Records provide clues to ophthalmic care

http://tinyurl.com/8b7v6 (Opthalmology News)

Thanks to David Meadows and his Explorator newsletter, for this item. Information from the Ebers and Edwin Papyri has been used to identify some of the eye-related complaints suffered by ancient Egyptians. Unlike many other parts of the anatomy, the eye does not survive well following the mummification process: "Chronic trachoma was most likely a serious disease of the period. Eye blurriness in both acute and chronic forms is mentioned in the Ebers papyrus. The condition was treated with oily or fatty ointments, which contained myrrh, resin, malachite, yellow ocher, and red natron. These treatments were used by Greek and Arab physicians later."

See the above site for other conditions, including leukoma and blindness, and the ingredients in medicines used to treat them.

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