Conjunctival and corneal swabs and smears are the usual specimens collected to diagnose acute bacterial or viral (kerato) conjunctivitis. Label all specimens as conjunctival or corneal and indicate whether the specimen was taken from the left or right eye. Strict aseptic technique is essential when collecting and processing these specimens. All medicines and droppers that come in contact with patients should be discarded.
While corneal scrapings may occasionally prove useful in improving the utility of corneal specimens for diagnosis of some infections, these are not generally infections which are epidemic-prone. Corneal scrapings must only be collected by an ophthalmologist or other trained persons. For these reasons, instructions for taking corneal scrapings will not be given here.
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