Ocular allergy. Scratching the surface of the red eye

The primary care physician may be the first physician to evaluate conjunctivitis caused by allergy or infection. A proper diagnosis can usually be made by asking the patient a few simple questions. Treatment with eyedrops is not always necessary. When the diagnosis is uncertain, treatment is best withheld, because "shotgun" therapy is seldom beneficial. Corticosteroid eyedrops are rarely necessary. When they are used, the physician must monitor intraocular pressure and examine the eye with a slit-lamp microscope for signs of cataract and opportunistic infection. Because there is a tendency to overtreat eye disorders, improvement of ocular inflammation is more often accomplished by stopping drug administration than by starting it.