The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-11-17
now TO CARE FOR THE EYES.
,or.0LD TRADITIONS EXPLODED
NJ AN OCULIST.
,ixht Falling Across Left shoulder Upon
The Pages OF q Book Ono Of Them
., proper Conditions for Resding N
study simple Remedies for Tired Eyes

no distinguished oculist. Possibly the
,hoorv was not wholly disinterested.
oculists must live.
.One's ewes are intended to meet ones
,.ual rcauirements.- he continued. If
,.rv will not do it, IL L. because something
i wrong with them. Right that wrong
he plasses that produce normal visual
conditions. Then go ahead. OF course,
,hor, are some forms of work and Of folly
,ha, are particularly disastrous to the
ewes. but the eyes of a healthy person will
stand any abuse that doesn't pass rea-
ton.
"Toke this matter Of reading on the cars.
I, is a trihe hard on the eyes, but 1t ought
not 10 make trouble. IL it docs, il is because
IN, person needs glasses; and, In his place.
| would get proper glasses and go on with
NV reading. Then, II my eyes s'ill troubled
me, | would know there was something
seriously out of order in them or In my
General health, and l would look into the
natter thoroughly.
-Jnwilingness to wear glasses il at the
no, Of more eve trouble than any other
one thing. That is why women suffer
more with their eyes han men do. Their
vanity prevents their adopting the obvious
remedy for the trouble, until the need
becomes too urgent to be set aside. The
ordinary man hates the inconvenience OF
%easscs. but doesn't agonize because they
ere untecoming.
Il We wondered a good deal about this
question Of glasses. | don't know that
believe IL worth while to go to n good
tculist and pay his fee, unless one Is sure
the trouble y a serious one, IL Is all a
matter Of dollars and cents. H. a man ia
rich, let him go to the best oculist he can
find and increase his chances Of satisfactory
glasses to the maximum: but. personally.
If money were an object to me, I'd gamble
On my chances Of getting h | needed
at a good opticians shop. The chance
would be good. i suppose II is bad policy
20 advance the theory, but, as, n matter
If fact. most people can get the glasses
they need without consulting an oculist,
who, by virtue of experience and ability,
las the right 10 charge n whopping fee.
Al anv rate tho scale of chance j~ustifies
the experiment. II it doesn't succeed,
here are we standing ready 10 do the work
md charge for II.
Naturally. one must exercise common
sense in tho use of ones eyes. When i say
don't coddle them ] don't mean that
one must put them to absolutely irrational
strain. I've had patients who ruined their
eyes for life by q wing to watch an eclipse
without smoked glass, and I've seen search
light men who looked at the light until
they burned their retina beyond cure;
but reading, writing, theatre-going and all
that sort of thing ought not TO strain normal
eyes or eyes properly specialized.
There are IA lot of traditions about caring
for the eyes that ought to be scattered
10 the four winds. They were exploded
long ago, hut the public clings TO them
end we professional men might as well
tilt against windmills as against a time
honored belief. | suppose that. to the
end Of time. a mother will believe she Is
doing the wise thing for her student son
by putting him in a comparatively dark
room, with a shade over his eyes and
the light from a shaded lamp falling across
his left shoulder. upon the pages of his
book. That's the real thing for students
Il know grown-up and intelligent men
who pride Themselves upon doing their
reading or studying in that fashion. That
theory Is dead dead as Pharaoh: but the
public hasn't buried Il.
Every oculist to-day knows that the
glare of light on the book contrasted with
the shade of the room and is other objects
J. harmful 10 the eyes. II the reader lifts
his eyes, ever for "A second, from the page,
h. gives his ocular nerves a wrench and
strain. |: one reads in the evening one
should do II IN a room well lighted through
out. The lights should he high above ones
head. entirely out of ocular range unless
one should CHOOSE To look up a. them. The
more the quantity and pervasiveness Of
the artificial light II like daylight, the hotter
for the eyes. I'm not advising the glare
Of a dairy kitchen, but an even, clear all
pervading light. by which one can read
without having an extra light to fall directly
upOn the book. There are your modern
IDEAL conditions for reading and study
but II isn't always possible to have such
Fight and II II were, people wouldnt give
~ their shades and student lamps.
Theatre and opera try the eyes for the
zane reason that the ordinary reading
lght doe-. The lights are turned down
a. the auditorium and concentrates on
ta' stage. and the eyes are constantly
called upon a. adjust themselves TO RAPID
change from dark 10 light. The only way
a. mitigate the evil H. to avoid looking at
anything Al all in the darkcned hous",
snilr ih" curtain h up, not even a. the
companion sitting beside one. Consulting
lh" programme" tu IN" gloom AMI then
turning ones eNc- back Ia the brilliant
stasr L. harI ou any eye strong cy"s
slpuld stand u. bat there's no ura ln In
posing Upon even a willing worker
Worry NIi arrot the ryes a. quickly ~
suylIII.g boo he world People often
'.ur tY mr and ted m" they hay, injured
q "lf ryr- 10y ewing a great deal liai h.
o.. uHu-.u-. Nuthing s.nuus ever hap
T- ia thr 'y"s from mere cfyiuF but ia"
tIIs 'Ha' IuaADr un" rfy huus a." rych
g. ruul suI guri nark ~ tbo t"af..
' 'l- echo DO" general ,our
N"HN 'H. 'NNNH' NNNH HNNNh ~
o. l.HI IfraIu@ui Nlrn U be- general
o. .UHaImrrr they nr.-i Diasses vii
".I II.Iu ave possibly g. rurf uf.d
aHI urIHelHH temporarily lIn
tH sfuan nhu nufuss aIlI lrufH 10
..E ..HlUI Iu rys fr.ull' afaI nut
- .'.aI huI A., uF nH uHik hiur
'H" tys suIrh . uuuian iaiHn
Ha. HHr IalI May q lHrr.u
... I. Ilrun asay ia glaHsHs
II ..s Hahrlb aiad So iuiu % naHtnal
HI..U n Uutt
sIr rnat Ufru .H Unaurl
IHI. au rliuIau Ii4i tiiai
H luH slaf kHhIr uia
.s.H tHI NI.His uIH ulai safI
IH H.us. isHHH Hsf sairI
.s.N n~HHf 49, snr h. lrd
Al #a l.i..f g. .u an
u I. HH n.ss aaHlrIf
aHI o.. riaf Tt.a Hrhsf
.F Ha.Ia if sa Ha
IHIH Hf 3D.
HHHIaIH HfaHHa I.I -
aHsH FH..Hf 90 ua
.. aaIIH HN fs.H iaN
HHIlI FL r.. rr. NH
10000. o. aIHafr
aH rauH o..
p Ia" H .t.r I'D.
rar hsH iH
30 HIs HH 'attH
. 10 HHf
Is Ia Ha HsI.Is
" &c.,. - -