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The Red Eye

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Family Medicine

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Abstract

Red eye is one of the most common ocular conditions that presents in the primary care setting. Most cases are benign; however, some may cause permanent vision loss. Many conditions can be treated by primary care physicians. Therefore, it is important for the provider to be able to determine those cases that require urgent ophthalmic consultation. Most causes of red eye can be diagnosed by taking a detailed patient history and careful eye examination. Obtaining certain elements in the history can aid in determining whether an ophthalmic consultation is required. Key elements in the history include pain, decreased vision, foreign body sensation, photophobia, trauma, use of contact lens, and discharge. The assessment of clinical signs should include the location of the redness (eyelids, conjunctiva, cornea, sclera and episclera, or intraocular), unilateral or bilateral involvement, associated symptoms (pain, itching, visual decrease, or loss), and other ocular (mucopurulent discharge, watering, blepharospasm, lagophthalmus) or systemic (fever, nausea) findings (Wirbelauer, Am J Med 119:302–306, 2006). Equally important is to perform a thorough ophthalmologic examination, including visual acuity, penlight examination, and fundus examination.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Medicine, Desert Regional Medical Center, Palm Springs, CA, USA

    Gemma Kim, Tae K. Kim, Luanne Carlson & Luanne Carlson

Authors
  1. Gemma Kim
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  2. Tae K. Kim
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  3. Luanne Carlson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Medicine, University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE, USA

    Paul Paulman

  2. Department of Family and Community Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Robert B. Taylor

  3. Department of Family Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA

    Audrey A. Paulman

  4. Department of Family Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA

    Laeth S. Nasir

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Kim, G., Kim, T.K., Carlson, L. (2020). The Red Eye. In: Paulman, P., Taylor, R., Paulman, A., Nasir, L. (eds) Family Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0779-3_76-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0779-3_76-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-0779-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-0779-3

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    The Red Eye
    Published:
    15 July 2020

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0779-3_76-2

  2. Original

    The Red Eye
    Published:
    20 June 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0779-3_76-1

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