. This is prevented by smearing the edges of the lids with vaseline night and morning. If the lids are allowed to stick, there is grave danger of a corneal ulcer forming, and this involves danger to the sight. If improvement does not occur with home treatment, a medical opinion should be obtained as soon as possible.