2.13 Complete Eye Exam

=======================================

agk's Library of Common Simple Emergencies

What to do:
-----------

- Visual acuity, using Snellen (wall) or Jaeger 
   (hand-held) chart without then with the 
   patients own corrective lenses. If glasses 
   are not available, a pinhold will compensate 
   for most refractory errors.
- Wearing gloves, inspect lids, conjunctivae, 
   extraocular movements and pupillary 
   reflexes.
- Use a 10x slit lamp to examine the cornea and 
   anterior chamber, looking for any injection 
   of ciliary vessels at the corneal limbus, 
   indicating iritis. Look for light reflected 
   from protein exudate or suspended white 
   cells in the normally-clear aqueous humor 
   when the slit lamp is stopped down to a 
   pinhole (later signs of iritis). Look for 
   red cells (hyphema) or white cells 
   (hypopion) settling to the bottom of the 
   anterior chamber after the patient has been 
   sitting up for 15 minutes.
- Demonstrate the integrity of the corneal 
   epithelium with fluorescein dye, which is 
   taken up by exposed stroma or non-viable 
   epithelium, and glows green in ultraviolet 
   or cobalt blue light.
- Note the depth of the anterior chamber with 
   tangential lighting

 ----------------------------------------------------
 from Buttaravoli & Stair: COMMON SIMPLE EMERGENCIES
 Longwood Information LLC 4822 Quebec St NW Wash DC
 1.202.237.0971 fax 1.202.244.8393 electra@clark.net
 ----------------------------------------------------