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Taking an ophthalmological history

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

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The patient with an eye problem may complain of:

  • sore eye
  • redness
  • watering
  • alteration in appearance
  • impaired vision
  • double vision

It must remembered that some ophthalmological conditions are asymptomatic.

It is important in the history to discover:

  • if there have been previous episodes
  • if there is a family history of eye complaints
  • the manner of onset and progression of the symptoms
  • unilaterality or bilaterality of symptoms
  • systemic disease

Trauma to the eye should always be considered. Superficial eye damage is felt as "scratchy" whereas the pain of deeper eye disease may be referred to the brow or cheek.

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