The treatment of internal ophthalmia should embrace

The treatment of internal ophthalmia should embrace

The treatment of internal ophthalmia should embrace

Treatment. The treatment of internal ophthalmia should embrace, first, the removal of all existing causes or sources of aggravation of the disease, which need not be repeated here. Special care to protect the patient against strong light, cold, wet weather, and active exertion must, however, be insisted on. A dark stall and a cloth hung over the eye are important, while cleanliness, warmth, dryness, and rest are equally demanded. If the patient is strong and vigorous, a dose of 4 drams of Barbados aloes may be given, and if there is any reason to suspect a rheumatic origin one-half a dram powdered colchicum and one-half ounce salicylate of soda may be given daily. Locally the astringent lotions advised for external ophthalmia may be resorted to, especially when the superficial inflammation is well marked. More important, however, is to instill into the eye, a few drops at a time, a solution of 4 grains of atropia in 1 ounce of distilled water. This may be effected with the aid of a soft feather, and may be repeated at intervals of 10 minutes until the pupil is widely dilated. As the horse is to be kept in a dark stall, the consequent admission of light will be harmless, and the dilation of the pupil prevents adhesion between the iris and lens, relieves the constant tension of the eye in the effort to adapt the pupil to the light, and solicits the contraction of the blood vessels of the eye and the lessening of congestion, exudation, and intraocular pressure. Should atropia not agree with the case, it may be replaced by morphia (same strength) or cocaine in 4 per cent solution. Another local measure is a blister, which can usually be applied to advantage on the side of the nose or beneath the ear. Spanish flies may be used as for external ophthalmia. In very severe cases the parts beneath the eye may be shaved and three or four leeches applied. Setons are sometimes beneficial, and even puncture of the eyeball, but these should be reserved for professional hands.

Cataracts

Cataracts
Cataracts that appear as a simple haze or indefinite, fleecy cloud are usually on the capsule (capsular), while those that show a radiating arrangement are in the lens (lenticular), the radiating fibers of which the exudate follows. Black cataracts are formed by the adhesion of the pigment on the back of the iris to the front of the lens, and by the subsequent tearing loose of the iris, leaving a portion of its pigment adherent to the capsule of the lens. If the pupil is so contracted that it is impossible to see the lens, it may be dilated by applying to the front of the eye with a feather some drops of a solution of 4 grains of atropia in an ounce of water.

With such paralysis of the retina, vision is heavily clouded

With such paralysis of the retina, vision is heavily clouded

With such paralysis of the retina, vision is heavily clouded or entirely lost; hence, in spite of the open pupil, the finger may be approached to the eye without the animal's becoming conscious of it until it touches the surface, and if the nose on the affected side is gently struck and a feint made to repeat the blow the patient makes no effort to evade it. Sometimes the edges of the contracted pupil become adherent to each other by an intervening plastic exudation, and the opening becomes virtually abolished. In severe inflammations pus may form in the choroid or iris, and escaping into the cavity of the aqueous humor show as a yellowish-white stratum below. In nearly all cases there is resulting exudation into the lens or its capsule, constituting a cloudiness or opacity (cataract), which in severe and old-standing cases appears as a white, fleecy mass behind a widely dilated pupil. In the slighter cases cataract is to be recognized by examination of the eye in a dark chamber, with an oblique side light, as described in the introduction to this article.

