Diseases and injuries of the eye : their medical and surgical treatment / by George Lawson.

  • George Lawson
Date:
1880
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Diseases and injuries of the eye : their medical and surgical treatment / by George Lawson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    36/444 (page 18)
    The cornea, from the constant friction of the roughened lids against it, will often become so uneven, vascular, and cloudy, that for aU useful purposes the eye will be prac- tically blind. Treatment.—The object to be accomplished is to restore a smooth surface to the lining membrane of the lids by the obliteration of the granulations ; but, in endeavfiuring to gain this end, care must be taken to avoid the use of all strong remedies, which will destroy the conjunctiva and produce deep cicatrices. The treatment from which I have found the greatest benefit has been the applica- tion to the pal])ebral conjunctiva of a strong solution of the nitrate of silver, varying in strength, according to the severity of the case, from gr. 5—gr. 20 ad acj^uaj 51. This should be applied in the following manner :—The patient is to be seated in a chair, and the surgeon, stand- ing behind him, with a probe everts the upper lid so as fully to expose the paliDcbral conjunctiva, over the surface of which he paints with a camel's hair bnish the solution of the nitrate of silver, taking care to apply it thoroughly to the reflection of conjunctiva which forms the ociilo- jJalpebral fold. After waiting for about half a minute, he then, with a syringe, gently scpiirts over the granular surface a stream of cold water, or, what is better, a solu- tion of common salt of about the strength of gr. 5 ad aquas 5I, to wash away and neutralise all the surplus nitrate of silver, so as to prevent it irritating the eye, or blackening the ocular conjunctiva—a misfortune I have seen occur when strong solutions of the cairstic have been frequently used without taking these precautious. This application should be repeated every second or third day. and in the intervals the patient should frequently bathe the eyes with cold water, and every night and morning drop into them a Httle of a weak solution of the chloride of zinc (F. 24), or some other mild astringent. The nitrate of silver may be also conveniently applied to the o-ranulations by using the diluted nitrate of silver points (F. 6). Sulphate of Copper, or a combination of tins salt with alum, lapis divinus, or green stone, as it is commonly called (F. 6), are excellent astringents in granular lids. Every second, or third day the lid shoirld be everted, and having first dried the siirface with a piece of linen, the granulations only should be freely touched with the sul- phate of copper or green stone, taking as much care as