Evening journal., 1898-08-27
HOW SIGHT is IMPAIRED.
Causes Responsible for the IncrcaH-
ing Need OF spectacIes Among
People.

1t is interesting to compare the
visual acuteness of the normal eye
before and after the effect of some
purely physical cause that may be
within the realm of either nature or
civilization. Taking q few instances
of each for illustration, l win cite from
nature first. 1t is well known that
severe sickness greatly impairs the
acuteness of vision OF an otherwise
strong eye. Almost the first thing a
convalescent viii do is TO call for
book or newspaper to while away the
tedium of the sickroom. Unless
warned not to try his eyes too much,
he is apt, through forgetfulness, to
overtask his saccommodative powers or
injure the already weakened ciliary
muscle. When the rest of the body
RECEIVERS its normal strength the eye
remains weak. After straining the
eyes more. in the vain hope that his
eyes will improve, the person, If he is
wise, will consult experienced help,
IL otherwise, he will pick up the first
pair of spectacles available, regard
|
strong or too weak for his eyes. Should
he finally go to an optician, the latter
will often find 1t difficult TO fit glasses
satisfactorily.
other natural causes that affect
eyes are wind, dust, light and heat,
when excessive. Eyes otherwise good
enough become weak under such con-
ditions. The weakness may be due to
an error of refraction, and under most
conditions the accommodatiye power
of the eye is strong enough TO over
come the error. But under such att
mospheric or climatic conditions as
have mentioned the accommodation is
lessened, and the eye cannot find re-
lief, except by the use of glasses. They
should generally be convex.
Having mentioned those losses Of
visual acuteness due to natural causes,
next in order are causes produced by
civilization. At the outset will say
that if the patient were to change his
occupation and take plenty of fresh air
and exercise, the opticians service
might never be needed, but these
"its" are in the way and are not to
be got rid of by the average indi-
yidual.
Take boy from the country, bring
him to town and place him at cler-
ical work, writing, perhaps, all day
and into the night. Put him behind a
counter and let him stand all day with
one hour free out of 70 or more, OF
let him sit at q work bench, following
a trade that keeps his eyes fixed stead
lily, hour after hour, - or IS inches in
front of him. Take this same youth
with hitherto good eyes and bid him
use them day in and day out reading
for a profession, or let him occupy
his time in a dimly-lighted room, OF
bend over a desk beneath artifcia
light all the time. might go on
giving instance after instance, without
/ particularizing any calling as NOR,
harmful than others to the eyes.
Is it a wonder that the children o.
this generation are wearing glasses
along with their grandsires? Old age
is no longer the reason for wearing
glasses. In nine cases out of ten the
young man needs a convex glass tc
AaeiSl Ills oNCIldAtQ yes III AoAAoWAlt
their duties. In addition to these
causes of weakened vision It is hard
" necessary to mention the common
evils of tobacco and alcoholic stimu
lants. Again, if the strong constitu
ton of boy cannot save his eyes
, from their thousand and one uses, how
{ can frail women escape? The ever
D increasing army of women workers il
e shops and offices and the new avenues
of employment opening to them swell
the number of spectacle wearers. /
has been my purpose to point out tha
=. it is not the serious and very plaiI
errors of refraction thai cause thu
most of an opticians patronage, an6
/, he must often attribute the loss of Wis
ual acuteness to other causes.-Jew
eler's Weekly.