The symptoms will vary according to the cause

The symptoms will vary according to the cause

The symptoms will vary according to the cause

Symptoms. The symptoms will vary according to the cause. If the attack is due to direct physical injury, the inflammation of the eyelids and superficial structures may be quite as marked as that of the interior of the eye. If, on the other hand, from general causes, or as a complication of some distant disease, the affection may be largely confined to the deeper structures, and the swelling, redness, and tenderness of the superficial structures will be less marked. When the external coats thus comparatively escape, the extreme anterior edge of the white or sclerotic coat, where it overlaps the border of the transparent cornea, is in a measure free from congestion, and, in the absence of the obscuring dark pigment, forms a whitish ring around the cornea. This is partly due to the fact that a series of arteries (ciliary) passing to the inflamed iris penetrate the sclerotic coat a short distance behind its anterior border, and there is therefore a marked difference in color between the general sclerotic occupied between these congested vessels and the anterior rim from which they are absent. Unfortunately, the pigment is often so abundant in the anterior part of the sclerotic as to hide this symptom. In internal ophthalmia the opacity of the cornea may be confined to a zone around the outer margin of the cornea, and even this may be a bluish haze rather than a deep, fleecy white. In consequence it becomes impossible to see the interior of the chamber for the aqueous humor and the condition of the iris and pupil. The aqueous humor is usually turbid, and has numerous yellowish-white flakes floating on its substance or deposited in the lower part of the chamber, so as to cut off the view of the lower portion of the iris. The still visible portion of the iris has lost its natural, clear, dark luster, which is replaced by a brownish or yellowish sere-leaf color. This is more marked in proportion as the iris is inflamed, and less so as the inflammation is confined to the choroid. The quantity of flocculent deposit in the chamber of the aqueous humor is also in direct ratio to the inflammation of the iris. Perhaps the most marked feature of internal ophthalmia is the extreme and painful sensitiveness to light.

On this account the lids are usually closed, but when opened the pupil is seen to be narrowly closed, even if the animal has been kept in a darkened stall. Exceptions to this are seen when inflammatory effusion has overfilled the globe of the eye, and by pressure on the retina has paralyzed it, or when the exudation into the substance of the retina itself has similarly led to its paralysis. Then the pupil may be dilated, and frequently its margin loses its regular, ovoid outline and becomes uneven by reason of the adhesions which it has contracted with the capsule of the lens, through its inflammatory exudations. In the case of excessive effusion into the globe of the eye that is found to have become tense and hard so that it can not be indented with the tip of the finger, paralysis of the retina is liable to result.

Acting with greater intensity or on a more susceptible eye

Acting with greater intensity or on a more susceptible eye

Acting with greater intensity or on a more susceptible eye

Causes. The causes of internal ophthalmia are largely those of the external form only, acting with greater intensity or on a more susceptible eye. Severe blows, bruises, punctures, etc., of the eye, the penetration of foreign bodies into the eye (thorns, splinters of iron, etc.), sudden transition from a dark stall to bright sunshine, to the glare of snow or water, constant glare from a sunny window, abuse of the overdraw checkrein, vivid lightning flashes, drafts of cold, damp air; above all, when the animal is perspiring, exposure in cold rain or snowstorms, swimming cold rivers; also certain general diseases like rheumatism, arthritis, influenza, and disorders of the digestive organs, may become complicated by this affection. From the close relation between the brain and eye alike in the blood vessels and nerves disorders of the first lead to affection of the second, and the same remark applies to the persistent irritation to which the jaws are subjected in the course of dentition. So potent is the last agency that we dread a recurrence of ophthalmia so long as dentition is incomplete, and hope for immunity if the animal completes its dentition without any permanent structural change in the eye.

Internal Ophthalmia (Iritis, Choroiditis, And Retinitis).

Internal Ophthalmia (Iritis, Choroiditis, And Retinitis).

Although inflammations of the iris, choroid, and retina the inner, vascular, and nervous coats of the eye occur to a certain extent independently of each other, yet one usually supervenes upon the other, and, as the symptoms are thus made to coincide, it will be best for our present purposes to treat the three as one disease.

Ulcers of The Cornea.

Ulcers of The Cornea.

These may be treated with nitrate of silver lotion of twice the strength used for opacities. Powdered gentian, one-half ounce, and sulphate of iron, one-fourth ounce, daily, may improve the general health and increase the reparatory power.

White Specks And Cloudiness of The Cornea.

White Specks And Cloudiness of The Cornea.

As a result of external ophthalmia, opaque specks, clouds, or haziness are too often left on the cornea and require for their removal that they be daily touched with a soft feather dipped in a solution of 3 grains nitrate of silver in 1 ounce distilled water. This should be applied until all inflammation has subsided, and until its contact is comparatively painless. It is rarely successful with an old, thick scar following an ulcer, nor with an opacity having red blood vessels running across it.

