ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a case study of a 28-year-old woman who is admitted to the Emergency Department with a 12-hour history of moderate gritty right eye pain, which is worse in bright lighting conditions, and a clear watery discharge. She denies any flashes, floaters, glare or history of trauma to that eye. Painful red eye is a concerning sign for emergency physicians; however, clues in history and examination help differentiate benign and sight threatening ophthalmic emergencies. The history and examination findings in this patient are suggestive of microbial keratitis, which is an ophthalmological emergency. This may be viral, bacterial, fungal or protozoal. Initial management of bacterial keratitis should include removing contact lenses from both eyes. Regular follow-up with the ophthalmologist is needed for patients until improvement is seen. Infections can be difficult to treat and recurrence is common in fungal or protozoan infections.
