The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-01-08


Now, it is q very strange phenomenon but nine
men out of ten who are troubled with affections
of the eye or ear will reveal the location of
their disease when they see that sign They do
it unconsciously. man passes in deep
brown study. He is ohlivious Of everything.
Even the direction and the style of his gait are
mechanical When he is opposite that sign he
is mechanically reminded that he IL Interested
in it, and he begins to Investigate the magni-
tude of his interest. If bis eye is sore he will
rub it, if he wears glasses he will take them off
and wipe them. or if his hearing is bad he will
put his hand to his ear. 1t is all mechanically
done. That man to whom I called your atten-
ton put his hand to his fight when he saw
the sign. The demonstration is a freak of nat
ure which shows that we, can never become SO
epgrossed in anything as p be regardless OF our
us the scope of eye snd ear Affections here
very greatl" star
conception of their relative Importance 10 the
patient, based on the erroneous belief that the
eye is a more delicate organ than the ear The
truth is the eye will recover from cutting and
other injuries which would completely destroy
the ear. In the ordinary care for the sye one
should remember that il is the unusual duty
that impairs the sight One should never read
fine print in the dark. or DO work that p6ins the
eye for want of light. Acute concentration OF
vision is always injurious Foreign bodies may
sometimes enter the eve without injury Pieces
of steel do this frequently They rust away and
suppuration takes up the rust The worst sub
stance that can enter the eve is brass or
kindred metal which wal not rust decay.
Fragments of that sort will remain bright In
the eye forever if the eye would last. year
ago boy came to with fragment of gun
cap in his eve and asked what should be done.
l told him that as it seemed impossible to ind
the little fragment and remove it, he had better
take the eye out and destroy it to save the
other eye. The treatment was too dreadful for
him and he went away believing the wound
would heal. few days ago he returned in
great distress The irritation of the brass
had caused disease of the optic nerve which
had reduced the vision of both eyes nearly three
times-he was almost blind L took out the eye
with the brass in it. I told him could save
store it. A strange thing about the eye is that
in treatment about all you can do IS to re-
tain the vision as you find 1t. You
cannot build it up much. Never rub your eye
with an unclean hand, for there Is organ SO
susceptible of contracting disease. If you have
sores, or have been dressing wound, do not rub
ready and severe. Always rub your eye toward
the nose. for the glands lead in that drectione
Ears are troublesome because people get
things in them. Nature made the channel lead
ing to the drum crooked, SO that the tympanqm
would be protected from foreign bodies, but peo-
pie will getting things into their ears despite
this. Here. the other day. well-known physi-
clan came to me with the earache. placed
spectroscope in his and saw a largo foreign
body pressing against the drum, which is highly
sensitive. l removed it and found it wasa
bean The doctor insisted that it must hayeIi
been in there for forty years or since he was
child. 1t had CHANGED never to, have fallen
where it could cause pain. Picking at the ear q
sometimes destroys the wax glands causing
them to be defective in their Work. The result
is the formation of balls of wax in the tube
of the ear, which grow large and hard
nm til they sometimes destroy the drum, They
have to be blown out by an injection of hot water
when they become large. II they are found
when small they may be removed by turning the
head and filing the with tipped water or glycer
hirhy Hnatn ha mi
treatment may be used when insects enter the
ear. When bug starts into your do not
disturb it and it will turn and come out If you
throw your hand up to the ear the bug becomes
frightened and runs up into, the channel, where
it cannot turn, and serious injury follows.
Never pick the ear except with the elbow