Vigorous patients benefit will usually be obtained from a laxative

Vigorous patients benefit will usually be obtained from a laxative

Vigorous patients benefit will usually be obtained from a laxative

In strong, vigorous patients benefit will usually be obtained from a laxative, such as 2 tablespoonfuls of Glauber's salt daily, and if the fever runs high from a daily dose of half an ounce of saltpeter. As local applications, astringent solutions are usually the best, as 30 grains of borax or of sulphate of zinc in a quart of water, to be applied constantly on a cloth, as advised under "Inflammation of the eyelids." In the absence of anything better, cold water may serve every purpose. Above all, adhesive and oily agents (molasses, sugar, fats) are to be avoided, as only adding to the irritation. By way of suggesting agents that may be used with good effect, salt and sulphate of soda may be named, in solutions double the strength of sulphate of zinc, or 7 grains of nitrate of silver may be added to a quart of distilled water, and will be found especially applicable in granular conjunctivitis, diphtheria, or commencing ulceration. A cantharides blister (1 part of Spanish fly to 4 parts lard) may be rubbed on the side of the face 3 inches below the eye, and washed off next morning with soapsuds and oiled daily till the scabs are dropped.

Or other foreign body from the conjunctiva

Or other foreign body from the conjunctiva

Or other foreign body from the conjunctiva

Treatment. In treating external ophthalmia the first object is the removal of the cause. Remove any dust, chaff, thorn, or other foreign body from the conjunctiva, purify the stable from all sources of ammoniacal or other irritant gas; keep the horse from dusty roads, and, above all, from the proximity of a leading wagon and its attendant cloud of dust; remove from pasture and feed from a rack which is neither so high as to drop seeds, etc., into the eyes nor so low as to favor the accumulation of blood in the head; avoid equally excess of light from a sunny window in front of the stall and excess of darkness from the absence of windows; preserve from cold drafts and rains and wet bedding, and apply curative measures for inflammation of the adjacent mucous membranes or skin. If the irritant has been of a caustic nature, remove any remnant of it by persistent bathing with tepid water and a soft sponge, or with water mixed with white of egg, or a glass filled with the liquid may be inverted over the eye so that its contents may dilute and remove the irritant. If the suffering is very severe, a lotion with a few grains of extract of belladonna or of morphia in an ounce of water may be applied, or, if it is available, a few drops of 4 per cent solution of cocaine may be instilled into the eye.

If the affection has resulted from a wound of the cornea

If the affection has resulted from a wound of the cornea

If the affection has resulted from a wound of the cornea

If the affection has resulted from a wound of the cornea, not only is that the point of greatest opacity, forming a white speck or fleecy cloud, but too often blood vessels begin to extend from the adjacent vascular covering of the eye (sclerotic) to the white spot, and that portion of the cornea is rendered permanently opaque. Again, if the wound has been severe, though still short of cutting into the anterior layers of the cornea, the injury may lead to ulceration that may penetrate more or less deeply and leave a breach in the tissue which, if filled up at all, is repaired by opaque fibrous tissue in place of the transparent cellular structure. Pus may form, and the cornea assumes a yellowish tinge and bursts, giving rise to a deep sore which is liable to extend as an ulcer, and may be in its turn followed by bulging of the cornea at that point (staphyloma). This inflammation of the conjunctiva may be simply catarrhal, with profuse mucopurulent discharge; it may be granular, the surface being covered with minute reddish elevations, or it may become the seat of a false membrane (diphtheria).

The symptoms are watering of the eye

The symptoms are watering of the eye

The symptoms are watering of the eye

Symptoms. The symptoms are watering of the eye, swollen lids, redness of the mucous membrane exposed by the separation of the lids it may be a mere pink blush with more or less branching redness, or it may be a deep, dark red, as from effusion of blood and a bluish opacity of the cornea, which is normally clear and translucent. Except when resulting from wounds and actual extravasation of blood, however, the redness is seen to be superficial, and if the opacity is confined to the edges, and does not involve the entire cornea, the aqueous humor behind is seen to be still clear and limpid. The fever is always less severe than in internal ophthalmia, and runs high only in the worst cases. The eyelids may be kept closed, the eyeball retracted, and the haw protruded over one-third or one-half of the ball, but this is due to the pain only and not to any excessive sensibility to light, as shown by the comparatively widely dilated pupil. In internal ophthalmia, on the contrary, the narrow, contracted pupil is the measure of the pain caused by the falling of light on the inflamed and sensitive optic nerve (retina) and choroid.

