Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-06-10
How Crossed Eyes Are Cured

the cross-eyed child under five years
of age If we are to be entirely sue
cessful in our treatment.
TOO many family doctors advise
parents to wait until the child is older
and then have an operation per-
formed. This advice is pernicious and
is often responsible for such disas
trous results as loss of vision in the
affected eye before the operation is
performed. Sometimes the parents
are not aware of this danger and do
not know when the child loses its
sight, since the eye is of little use
at best. Without consciousness Of
wrong, they permit the innocent VIC
tim to grow to manhood or woman-
hood with the handicap of one sight
less eye"
In the office of this clever doctor
there are all sorts of paraphernalia
for the testing and correcting of de-
fective vision. The best exhibit was
a little boy about four years of age
who had come with his father to see
if the mouse could be induced to go
into his cage
One of his big brown eyes diverged
at an ugly angle, marring the hand
some face and pickering the white
brow of the little chap. But he was
eager to see If today he could put the
mouse in his cage and keep him there
just for a minute.
So the amblyoscope was adjusted for
him. 1t looks like an odd sort of field
glass, made SO one can look two ways
at once. But it was with the amblyo-
scope that Brown-eyes-he isn't going
to be called "Cross-eyes"., when he
goes to school later on-fully intended
to put the mouse in his cage. The
assistant placed a small card at each
of the distal ends of the instrument.
On one of these was cage trap and
on the other a picture of a mouse.
Any child who knows the mouse may
be captured and placed in the cage
will do 1t, even if it does make the
eye muscles ache and water come
into the eyes. That is what it did
with BroWn-eyes but he persisted.
although the assistant had the am
I blyoscope adjusted for normal
vision.
| AT first it wasn't any good at all to
| try, but when the big doctor gave him
a choice between an ice cream soda
and bag of chocolates at the end OF
the achievement the recreant eye was
coerced by a stubborn little brain
until 1t moved of its own accord into
a line so nearly in line with the other
that the mouse went straight into his
cage-"not in the middle of 1t, but he's
in there" said Brown-eyes eagerly.
/ The amblyoscope was quickly re-
moved, as too much exercise at one
time is not advisable, but the young
ster, who has been coming to the doc
tors Office for three months. is now to
have a stereoscope to use at home,
similar to the amblyoscope in The
| doctors office.
The amblyoscope is easily adjusted,
and in order to give the weak eye
muscles plenty of exercise the angle
between the tubes is increased or
diminished while the patient en-
deavors to maintain binocular vision.
i The doctor predicted that in few
months more Brown eyes would have
straight eyes. He will probably have
to continue to wear the glasses that
are such an aid in strengthening weak
muscles, but he will have normal
vision in both eyes and his eyes will
not diverge nor converge in the least.
The result of this exercise and the
glasses was easily noticeable in the
, few minutes the child was in the
office. His eyes Strengthened, or rather
one did, for only one was AFFECTED,
and that it filled frequently with
water was added proof that the
muscle was being stretched and exer-
!. cised.
, "At this age it is comparatively easy
| to cure such a case" said the DOCTOR
but even so short wait as two or
three years might make it too late
) 'In the publication of Helen Keller s
letter on blindness resulting from
oarelessness at birth The Star did a
fine thing and one that the medical
! profession deeply appreciates. the
) percentage OF children having strabis-
! mus or cross eyes is large, and II The
2 Star can warn parents OF the danger
l | of waiting until 1t is too late TO cor
; rect the trouble 1t will be doing fine
thing for y.'-Kansas City
3 Star. -, 2