or
whatever foreign body it may be, is removed by gently sweeping it off
the mucous membrane with a fold of a soft, clean handkerchief.

Hot cinders and pieces of metal may become so deeply lodged in the
surface of the eye that it is necessary to dig them out with a needle
(which has been passed through a flame to kill the germs on it) after
cocaine solution has been dropped into the eye twice at a minute
interval. Such a procedure is, of course, appropriate for an oculist,
but when it is impossible to secure medical aid for days it can be
attempted without much fear, if done carefully, as more harm will
result if the offending body is left in place. It is surprising to see
what a hole in the surface of the eye will fill up in a few days. If
the foreign body has caused a good deal of irritation before its
removal, it is best to drop into the eye a solution of boric acid (ten
grains to the ounce of water) four times daily.

"=BLACK EYE.="--To relieve this condition it is first necessary to
reduce the swelling. This can be done by applying to the closed lids,
every three minutes, little squares of white cotton or linen, four
fold and about as large as a silver dollar, which have laid on a cake
of ice until thoroughly cold. This treatment is most effective when
pursued almost continuously for twenty-four hours. The cold compresses
should not be permitted to overlap the nose, or a violent cold in the
head may ensue. The swelling having subsided, the discoloration next
occupies our attention. This may be removed speedily by applying, more
or less constantly below the lower lid, little pieces of flannel
dipped in water as hot as can be borne. The cloths must be changed as
often as they cool. Repeat this treatment for a half hour every two
hours or so during the day.

=STYE.=--A stye is a boil on the eyelid; it begins at the root of a
hair as a hard swelling which may extend to the whole lid. The tip of
the swelling takes on a yellowish color, breaks down and discharges
"matter" or pus. There are pain and a feeling of tension in the lid,
and, very rarely, some fever. When one stye follows another it is well
to have the eyes examined by an oculist, as eye-strain is often an
inviting cause of the trouble, and this can be corrected by the use of
glasses. Otherwise the patient is probably "run down" from chronic
constipation and anaemia (poverty of the blood) and other causes, and
needs a change of air, tonics, and exercise