Eye Injuries

First aid for eye injuries, even trivial ones, is another important consideration in sight conservation. The eye is easily infected, and scratches on the cornea can become scarred and cloudy, interfering with vision. Foreign bodies (dust, cinders) in the eye must be man­aged properly.

When you get something in your eye that cannot be immediately dislodged, shut both eyes for a few minutes and don't rub them. The accumulation of tears will often wash out the particle. This failing, you can try instill­ing a few drops of clean water in the eye. Washing out the eye with an eyecup filled with boric acid solution is the next step.

As a last resort, an attempt can be made to remove the particle-if it is visible, and not on the cornea with the corner of a clean handkerchief. The lower lid may have to be pulled down or the upper lid everted by tak­ing hold of the lashes and pulling gently up­ward and outward.

All these procedures should be done with clean hands and in as sterile a manner as possible. If none of these simple measures succeeds, a physician should be consulted. Removal of metal or glass particles may re­quire special procedures.

Common Questions about the Eyes

Will looking at television harm the eyes? No. Commercial television is more likely to pro­duce cultural than ocular blindness. Prolonged viewing of a television screen which flickers and on which images are in poor focus may induce a temporary eyestrain, but this is easily remedied by finding a clearer channel or turning off the set.

Are "drops" in the eyes safe? Yes, when used by a physician for eye examinations. The indiscriminate cosmetic use of belladonna or similar eyedrops, which make the eyes look big by relaxing the muscles of the iris, is to be deplored.

Can eye exercises make it possible to "see without glasses"? Not if glasses are needed. There is a legitimate place for eye exercises (orthoptics), but not as a substitute for glasses.

What about contact lenses? Contact lenses have been in use since about 1910. They are small lenses that fit directly over the cornea and under the eyelids. They must be very carefully fitted to the exact shape of the cor­nea, and they have proved most useful in people with marked abnormalities of the cor­nea. Various improved types are now avail­able, and a suction cup is no longer needed for inserting them and taking them out. Unfor­tunately, contact lenses usually become un­comfortable after a few hours wear; otherwise the vanity or convenience of "not wearing glasses" would prompt far more people to use them, despite the fact that they are rather expensive.

Contact lenses usually cost between $150 and $350 a pair. Since about 8 million Amer­icans now wear them at least part of the time they represent an investment of about $1.5 billion.

Eye Injuries

Diseases of the Eye

Just as the eye can affect the entire bodily system, as in general fatigue from eyestrain, so, conversely, systemic infections can play particular havoc with the eye. Syphilis, gonor­rhea, and tuberculosis are three top offenders in this role: they have localized ocular effects, but they must be attacked systemically. Some of the childhood diseases, especially measles and scarlet fever, may affect the eyes. Some drugs or poisons taken internally have dis­astrous effects on the eyes, especially quinine and methyl (wood) alcohol.

Any part of the eye may be subject to infec­tion. The most serious are those which affect the cornea (keratitis), the iris (iritis), or the retina (retinitis).

Usually less serious but often very annoy­ing infections can afflict the external portions of the ocular system. Most frequently affected is the conjunctiva, the membrane lining the eyelid and covering the front of the eyeball. A mild form of conjunctivitis often accom­panies a common cold. Very severe infec­tions may be encountered, such as gonorrheal ophthalmia.

Pink eye is a form of conjunctivitis that usu­ally occurs in epidemic fashion. The eyes be­come bloodshot and inflamed, feel itchy and irritated, often feel as if something was in them, and may be stuck shut at night. Con­junctivitis is generally a communicable and contagious disease; the hygiene of cleanli­ness must be invoked against it. Any inflammation of the eyes demands serious medical investigation.

A sty is an infection of the lash roots and associated glands lining the margin of the eyelid. In certain respects it resembles a boil along a hair root. Persistent and repeated sties generally reflect a poor state of general health and are often associated with uncor­rected" errors of refraction and eyestrain.

The most serious infection of the eyelids is the condition known as trachoma, a highly communicable infection. It frequently causes blindness and has been the scourge of many oriental countries. Fortunately the modern sulfa drugs have proved effective in its treatment.

Diseases other than infection can afflict the eyes and cause blindness. Two important disabilities of this type are glaucoma and cataract. Both occur most commonly in mid­dle life or later. The basic, underlying causes are not known for either disease.

Glaucoma is a serious disease whose locale is within the eye itself; probably one in every eight or nine cases of blindness is a result of this disease. In glaucoma the pressure of the fluids within the eyeball unaccountably rises. Cataract is a clouding of the crystalline lens of the eye or its capsule. Light fails to reach the retina in sufficient quantity to make seeing possible. Cataracts usually develop in one eye before the other and progress gradu­ally. They can usually be relieved that is, failing sight can be restored—by a delicate operation removing the clouded lens.