The presence of foreign bodies

The presence of foreign bodies

The presence of foreign bodies

Causes. The causes of external opththalmia are mainly those that act locally blows with whips, clubs, and twigs, the presence of foreign bodies, like hayseed, chaff, dust, lime, sand, snuff, pollen of plants, flies attracted by the brilliancy of the eye, wounds of the bridle, the migration of the scabies (mange) insect into the eye, smoke, ammonia arising from the excretions, irritant emanations from drying marshes, etc. Road dust containing infecting microbes is a common factor. A very dry air is alleged to act injuriously by drying the eye as well as by favoring the production of irritant dust; the undue exposure to bright sunshine through a window in front of the stall, or to the reflection from snow or water, also is undoubtedly injurious. The unprotected exposure of the eyes to sunshine through the use of a very short overdraw check is to be condemned, and the keeping of the horse in a very dark stall, from which it is habitually led into the glare of full sunlight, intensified by reflection from snow or white limestone, must be set down among the locally acting causes. Exposure to cold and wet, to wet and snow storms, to cold drafts and wet lairs must also be accepted as causes of conjunctivitis, the general disorder which they produce affecting the eye, if that happens to be the weakest and most susceptible organ of the body, or if it has been subjected to any special local injury, like dust, irritant gases, or excess of light. Again, external opththalmia is a constant concomitant of inflammation of the contiguous and continuous mucous membranes, as those of the nose and throat hence the red, watery eyes that attend on nasal catarrh, sore throat, influenza, strangles, nasal glanders, and the like. In such cases, however, the affection of the eye is subsidiary and is manifestly overshadowed by the primary and predominating disease.

External Ophthalmia, or Conjunctivitis.

External Ophthalmia, or Conjunctivitis.

In inflammation of the outer parts of the eyeball the exposed vascular and sensitive mucous membrane (conjunctiva) which covers the ball, the eyelids, the haw, and the lacrimal apparatus, is usually the most deeply involved, yet adjacent parts are more or less implicated, and when disease is concentrated on these contiguous parts it constitutes a phase of external opththalmia which demands a special notice. These have accordingly been already treated of.

The narrowed or obstructed ducts may be made pervious by a fine

The narrowed or obstructed ducts may be made pervious by a fine

The narrowed or obstructed ducts may be made pervious by a fine

The narrowed or obstructed ducts may be made pervious by a fine, silver probe passed down to the lacrimal sac, and any existing inflammation of the passages may be counteracted by the use of steaming mashes of wheat bran, by fomentations or wet cloths over the face, and even by the use of astringent eyewashes and the injection of similar liquids into the lacrimal canal from its nasal opening. The ordinary eyewash may be used for this purpose, or it may be injected after dilution to half its strength. The fractures and diseases of the bones and teeth must be treated according to their special demands when, if the canal is still left pervious, it may be again rendered useful.

Situated at the inner angle of the eye

Situated at the inner angle of the eye

Situated at the inner angle of the eye

The two lacrimal openings, situated at the inner angle of the eye, may fail to admit the tears by reason of their deviation outward in connection with the eversion of the lower lid or by reason of their constriction in inflammation of the mucous membrane. The lacrimal sac, into which the lacrimal ducts open, may fail to discharge its contents by reason of constriction or closure of the duct leading to the nose, and it then forms a rounded swelling beneath the inner angle of the eye. The duct leading from the sac to the nose may be compressed or obliterated by fractures of the bones of the face, and in disease of these bones (osteosarcoma, so-called osteoporosis, diseased teeth, glanders of the nasal sinuses, abscess of the same cavities).

Obstruction of The Lacrimal Apparatus, or Watering Eye.

Obstruction of The Lacrimal Apparatus, or Watering Eye.

The escape of tears on the side of the cheek is a symptom of external inflammation of the eye, but it may also occur from any disease of the lacrimal apparatus which interferes with the normal progress of the tears to the nose; hence, in all cases when this symptom is not attended with special redness or swelling of the eyelids, it is well to examine the lacrimal apparatus. In some instances the orifice of the lacrimal duct on the floor of the nasal chamber and close to its anterior outlet will be found blocked by a portion of dry mucopurulent matter, on the removal of which tears may begin to escape. This implies an inflammation of the canal, which may be helped by occasional sponging out of the nose with warm water, and the application of the same on the face. Another remedy is to feed warm mashes of wheat bran from a nosebag, so that the relaxing effects of the water vapor may be secured.

