Limbal and Bulbar Hyperaemia in Normal Eyes

Purpose: To investigate the appearance of limbal and bulbar hyperaemia in normal eyes, their relationship and the inter‐observer agreement of clinical grading. Methods: The right eyes of 120 healthy, non‐contact lens‐wearing subjects (m = 57, f = 63, median age = 45 years, range 18–77 years) were examined by two trained observers. Limbal and bulbar hyperaemia were scored using the Cornea and Contact Lens Research Unit (CCLRU) redness grading scales interpolated into 0.1 increments. Redness of four quadrants, and overall, were assessed, and quadrant‐average redness was calculated. Inter‐observer agreement was assessed at the start and end of the study (20 subjects each). Results: For limbal redness, the overall (1.62 ± 0.46) (mean units ± S.D.) was not significantly different from the quadrant‐average (1.61 ± 0.40) score. For bulbar redness, the overall (2.02 ± 0.49) was higher than the quadrant‐average (1.82 ± 0.39) score (p