The herald., 1897-02-28
MAGNET SAVES HUMAN SIGHT
Steel or Iron Particles Fly to It
by Magic
A SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT
The Electrical Wonder Shows Where the
Trouble Is
SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT
A Preventive Of Ksenest Pain - Robs Ono
Glass Of Operations Of Half
Its Horror

human eyes. When viewed as an eye
instrument It Is giant in size, and, in
deed, 1t is as powerful as q giant is sup
posed to be, for 1t takes 120 volts Of cleo
tricity Of the Edison incandescent light
circuit to actuate 1t. It is the strangest
and one of the most reliable "eye doc
tors" to be found within the length and
breadth of Manhattan island. or any
where else for that matter.
Every metal worker, every iron work.
er, every man who works where par
ticles of metal Of any sort fly about is
likely to get such a splinter In his eye.
Time was when that meant blindness,
for there is no operation that ever be-
comes necessary to perform on any hu
man organ which Is more delicate than
an operation involving the retention or
loss Of the eyesight The splinter of
metal may be very tiny, but very dan
gerous agent, for, small as it Is, 1t is sure
to produce Inflammation Of that portion
of the eye into which 1t has flown, and in
that way threatens the sight Of the un-
fortunate person whose eye has been in
jured. Formerly it was the case that
the lodging of piece of metal in the eye
Nowadays 1t Is different. The magnet
has brought 1t all about.
One would think that a magnet pos
sessing sufficient electrical attraction to
lift substance weighing sixteen pounds.
with two-inch contact would bring
anything out Of an eye. 1t so happens
that when an eye which has become the
unhappy possessor of fragment of iron
or steel is brought near this magnet the
presence and location OF the metal Is i'm
mediately made manifest by a bulging
Of the coats of the eyeball. Thus is the
exact spot located, and with the attrac-
tion continued at full limit, the matter
Of the extraction of the particle becomes
simple, and the patient is easily and al
most painlessly released from the thrall-
dom to a minute bit of metal. thrall-
dom none the less calling because 1t was
brought about by so insignificant an OBJ
jeot.
The magnet rests on swivel; and this
swivel Is placed on a stand. The mag
net itself Is twenty-four inches from
pole to pole. 1t is formed of two cylin-
drical parts, each OF which Is wrapped
with wire. Without the wrapping, one
section of the magnet is about foot in
diameter The two poles are Joined by
a metal bar, circular in form, it's diam
eter being three inches, and its length
the same. There extends from the
outer end Of each cylinder a series of
top-like extensions about four inches
long, which terminate with pointed pegs.
The circular bar which joins the two
wire-wrapped cylinders rests upon an
other bar, also circular In form, of the
same diameter, upon which 1t swings by
means of swivel This bar rests upon
a wooden platform eight inches square,
al each corner Of which is peg knobbed
at the top. To each of these pegs an
electric wire is fastened. and every wire
extends up along the wall near which
the magnet stands. The eight-inch
platform rests on a square block about
three inches in height, and 1t in turn
rests upon table which is about two
feet square. All this brings the magnet
up to about the height of a mans chest,
and 1t is not unlike the very short, pow
erful individual, whose height often
gives such false idea of what he can ac-
complish.
The eyeball itself is perhaps the most
endangered when in the nature of the
employment of the owner, particles of
various sorts are flying about in all di-
rections. 1t has come to pass, these
days, that the metal worker, or rather
the iron and steel worker, has no monop-
oily In the danger of this sort. There
are host of trades where certain crafts
men are constantly encountering show
ers OF minute particles of steel, iron
and some other metals. And in conse-
quence doctors are almost daily called
upon to remove such particles from nu-
merous eyes.
9. Under the old method. If the particle
simply adhered to the surface of the
eye, 1t could be easily swept off, after
the eye had been cocainized, by means
of little absorbent cotton, twisted
around probe or wooden toothpicK.
1t Is when the particle is deeply imbed-
oed IN the eye, or has forced its way into
that portion of the orb known as the
corneal tissue, because of striking the
eye while hot, that it becomes necessary
to use instruments or a magnet. I'm
fortunately the magnet, such as Is in
the New York hospital, is rarity. Just
to show the difference between the adj |
vanced method of magnetism and the
less modern idea of using instruments.
IL 10 interesting to know just what the |
oculist does when called upon to re-
move tho invading piece Of metal from |
the injured eye.
Tnere are two instruments generally |
used In such cases. Both are delicate |
but none the less cruel. The first is
known as the spud, a gouge-shaped bit |
OF steel that despite its tiny edge and in |
oHenslve size, Is capable of producing
the keenest pain. There is another in |
strument that possesses the odd name of
bis0ury, and it is the point of this in |
strument by means of which the particIe |
10 dug out, frequently, from the delicate |
bed or tissue in which it has found its |
way. What the surgeon has to avoid |
IN this operation. is scraping. Even the |
slightest motion with either instrument |
might infiict incalculable injury, for a |
scrape easily becomes scratch. and a |
scratch may forever end the hone of |
sight in an eye.
When a patient comes to the doctor
to be treated for the injury which has |
been discussed, he is seated in a chair |
with headrest, facing a good light. |
The doctor first steadies the eyeball with |
the thumb and forefinger of his left |
hand Should he discover that the Bit |
OF metal is very minute and not to be |
readily seen, he calls an assistant who !
focuses the light upon the eye, by means
OF large six-inch reading lens. When |
he finds that the particle can be seen |
nicely, he takes the gouge or the bis
toury, the two dainty and yet terrorizing
referred to, and with the
point of either he makes an insertion be-
meath the particle and in moment, If
the surgeon be skillful, the metal Is out |
upon the surface.
1t must not be understood that the use
OF the magnet renders altogether un-
necessary the instruments referred to- |
In preceding paragraph 1t was stated |
that when the bit of metal had pene-
trated the eye. the attraction Of the
when the two-eye and mag
net-were brought into juxtaposition,
caused the surface Of the eyeball be-