Tumor of The Haw, or Caries of The Cartilage.

Tumor of The Haw, or Caries of The Cartilage.

Though cruelly excised for alleged "hooks," when itself perfectly healthy, in the various diseases which lead to retraction of the eye into its socket, the haw may, like other bodily structures, be itself the seat of actual disease. The pigmentary, black tumors of white horses and soft (encephaloid) cancer may attack this part primarily or extend to it from the eyeball or eyelids; hairs have been found growing from its surface, and the mucous membrane covering it becomes inflamed in common with that covering the front of the eye. These inflammations are but a phase of the inflammation of the external structures of the eye, and demand no particular notice nor special treatment. The tumors lead to such irregular enlargement and distortion of the haw that the condition is not to be confounded with the simple projection of the healthy structure over the eye when the lids are pushed apart with the finger and thumb, and the same remark applies to the ulceration, or caries, of the cartilage. In the latter case, besides the swelling and distortion of the haw, there is this peculiarity, that in the midst of the red inflamed mass there appears a white line or mass formed by the exposed edge of the ulcerating cartilage. The animal having been thrown and properly fixed, an assistant holds the eyelids apart while the operator seizes the haw with forceps or hook and carefully dissects it out with blunt-pointed scissors. The eye is then covered with a cloth, kept wet with an eyewash, as for external ophthalmia.

Torn Eyelids or Wounds of Eyelids.

Torn Eyelids or Wounds of Eyelids.

The eyelids are torn by attacks with horns of cattle, or with the teeth, or by getting caught on nails in stall, rack, or manger, on the point of stumps, fences, or fence rails, on the barbs of wire fences, and on other pointed bodies. The edges should be brought together as promptly as possible, so as to effect union without the formation of matter, puckering of the skin, and unsightly distortions. Great care is necessary to bring the two edges together evenly without twisting or puckering. The simplest mode of holding them together is by a series of sharp pins passed through the lips of the wound at intervals of not more than a third of an inch, and held together by a thread twisted around each pin in the form of the figure 8, and carried obliquely from pin to pin in two directions, so as to prevent gaping of the wound in the intervals. The points of the pins may then be cut off with scissors, and the wound may be wet twice a day with a weak solution of carbolic acid.

In gray and in white horses black

In gray and in white horses black

In gray and in white horses black

In gray and in white horses black, pigmentary tumors (melanotic) are common on the black portions of skin, such as the eyelids, and are to be removed by scissors or knife, according to their size. In the horse they do not usually tend to recur when thoroughly removed, but at times they prove cancerous (as is the rule in man), and then they tend to reappear in the same site or in internal organs with, it may be, fatal effect.

Encysted, honeylike (melicerous), sebaceous, and fibrous tumors of the lids all require removal with the knife.

So that the whole may be tied in moderately sized sections

So that the whole may be tied in moderately sized sections

So that the whole may be tied in moderately sized sections

A bleeding wart, or erectile tumor, is more liable to bleed, and is best removed by constricting its neck with the waxed cord or rubber band, or if too broad it may be transfixed through its base by a needle armed with a double thread, which is then to be cut in two and tied around the two portions of the neck of the tumor. If still broader, the armed needle may be carried through the base of the tumor at regular intervals, so that the whole may be tied in moderately sized sections.

Warts And Other Tumors of The Eyelids.

Warts And Other Tumors of The Eyelids.

The eyelids form a favorite site for tumors, and above all, warts, which consist in a simple diseased overgrowth (hypertrophy) of the surface layers of the skin. If small, they may be snipped off with scissors or tied around the neck with a stout, waxed thread and left to drop off, the destruction being completed, if necessary, by the daily application of a piece of sulphate of copper (blue vitriol), until any unhealthy material has been removed. If more widely spread, the wart may still be clipped off with curved scissors or knife, and the caustic thoroughly applied day by day.

Trichiasis.

Trichiasis.

This consists in the turning in of the eyelashes so as to irritate the front of the eye. If a single eyelash, it may be snipped off with scissors close to the margin of the eyelid or pulled out by the root with a pair of flat-bladed forceps. If the divergent lashes are more numerous, the treatment may be as for entropion, by excising an elliptical portion of skin opposite the offending lashes and stitching the edges together, so as to draw outward the margin of the lid at that point.

