CONJUNCTIVITIS AND KERATITIS.
Inflammation of the conjunctiva and inflammation of the cornea almost always occur together, and reciprocally induce one another when of a certain degree of intensity. They may be simple, that is to say, produced by simple causes, or they may be specific, and of a contagious character.
Simple inflammation is caused by the action of cold, draughts, dust, or mechanical injuries. Specific inflammations, the nature of which is still little understood, occur in the ox and goat. They are very contagious, and may successively attack all the animals of a herd.
The symptoms of acute and specific inflammation differ very little. They comprise congestion, lachrymation, chemosis, a certain amount of suppuration, and sometimes superficial ulceration of the cornea. The patients suffer very acute pain, avoid the light, present all the symptoms of photophobia, and are affected with spasm of the orbicularis muscle.
In simple cases these symptoms frequently disappear, provided the byres are kept clean and astringent eye-washes are applied.
In contagious keratitis, however, the cornea may suppurate and even become perforated after a few weeks.
Treatment. The chief object of treatment under any circumstances must be to insure the most perfect cleanliness both of the globe of the eye and the conjunctival sacs.
The eye must, therefore, be irrigated with lukewarm water, the stream being injected beneath the lids. Each irrigation is followed by the use of an anodyne and astringent eye-wash containing borate of soda or sulphate of zinc, combined if necessary with cocaine.
| Distilled water | 100 | parts. |
| Borate of soda | 4 | „ |
| Hydrochlorate of cocaine | 1 | „ |
But saturated solution of boric acid is simple, and no less effective.
In contagious keratitis the eye lotion may contain 2 to 3 per cent. of nitrate of silver, the excess of silver being neutralised by washing out with a weak solution of common salt. After three or four applications this should be changed for a saturated solution of boric acid.