INFLAMMATIONS OF THE EYE. 395 



INFLAMMATIONS OF THE EYE. 



Ophthalmia, or simple inflammation of the eyes, is very common 

 in the dog, especially in the latter stages of distemper, when the 

 condition of this organ is often apparently hopeless ; though a 

 little patience will show that no mischief eventually occurs. On 

 more than one occasion I have saved puppies from a water}" grave, 

 whose eyes were said to be hopelessly gone ; but without any 

 remedj^ being applied locally, and simply by attending to the 

 general health, the organ has recovered its transparency, and the 

 sight has become as good as ever. The ajjpearance of this form, 

 as seen in distemper, consists in an unnatural bluish redness of 

 " the white ^' of the eye, together with a film over the transparent 

 part, which may or may not show red vessels spreading over it. 

 There is great intolerance of light, with a constant watering ; 

 and, if the eye is opened by force, the dog resists most strenuously, 

 giving evidence of j)ain from exposure to the rays of the sun. 

 This state resembles the "strumous ophthalmia " of children, and 

 may be treated in the same way, by the internal use of tonics, the 

 pills (62) being especially serviceable. In \he ordinary ophthalniia 

 the " white " of the eye is of a brighter red, and the lids are more 

 swollen, while the discharge is thicker, and the intolerance of 

 light is not so great. The treatment here which is most likely to 

 be of service is of the ordinarj^ lowering kind, exactly the reverse 

 of that indicated above. Purgatives, low diet, and sometimes 



