Defects of sight and hearing : their nature, causes, prevention, and general management / by T. Wharton Jones.

  • Thomas Wharton Jones
Date:
1859
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Defects of sight and hearing : their nature, causes, prevention, and general management / by T. Wharton Jones. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    INJURIES OF THE EYES. ed fires projected against the eye sink into the substance of the cornea. If the removal is effected soon, the distress is in general relieved, or greatly mitigated. Sometimes a sensation re- mains as if the body were still in the eye, owing to abra- sion of the surface. Lime is very fatal to the eye. Slaked lime less so than quick lime. [One of the best applica- tions when lime has been forced into the eyes, is to apply freely a solution of sugar.] Abrasion of the cornea is sometimes produced by a scratch of the finger nail or by awkward attempts to remove a foreign body, or it is the result of a stroke with a twig or an ear of corn, an accident to which reapers are much exposed. A severe form of inflammation of the eye is often excited by such an abrasion. In passing through a wood, a rebounding twig is apt to strike the eye. Even a slight stroke will sometimes oc- casion cataract or amaurosis. Though recovery from the immediate effects of severe injury may take place, the eye is not yet quite safe, for after some weeks an internal inflammation may arise, not only of the injured but also of the uninjured eye. This inflammation of the uninjured eye, called sympa- thetic ophthalmia, is very dangerous to the sight. Sympa- thetic ophthalmia having proved hitherto little amenable to treatment, the greatest attention should be paid to every case of ophthalmia from an injury, however slight appa- rently at first, in the hope of obviating an attack. And after the cessation of the inflammation in the injured eye, especial care should be taken by the patient not to use either eye much for a considerable time to come.