Entropion And Ectropion, or Inversion And Eversion of The Eyelid.

Entropion And Ectropion, or Inversion And Eversion of The Eyelid.

These are respectively caused by wounds, sloughs, ulcers, or other causes of loss of substance of the mucous membrane on the inside of the lid and of the skin on the outside; also of tumors, skin diseases, or paralysis which leads to displacement of the margin of the eyelid. As a rule, they require a surgical operation, with removal of an elliptical portion of the mucous membrane or skin, as the case may be, but which requires the skilled and delicate hand of the surgeon.

Sty, or Furuncle (Boil) of The Eyelid.

Sty, or Furuncle (Boil) of The Eyelid.

This is an inflammation of limited extent, advancing to the formation of matter and the sloughing out of a small mass of the natural tissue of the eyelid. It forms a firm, rounded swelling, usually near the margin of the lid, which suppurates and bursts in four or five days. Its course may be hastened by a poultice of camomile flowers, to which have been added a few drops of carbolic acid, the whole applied in a very thin muslin bag. If the swelling is slow to open after having become yellowish white, it may be opened by a lancet, the incision being made at right angles to the margin of the lid.

The treatment will vary according to the severity

The treatment will vary according to the severity

The treatment will vary according to the severity

Treatment. The treatment will vary according to the severity. Insect bites may be touched with a solution of equal parts of glycerin and aqua ammonia, or a 10 per cent solution of carbolic acid in water. Snake bites may be bathed with aqua ammonia, and the same agent given in doses of 2 teaspoonfuls in a quart of water, or alcohol may be given in pint or quart doses, according to the size of the animal. In erysipelas the skin may be painted with tincture of chlorid of iron, or with a solution of 20 grains of iodin in an ounce of carbolic acid, and one-half an ounce of tincture of chlorid of iron may be given thrice daily in a bottle of water. In anthrax the swelling should be painted with tincture of iodin, or of the mixture of iodin and carbolic acid, and if very threatening it may have the tincture of iodin injected into the swelling with a hypodermic syringe, or the hard mass may be freely incised to its depth with a sharp lancet and the lotion applied to the exposed tissues. Internally, iodid of potassium may be given in doses of 2 drams thrice a day, or tincture of the chlorid of iron every four hours.

2 In inflammations due to local

2 In inflammations due to local

2 In inflammations due to local

(2) In inflammations due to local irritants of a noninfective kind a careful examination will usually reveal their presence, and the first step must be their removal with a pair of blunt forceps or the point of a lead pencil. Subsequent treatment will be in the main the local treatment advised above.

(3) In case of infective inflammation there will often be found a prick or tear by which the septic matter has entered, and in such case the inflammation will for a time be concentrated at that point. A round or conical swelling around an insect bite is especially characteristic. A snake bite is marked by the double prick made by the two teeth and by the violent and rapidly spreading inflammation. Erysipelas is attended with much swelling, extending beyond the lids and causing the mucous membrane to protrude beyond the edge of the eyelid (chemosis). This is characterized by a bright, uniform, rosy red, disappearing on pressure, or later by a dark, livid hue, but with less branching redness than in noninfecting inflammation and less of the dark, dusky, brownish or yellowish tint of anthrax. Little vesicles may appear on the skin, and pus may be found without any distinct limiting membrane, as in abscess. It is early attended with high fever and marked general weakness and inappetence. Anthrax of the lids is marked by a firm swelling, surmounted by a blister, with bloody serous contents, which tends to burst and dry up into a slough, while the surrounding parts become involved in the same way. Or it may show as a diffuse, dropsical swelling, with less of the hard, central sloughing nodule, but, like that, tending to spread quickly. In both cases alike the mucous membrane and the skin, if white, assumes a dusky-brown or yellowish-brown hue, which is largely characteristic. This may pass into a black color by reason of extravasation of blood. Great constitutional disturbance appears early, with much prostration and weakness and generalized anthrax symptoms.

