492 
OPHTHALMIA TREATED WITH COLCH1CUM. 
horse, six years old, that had had inflammation in his eyes for nine 
days or a fortnight previous. The near eye, more than the off, 
seemed to have suffered, and was still suffering greatly, from in¬ 
flammation : it was completely closed, and there appeared to be 
purulent matter issuing from the inferior canthus. The off eye 
was nearly closed, and so cloudy that it was quite impervious to 
light; in fact, the horse was almost stark blind. He shewed, like¬ 
wise, febrile symptoms, his pulse being increased eight beats per 
minute. 
The treatment I adopted from January 11th to February 17th 
comprised bleeding, physic, febrifuge medicine, setons, a rowel un¬ 
der the jaw, blisters, &c.; in short, I tried every thing, colchicum 
excepted, that I had ever read of or been taught about, and with 
no apparent good result; for on examining his eyes on Feb. 17th, 
I found a cataract had formed over the entire lens of the near eye, 
the pupil of which was very much contracted. The cataract was 
so conspicuous, that a person unacquainted with the disease could 
discern it a yard or two off’. I now turned my attention entirely to 
the off eye, which was still very cloudy; writing at same time to 
Mr. Dodds, to tell him I thought the sight of the near eye irre¬ 
coverably lost. With this view I determined to see what effect 
colchicum would have on the near; not from any confidence I had 
in it, but merely from what I had read of its effects. I accord¬ 
ingly gave twenty powders, each powder consisting of colchici 
pulv. 3 ij, potassae nitrat. 3iij ; one to be given morning and 
evening. 
Feb. ‘lA.th, I saw him again, and to my astonishment there was 
scarcely the vestige of a cataract left, and both the eyes were 
greatly improved in appearance. This may appear so strange, that 
many may be inclined to the opinion that cataract existed in my 
eyes instead of in the horse’s; such, however, was not the case. I 
this day applied ext. belladon. to both eyes, to endeavour to dilate 
the pupils, which were smaller than they ought to be, and ordered 
this to be repeated every third day for nine days; I also prescribed 
ten more powders as before. 
March 10/4, saw him again, when his eyes were quite well, with 
the exception of the pupil of the near, which was a trifle contracted. 
Up to the present time he is doing well, and has not had a relapse. 
Whether the absorption of the cataract, and the favourable change 
which altogether took place in the eyes, can be solely attributed to 
the colchicum, I shall leave for others who are more competent 
than I am to decide. 
I am, Sir, 
Your obedient servant. 
14, Singleton-street, Swansea, 
August fith, 1849. 
