Gainesville daily sun. (Gainesville, Fla.) 190?-1938, 1905-01-03
Ice 80.
Their Defects and Their Relation to
Human us.
BY pa. 8 aoLDsTEIN.

rum u inc HcTNOuo bJbttuls anu ~ %
the purpose Of this article to give in
formation in a simple, practical man
ner, in the hope that general good may
come OF it.
The eye is designed by nature to act
as a perfect camera All objects seen
are first accurately focused upon the
back Of the eye by means OF the tense
and fluid contents Of the eyebsll, and
then telegraphed to the brain by means
OF the optic nerve.
The normal eye in looking at objects
az distance OF twenty feet or more
from the eye, is absolutely at rest. But
10 order to see closer than twenty feet
the focusing muscle" is called into
play and increasing the thickness Of
the Tense, vision remains clear at all
distances. AS age advances, this
power of accumulation Of vision" be-
comes gradually lost. and thus it is
that even the normal eye requires
glasses for near vision when the sight
begins to fail, usually about the age Of
forty or forty-hye.
"Hypermetropia, Tor far-sightedness,
is one Of the most prevalent Of the de-
fects Of the eyes, and the most common
cause Of sick headache, a frequent
cause Of St. Yitus dance, and epilepsy
and an important factor in most types
OF nervous debility and exhaustion.
These statements may seem startling,
bat they are supported by positive,
clinical facts, and / shall endeavor to
show why this is the case.
The "iar.sighted eye" is like an
afflicted ball, and in order to see
clearly the focusing muscle is never
passive. Such an eye is never at rest.
IL is always straining, more or less in
tently to bring upon the retina, clear
and distinct images Of the objects
seen. Far-sighted people as rule
have remarkable acute vision for dis
tant objects, yet they suffer from head
ache, nervousness, indigestion, consti-
patton and arrangements OF almost all
the organs Of the body. Their eyes are
inHamed and painful and they suffer
from very little use.
All OF the organs OF the body are
operated by means OF nerve force"
and il has been carefully estimated
that the natural eye requires one-tenth
OF the entire nerve force Of the body
For every unit of "iar-sightedness"
(hypermetropia) we estimate that the
nerve force used in running the body
is increased % per cent daily.
With these facts in mind let us 90
one step further;
Any excess OF nervous expenditure
TO the organ over the normal amount
which should be furnished is incurred
at The expense Of the Others sooner or
later
Thus "far.sighted" eye is cou.
stantly using force which by right be-
longs to other organs and sooner or
later other organs must suffer
Constant irritation from the strain
necessary in far-sighted eye. will
often bring on a spRsm OF the focusing
muscles, and necessarily the muscles
which draw the eyes inward, as they
are controlled by the same nerve,
A test OF these muscles will then
show that the eyes are turning in, which
indicates an iFritated state Of the nery-
Gus system. There viii be headache,
pain ia the eyes, and constipation
which shows the close relation between
the organs. This may continue for
weeks. months or years but finally ihe
nervous system must become ex-
hausted, and the muscle test shows
that the eyes turn out. Then, AZ a
rule, there Is dihrrhm8 or sometimes
diarrhWa tn 1 constipation, alternating
according 20 the state Of irritation.
over-e1hausJiono Of the eyesand nervous
system.
These facts are at variance with /.
many OF the oldest authorities" but
bus ten years in peFtecting the fog. /
ging system" have proved thom be. !
} fond a doubt Thus il is easily demon /
strated how closely allied are all The |
organs by che nervous system, aud /
why 10 b SO necessary in helping the /
eyes, 90 understand the eyes. theif I
and their relation 90 human /
ms"
Cotton cionrd 20 December 10.
Washlur1n Jan e The duai hBi 1
letu issued today places the number I