Assessment, care and management of patients with red eye
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence & Practice Previous     Next

Assessment, care and management of patients with red eye

Susan Watkinson Associate lecturer, College of Nursing, Midwifery and Healthcare, University of West London, West London campus, Brentford, Middlesex, England
Ramesh Seewoodhary Senior lecturer, College of Nursing, Midwifery and Healthcare, University of West London, London, England

Red eye is a common ocular presentation in primary care, and there are several challenges that healthcare practitioners may encounter when caring for such patients. The main ocular conditions that can give rise to red eye are: primary acute angle closure glaucoma, acute iritis, dry eye, blepharitis and conjunctivitis. Red eye can be classified as sight-threatening or non-sight-threatening. Many patients presenting with painless red eye and normal vision usually recover well. However, when red eye is associated with pain, photophobia, watering and blurred vision, it is potentially sight-threatening and must be addressed urgently. Therefore, it is vital for healthcare practitioners to be able to undertake a careful assessment of the patient and make an accurate diagnosis early. This article provides an overview of the common causes of red eye encountered in general practice or an eye clinic. It discusses the nurse’s role in the care and management of patients with red eye, with reference to patient assessment, the skills required to make an accurate diagnosis, treatment and health promotion.

Nursing Standard. 32, 15, 43-50. doi: 10.7748/ns.2017.e10902

Correspondence

sue.watkinson@uwl.ac.uk

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Conflict of interest

None declared

Received: 22 May 2017

Accepted: 01 August 2017

Want to read more?

RCNi-Plus
Already have access? Log in

or

3-month trial offer for £5.25/month

Subscribe today and save 50% on your first three months
RCNi Plus users have full access to the following benefits:
  • Unlimited access to all 10 RCNi Journals
  • RCNi Learning featuring over 175 modules to easily earn CPD time
  • NMC-compliant RCNi Revalidation Portfolio to stay on track with your progress
  • Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
  • A customisable dashboard with over 200 topics
Subscribe

Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now


Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more