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The tragedy of the commons

I am a big fan of the YouTube channel Extra Credits History, in which interesting historic events are explained in breathtakingly simple detail in 10 animated videos. I have watched every episode, including the ‘Early Christian Schisms’ and ‘The South...

Keeping watch

Although it’s autumn, it’s not too cold and the slight breeze blowing up from the sea does not make me regret leaving my jacket in clinic. It’s a strange site; hundreds of hospital staff standing on either side of the...

The management of watery eye in an infant with facial dysmorphism

A six-month-old child with facial dysmorphism is brought to the eye clinic with history of watery right eye since birth. How will you manage this child? Causes for watery eye in an infant 1. Overproduction of tears a. Infections b....

Sexually transmitted conjunctivitis – the REALLY sticky eye

Let’s face it, patients with conjunctivitis don’t always produce the most stimulating consultations and most of the time we can manage them in auto-pilot. The prospect of delving into such a patient’s sexual history is not overly appealing, but this...

The interpretation and use of ultrasound biomicroscopy (part 1)

Ultrasound Biomicroscopy (UBM) has become increasingly important for the diagnosis of a variety of anterior segment pathologies. Most ophthalmologists are familiar with conventional B-scan ultrasonography techniques, which operate at lower sound frequencies (7.5 to 20MHz). UBM is an ultrasound technique...

Typical and atypical optic neuritis – diagnosis and initial management

Optic neuritis is a relatively common presentation to ophthalmologists in the acute setting. The vast majority are cases of ‘typical’ optic neuritis (ON) but a smaller group of conditions, so-called, ‘atypical’ optic neuritides require a different work-up and management strategy....

Headaches in ophthalmology (part 2)

Ophthalmologists see a large number of patients with headaches or facial pain in the ophthalmic outpatient clinics or in emergency clinics. Over two articles, I will discuss several causes of headaches, ocular manifestations and proposed management and referral options. It...

Ophthalmic viscoelastic devices: Useful insights for a novice cataract surgeon

Ophthalmic viscoelastic devices (OVDs) are essential in many different stages of cataract surgery. This article discusses the categories of OVDs and their respective properties, and highlights their uses in different scenarios faced in cataract surgery. Ophthalmic viscoelastic devices are gel-like...

Lessons from an unusual case of syphilis

The rise of syphilis transmission rates over the past two decades has been one of public health’s great puzzles. In the UK, the situation has reached epidemic levels, with a 126% increase between 2013 and 2018 [1]. We present a...

White dot syndromes

It is fair to say that trainees and consultants who are not medical retina specialists are a bit scared of the so called retinal ‘white dot syndromes’. It is easy to understand why this is the case, as almost every...