=TWITCHING OF THE EYELIDS.=--This condition may be due to eye-strain, and can be relieved if the eyes are fitted to glasses by an oculist (not an optician). It is frequently an accompaniment of inflammation of the eyes, and when this is cured the twitching of the lids disappears. When the eyes are otherwise normal the twitching is frequently one of the signs of nerve fag and overwork. =WOUNDS AND BURNS ABOUT THE EYES.=--Slight wounds of the inner surface of the eyelids close readily without stitching if the boric-acid solution (ten grains to the ounce of water) is dropped into the eye four times daily. Burns of the inner surface of the lids follow the entrance of hot water, hot ashes, lime, acids, and molten metals. Burns produced by lime are treated by dropping a solution of vinegar (one part of vinegar to four of water) into the eye, while those caused by acids are relieved by similar treatment with limewater or solution of baking soda (half a teaspoonful to the glass of water). If these remedies are not at hand, the essential object is attained by washing the eye with a strong current of water, as from a hose or faucet. If there is much swelling of the lids, and inflammation after the accident, drop boric-acid solution into the eye four times daily. Treatment by cold compresses, as recommended for "black eye," will do much also to quiet the irritation, and the patient should wear dark glasses. =SORE EYES; CONJUNCTIVITIS.=--The mucous membrane lining the inner surface of the eyelids also covers the front of the eyeball, although so transparent here that it is not apparent to the observer. Inflammation of this membrane is more commonly limited to that portion covering the inner surfaces of the lids, but may extend to the eyeball when the eye becomes "bloodshot" and the condition more serious. For the sake of convenience we may speak of a mild form of sore eye, as _congestion of the eyelids_, and the more severe type, as true _conjunctivitis_ (see p. 18). =CONGESTION OF THE EYELIDS.=--This may be caused by smoke or dust in the atmosphere, by other foreign bodies in the eye; frequently by eye-strain, due to far- or near-sightedness, astigmatism, or muscular weakness, which may be corrected by an oculist's (never an optician's) prescription for glasses. Exposure to an excessive glare of light, as in the case of firemen, or, on the other hand, reading constantly and often in a poor light, will induce irritation of the lids. The germs which cause "cold in the head" often find their way into the eyes through the tear ducts, which connect the inner corner of the eyes with the nose, and thus may set up similar trouble in the eyes.