Atlas of the external diseases of the eye : including a brief treatise on the pathology and treatment / by O. Haab ; Authorized translation from the German, edited by G.E. de Schweinitz.
- Haab O. (Otto), 1850-1931.
- Date:
- 1899
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Atlas of the external diseases of the eye : including a brief treatise on the pathology and treatment / by O. Haab ; Authorized translation from the German, edited by G.E. de Schweinitz. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
135/312 (page 113)
![are : Boric-acid solution to which a few minims of alcohol to the ounce have been added, and boric acid in saturated solution ; applications of moderate astringents like tannin and glycerin (5 per cent.) are suitable; but if the disease is stubborn, the follicles should be ex])ressed with suitable foreeps,—Ed.] 3. Gonorrheal Conjunctivitis. Gonorrheal conjunctivitis is caused by infection of the conjunctival sac with Neisser’s gonococcus; and, while it may occur at all ages, is most fi’equently seen in infants, in whom it is due to the entrance of genital secretion into the eye at the time of birth, or later to contact with the mother’s soiled fingers. Later in life the genitalia (now and then also in very young girls who suffer from a viru- lent leukorrhea) or another eye similarly affected are the source of infection. Doctors and nunses are constantly exposed to infection from this source. The importance of this disease cannot be overrated; it is the direct cause of blindness in one-third of all the eases, being surpassed in this respect only by small-])ox in countries where vaccination is not sufficiently enforced. Most cases of blindness are caused by ophthalmia neona- torum, which, in sj)ite of the higher standard of midwifery and more competent medical treatment of the present day, defies all efforts to eradicate it, because of the negligence on the ]Kirt of the persons in attendance in not seeking medical assistance early enough, and because the disease is and always will be dangerous in spite of the improved methods of treatment. It is therefore much to be desired that the prophylactic measures advocated by Crede might meet with more general ado])tion, especially in the quar- ters of the poor and thoughtless, who now furnish the great majority of virulent eases. Ophthalmia, or hlennorrhcea neonatoi'um [conjunctivitis neonatorum], usually begins on the third day after birth, with swelling and redness of the lids, and a discharge con- 8](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21691587_0135.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
