MEDICAL HINTS. 
189 
Symptoms. —The affected eye is bloodshot and painful, waters freely, 
and cannot bear a bright light; there is a feeling of grittiness as if the 
trouble were due to something between the eye and eyelid. 
Treatment .—The eye should be carefully washed, the eyelids being 
opened and clean water allowed to run over them and over the eye; any 
particles of dust must be removed—for this purpose a small clean camel- 
hair brush will be found useful. A lotion should be made consisting of 
six grains of boric acid, or two grains of sulphate of zinc, to an ounce 
of water, and ten drops or more of this should be dropped on to the 
eyeball six or eight times a day. A pad of lint soaked in clean, cold 
water should be applied over the eye. Sometimes hot fomentations give 
relief. 
Purulent Ophthalmia. 
This is a more serious inflammation, and is caused by some poison, 
e.g., germs carried by flies, or by the fingers from unhealthy sores and 
discharges. 
Symptoms. —The symptoms of simple ophthalmia are present, but are 
all intensified, the eyelids are swollen and the eyeballs red, there is a 
discharge of yellow matter or pus, and the patient feels ill. There is 
great danger of the affected eye infecting the sound one, therefore warn 
patient not to touch the sound eye for fear of infecting it. • 
Treatment .—The patient’s eyes should be shielded from bright light. 
To effect this, a large shade must be worn, to cover both eyes. Protect 
the sound eye (when the affected one is being washed) by bandaging a 
pad of wool or lint over it. Thoroughly wash out the space between 
the eyelids and the eye, and remove any matter or foreign body which 
may be found. 
When the inflamed surfaces are clean, wash them very thoroughly 
with a very pale solution of permanganate of potash ; then apply a lotion 
of alum, ten grains to the ounce of water, or one of sulphate of zinc or 
boric acid, and finally smear a little vaseline along the edges of the lids, 
to prevent them sticking together. This treatment must be repeated as 
frequently as possible. 
Hot fomentations may give relief. When this is so, the eye should be 
kept covered with a pad of moist lint, which must be changed frequently. 
