Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20
CARE OF THE EYES
Extreme Caution Necessary
After Any Illness.
EFFECT OF POOR FOOD
Many Children Suffer Through Lack
of Proper Nourishment.
SHOULD READ BY GOOD LIGHT
Flaring Gas Jet, Brilliant Mantle
and Central Chandelier Are
All Harmful.
EFFECT OF POOR FOOD
SHOULD READ BY GOOD LIGHT
Contributed by the Medical Society,"

During and after an illness or opera
ton the bodily resistance is lessened. At
this time an error in the eyes. not neces-
Sarily of vision, but of strain. which is
not noticeable during health. may be felt,
and use of the eyes become painful. Fur
Their, during some diseases, especially the
fevers. there is a moderate Inflammation
of the inside of the eye, so that light is
unpleasant. unless very subdued. 1t will
be apparent that during these times all
reading or sewing should be prohibited.
Even after the convalescence, glasses for
a few months are often necessary, until
the eyes and body regain fully the normal
tone.
1t Is desirable to mention in this paper
briefly the effect of poor food on the
eyes. AS is explained above, in many
people use of the eyes is comfortable only
during perfect health and strength. In
an investigation made among the children
of the New York schools it was dis
covered that many of the children of the
poor went to school with no breakfast.
and had little lunch. This same condi-
ton is present to some extent, in every
large city. Needless to say, a child must
have the most nourishing food. and in
abundance, for not only must the body
repair waste, but it must grow.
Eat Cheap Candy.
1 know of cases in which, it being in
convenient to put up lunch at home,
the child is given some pennies and told
to buy its lunch. You are all familiar
with the child who has a penny. He
wants candy, and the most pieces he can
buy for his money There are ever in the
vicinity Of schools stores and hockey -pokey
men selling the cheapest and vilest food
stuffs. The enforcement of the pure food
and drugs act is not yet perfect, and it
will be some time before no poisonous
candy is on the market. The idea of a
hot lunch which costs but few cents,
served in the school building, is a ire
mendous forward step. Many headache
from use Of the eyes would never have
appeared had the child had full and
nourishing meal This is, of course, true
also in adults.
Too much cannot be said against the
usual light by which one reads at home.
The flaring gas Jet, the brilliant mantle
and electric lights are all severe in their
effects upon the eyes. The central chan
delier in a room is neither a thing of
beauty nor OF utility. The best reading
gas burner, hung low enough to give
sufficient illumination, and placed to the
left and behind the reader, the light fall
ing without shadow upon the page. Next
best Is the electric globe, the filaments
concealed from the eye and the rays diff
fused. A light suspended over the desk
or book Is prone to fall upon the page in
such. a manner as to be reflected into
the eyes. The light behind and to the
side Is reflected away from the reader.
Position of Light.
ignored quite commonly both in the home
tributable much eye strain. The mer-
curry vapor lamps. which are installed in
some of the government departments in
this city, while giving a maximum illup-
ination for the current consumed, are
lacking in the red rays of the spectrum.
The greenish light which 'emanates con-
tains too many of the dread ultraviolet
rays. most injurious to the eyes. These
lights while economical to the govern
ment. are so at a terrific cost to those
employed.
The dazzle to the eyes from the NOV
ing picture shows is responsible for
very great deal of eye trouble among
the children. They should not be allowed
to attend these places too frequently.
but may patronize better ones OCCASION
ally.
Excessive reading in bed or on the
street cars is sometimes hard upon the
eyes and strains them unduly.
The age at which a child should go to
school, the amount of ocular effort which
should be required, the size of print, etc
these are questions which are occupying
a great deal of the attention of edu-
Gators, and will be touched on but lightly
in this paper.
Desk Should Be Adjustable.
The school desk and seat should be
adjustable, that the child's feet may
touch the toor. and the back be held
straight. With desk too high, the
elbows are thrown out and the back
bent sideways. and the book comes too
close to the eyes. Should the desk be
too low, the child must stoop. inducing
congestion, poor digestion and round
shoulders. An uncomfortable desk may
make the child restless and nervous. and
the result is probable mischief, for which
it is punished. highly polished desk
may reflect glare into the eyes.
For a schoolroom. plenty of daylight.
coming upon the desks from the left side,
that no shadow may be cast by the
hand and arm upon the writing pad. with
no direct sun and no dark corners, is
ideal. Window shades should be light in
color, that they may diffuse the sun light
days 1t should be possible to read fine
type anywhere in the room. Walls and
ceilings are preferably light green,
gray or buff. You are all familiar with
in the room should be light, for instance
oak. 1t is well that the nearest build
ing to the school windows should be
twice as far away as its height. White
stone buildings and walls, if so placed
as to reflect the suns rays into the
schoolrOoms, are productive of eye irri-
tation.
Should Sit a Little Forward.
In reading. a child should sit a little
forward, the book held for twelve to
twenty inches from the eyes Books
should not be fiat, upon the desk, but
supported in some manner that the dis
lance to the eyes from the top and from
the bottom Of the page may be the same
Type for childrenS books ought to be at
least as large as long primer or 10 point
This Size regularly Is spaced seven and
half lines to the inch. An improvement
would be five lines to the inch. Needless to
say, the type should be distinct and the
work of printing well and evenly done
Newspapers are apt to be miserably
printed The text book pages are best
unglazed. Yellow paper is far easier
upon the eyes than is white. Black
boards must not be between windows.
see, and their surface must be dull. not
shiny.
1t has become the custom to send very
Young children to kindergarten. The
training, the discipline and the oral in
struction which they here receive is ex-
cellent, but I would caution against too
much use Of the eyes at this tender age.
a child's playthings ought all to be
large. Let the child have only a mini