TREATMENTS &
RESEARCH

Search the
latest
treatment
information
here.

Dr. Huntley's
Diagnosis
Checklist

Have a symptom?
See what questions
a doctor would ask.
 
Next Prev
Symptoms » Eye pain » Diagnosis Checklist
 
Dr. Huntley's

DIAGNOSIS CHECKLIST
for Eye pain

Questions Your Doctor May Ask - and Why!

During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in his assesment of the symptom: Eye pain. These may include a physical examination or other medical tests. Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information you can share with your doctor may help them with their diagnosis.

Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:

  1. How long have you had eye pain?

    Why: to determine if acute or chronic.

  2. What is the severity of the pain?

    Why: e.g. eye pain from glaucoma and acute iritis is severe; conjunctivitis may cause merely a gritty irritation of the eye.

  3. Is there a history of eye trauma?

    Why: may indicate an intraocular foreign body from a penetrating eye injury.

  4. Have you had a cold or running nose recently?

    Why: may indicate viral conjunctivitis.

  5. Is there a history of exposure of a red discharging eye at school, work or home?

    Why: may indicate bacterial conjunctivitis.

  6. Do you suffer from hay fever?

    Why: may suggest allergic conjunctivitis.

  7. Do you wear contact lenses?

    Why: contact lenses are prone to cause infection or an "overwear syndrome".

  8. Occupational history?

    Why: e.g. exposure to welding, foreign bodies, chemicals.

Questions your doctor may ask about related symptoms:

Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse your condition. These may include:

  1. Redness of the eye?

    Why: suggests definite eye disease such as herpes zoster, iritis, conjunctivitis, keratitis, foreign body, glaucoma, scleritis, cluster headache, cavernous sinus thrombosis or orbital cellulitis. If nil eye redness may suggest migraine, influenza, sinusitis, glaucoma, optic neuritis or retinal detachment.

  2. Swelling around the eye?

    Why: may suggest cavernous sinus thrombosis or herpes zoster.

  3. Rash around the eye?

    Why: may suggest herpes zoster infection.

  4. Headache?

    Why: may suggest migraine or cluster headache.

  5. Visual loss?

    Why: may suggest glaucoma, herpes simplex infection, iritis or corneal ulceration.

  6. Eye discharge?

    Why: e.g. bacterial conjunctivitis causes a pus-like discharge; viral and allergic conjunctivitis causes a clear or mucous type discharge; herpes simplex infection, corneal ulcer, acute iritis and acute glaucoma causes a reflex watering of the eye.

  7. Photophobia (dislike of light)?

    Why: may indicate herpes simplex infection, corneal ulcer, acute iritis, keratitis or glaucoma.

  8. Joint pain?

    Why: may suggest iritis due to either ankylosing spondylitis, Reiter's syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease.


 » Next page: Types of Eye pain

Rate This Website

What do you think about the features of this website? Take our user survey and have your say:

Website User Survey

Medical Tools & Articles:

Next articles:

Tools & Services:

Medical Articles:

Forums & Message Boards
 
HONcode We subscribe to the HONcode principles

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use. Information provided on this site is for informational purposes only; it is not intended as a substitute for advice from your own medical team. The information on this site is not to be used for diagnosing or treating any health concerns you may have - please contact your physician or health care professional for all your medical needs. Please see our Terms of Use.

Home | Symptoms | Diseases | Diagnosis | Videos | Tools | Forum | About Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Site Map | Advertise

Copyright © 2009 Health Grades Inc. All rights reserved.