The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1898-08-13
HOW SIGHT IS IMPAIRED.
Causes Responsible for the Increes.
ing Nee of SpectacIes Among
People.

1t is interesting to compare tie
visual a~cuteness of the normal ey
before and after the effect of some
purely physical cause that may be
within the realm of either nature or
civilization. Taking a few instances
of each for illustration, l will 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 will do is to call for a
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 accommodative powers or
injure the already weakened ciliary
muscle. When the rest of the body
its normal strength the eye
remains weak. After s~training the
eyes more. in the vain hope that his
eyes will improve. the person, if he is
wise. will consult experienced help.
If otherwise, he will pick up the first
pair of spectacles available. regard
less of whether they should be too
strong or too weak for his eyes. Should
he finally go to an optician, the latter
will often find it 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 ON
ditiOns. The weakness may be due to
an error of refraction. and under most
conditions the accommodative power
of the eye is strong enough to over
come the error. But under such at
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
Ifs" are in the way and are not to
be got rid of by the average indi-
vidual.
Take a boy from the country. bring
him TO town and place him at cler-
zeal work, writing, perhaps. all day
and into the night. Put him behind 4
counter and let him stand all day with
one hour free out of u or more. or
let him sit at a work bench. following
4 trade that keeps his eyes fixed stead
lily. hour after hour. 10 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. or
bend over a desk beneath artificial
light all the time. l might go on,
giving instance after instance, without
particularizing any calling as more
harmful than others to the eyes.
Is il a wonder hat the children of
this generation are wearing glasses
along with their grandsires? Old age
IS no longer the reason for wearing
SldSStS- III nine cases OUT OF ten the
young man needs Il convex glass to
assist his overtaxed eyes in following
their duties. In addition to these
of weakened vision it is hard
necessary to mention the common
evils of tobacco and alcoholic stimu-
Again, if the strong constitu-
ton of a boy annot save his eyes
from their thousand and one uses, how
can frail women escape? The ever
increasing army of women workers in
shops and offices and the new avenues
of employment opening to them swell
the number of spectacle wearers. 1t
has been my purpose to point out that
it is not the serious and very plain
Of refraction hat cause the
most of an opticians patronage, and
he IL often attribute the loss of Wis
Ial acuteness to other causes.-Jew.
eler's Weekly.
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