The local treatment consists in astringent

The local treatment consists in astringent

The local treatment consists in astringent

The local treatment consists in astringent, soothing lotions (sugar of lead 30 grains, laudanum 2 teaspoonfuls, rain water boiled and cooled 1 pint), applied with a soft cloth kept wet with the lotion, and hung over the eye by tying it to the headstall of the bridle on the two sides. If the mucous membrane lining of the lids is the seat of little red granular elevations, a drop of solution of 2 grains of nitrate of silver in an ounce of distilled water should be applied with the soft end of a clean feather to the inside of the lid twice a day. The patient should be removed from all such conditions (pasture, faulty feed, exposure, etc.) as may have caused or aggravated the disease, and from dust and irritant fumes and gases. He should be fed from a manger high enough to favor the return of blood from the head, and should be kept from work, especially in a tight collar which would prevent the descent of blood by the jugular veins. The diet should be laxative and nonstimulating (grass, bran mashes, carrots, turnips, beets, potatoes, or steamed hay), and any costiveness should be corrected by a mild dose of raw linseed oil (1 to 1-1/2 pints). In cold weather warm blanketing may be needful, and even loose flannel bandages to the limbs, but heat should never be sought at the expense of pure air.

2 those due to direct injury

2 those due to direct injury

2 those due to direct injury

The affection will, therefore, readily divide itself into (1) inflammations due to constitutional causes; (2) those due to direct injury, mechanical or chemical; and (3) such as are due to inoculation with infecting material.

(1) Inflammations due to constitutional causes are distinguished by the absence of any local wound, and the history of a low, damp pasture, exposure, indigestion from unwholesome feed, or the presence elsewhere on the limbs or body of the general, doughy swellings of purpura hemorrhagica. The lids are swollen and thickened; it may be slightly or it may be so extremely that the eyeball can not be seen. If the lid can be everted to show its mucous membrane, that is seen to be of a deep-red color, especially along the branching lines of the blood vessels. The part is hot and painful, and a profuse flow of tears and mucus escapes on the side of the face, causing irritation and loss of the hair. If improvement follows, this discharge becomes more tenacious, and tends to cause adhesion to the edges of the upper and lower lids and to mat together the eyelashes in bundles. This gradually decreases to the natural amount, and the redness and congested appearance of the eye disappears, but swelling, thickening, and stiffness of the lids may continue for a time. There may be more or less fever according to the violence of the inflammation, but so long as there is no serious disease of the interior of the eye or of other vital organ, it is usually moderate.

Inflammation of The Eyelids.

Inflammation of The Eyelids.

The eyelids suffer more or less in all severe inflammations of the eye, whether external or internal, but inasmuch as the disease sometimes starts in the lids and at other times is exclusively confined to them, it deserves independent mention.

Among the causes may be named: Exposure to drafts of cold air, or to cold rain or snow storms; the bites or stings of mosquitoes, flies, or other insects; snake bites, pricks with thorns, blows of whip or club; accidental bruises against the stall or ground, especially during the violent struggles of colic, enteritis, phrenitis (staggers), and when thrown for operations. It is also a result of infecting inoculations, as of erysipelas, anthrax, boil, etc., and is noted by Leblanc as especially prevalent among horses kept on low, marshy pastures. Finally, the introduction of sand, dust, chaff, beards of barley and seeds of the finest grasses, and the contact with irritant, chemical powders, liquids, and gases (ammonia from manure or factory, chlorin, strong sulphur fumes, smoke, and other products of combustion, etc.) may start the inflammation. The eyelids often undergo extreme inflammatory and dropsical swelling in urticaria (nettlerash, surfeit) and in the general inflammatory dropsy known as purpura hemorrhagica.

Be due to spasm of the sphincter muscle

Be due to spasm of the sphincter muscle

Be due to spasm of the sphincter muscle

The condition may, however, be due to spasm of the sphincter muscle, which closes the lids, or to inflammation of the upper lid, usually a result of blows on the orbit. In the latter case it may run a slow course with chronic thickening of the lid.

The paralysis due to the poke may be often remedied, first, by the removal of any remaining inflammation by a wet sponge worn beneath the ear and kept in place by a bandage; secondly, when all inflammation has passed, by a blister on the same region, or by rubbing it daily with a mixture of olive oil and strong aqua ammonia in equal proportions. Improvement is usually slow, and it may be months before complete recovery ensues.

In paralysis from blows above the eyes the same treatment may be applied to that part.

Thickening of the lid may be treated by painting with tincture of iodin, and that failing, by cutting out an elliptical strip of the skin from the middle of the upper lid and stitching the edges together.