History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

260 History of Medical Practice in Illinoisirritation of the upper teeth." Among the new methods of treatment describedby Dr. Starkey were antipyrine for relief of pain, irrigation of theeyes with dilute sublimate solution as recommended by Dr. Hotz in apaper at the meeting of the American Medical Association in 1887, anda new ocular antiseptic, creolin. Dr. Starkey commented on the discussionby Dr. A. C. Corr of all the eye papers: "I cannot at all agree with Dr.Corr (who had recommended a strong solution of tannin in glycerine andwater) in his treatment of ophthalmia neonatorum. Ido not believe wecan discard nitrate of silver solution in these particular cases for any otherremedy that we possess ... in the terrible case of gonorrheal ophthalmia(and you will grant that this term isnot too strong when you recall thatabout one-half the blind people in the world are blind from purulentconjunctivitis). While we may control the discharge and swelling to agreat extent by antiseptics and thorough cleansing, we cannot prevent thedisease going straight through the cornea in a certain proportion of cases.We used to think the cornea necrosed because the swelling of the surroundingtissues cut off its blood supply but cases . . . have led me to concludethat the specific poison (the gonococcus if you will) acts directly and destructivelyupon the cornea. ... It has been demonstrated that by properprecautions the occurrence of ophthalmia neonatorum can be almost entirelyprevented. . . . The eyes should be irrigated with a 2 gram to theounce solution of silver nitrate."In 1890, Dr. Hotz read a paper on "The Nature of Eyestrain and ItsRelation to Headache and the Nervous Disorders" in which he emphasizedheterophoria as well as refractive errors. The latter were fairly wellrecognized in the profession by that date although, according to Dr.Thomas Shastid, many general practitioners of that era still refused torecognize that headaches could be produced by refractive errors in theyoung and vigorously opposed their correction with lenses, a fact whichhelped the development of the non-medical refractionist.In 1891, Dr. Corr covered a multitude of subjects in a paper with therather general title of "Little Things in Ophthalmology." He stated: "Iam quite sure that I have seen it (iritis) arise from excessive functionalactivity of the eye laboring under the disadvantage of an error of refraction."Thus, the pendulum swung to the left too far. Dr. Corr, like manymen of the period in smaller communities, did not practice the specialtyalone but combined it with a generous sprinkling of general practice. In1895, he presented two papers at the State meeting, the first on "Trachomaof the Conjunctiva, not a Disease in Itself" and the other entitled "Emasculationand Ovariotomy as a Means of Punishment and Reformation ofCriminals."Among others to present papers before the then established Section on