The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-11-10
WEARING OF GLASSES
 BY YOUNG PEOPLE
Better For Children to Seek Artaacial Aid Temporarily Than to Suffer
 Permanently.

It is apparent that more children are wearing glasses than used to be the case. and the question freouently occurs as to the cause of this state of affairs Are children having too heavy demands made on them, or are glasses being ordered when there is no necessity for them? It is 11adou bt- edly the fact that the average child now-a-days has more schoolwork than formerly, and am ong all classes the eyes of the child arc being used for near work to a. greater extent than was the case a generation ago. uring the growing period of the clliL. the outer envelope. or supporting tis- sue of the eyebalI, does not attain it's and any strain on the focusing mus cles has a tendency to make the eye ball stretch. This stretching of the eyebalI is really the condition which is commonly known as near-sighted-5 ness, and is caused in most instances by strai in ready. Many people be- lieve that a. child may be born near sighted, but this is not the case. Near sightedness always occurs from straln, and in the great majority of cases can be presented or at least kept down to low degrees It requires no special knowledge to appreciate the fact that a tissue when stretched is weaker than
 
 ing. and this is the danger in near sighted eyes Such eyes are apt to stretch and grow worse until the child a.ttairs it's full growth, and the tissues have a chance to become hard and firm, hence. it is during<the, period of growth that damage to the eyes is most apt to occur. If the stretching Of the eyebal1 goes beyond a certain point, the delicate nerve tissues inside the eye are apt to become stretched to an extent which they cannot stand. and tears and breaks occur in them with damage to the sight. These breaks cannot be reTned1ed. nor for that matter can the eye when 1t is once stretched come back to it's nor rnaI size In very high degrees of stretching, even blindness may result. There Is a current belief that near sightedness runs in families. and this while partly true, Is really an unfor- tunate misconceptiof. Certain fam ilyies have softer tissues in the eye than others and their eyes stretch more easily to a certain degree of strain. This should not only make such people more 6autious to avoid strain and does not by any means imply that 1t is necessary for such children to be near -stghted The cause of this ssrain in the young child is astlgnnatisTn. There are 6ol1er contri puting causes, such as a too short eyeball, poor gem era1 health, which makes the tissues weaker and less resistant. and also the disposition of the child some chil- dren preferring to sit and read all day rather than to go out and exercise in the open air All these questions must receive proper attention is near sightedness is to be prevented, but that astiguatism is the principal cause is well known. This word is beconing rather familiar, and yet Its
 
 Many people suppose that astig1natisn1 means 8 difference in the two eyes which is entirely wrong. It is an irregularity of the front part of the eye where the curves should be sym metrical but are Aot This frregsllar ity or fnequaltty of the curves maze maze objects appear blurred. Certain lines 1 in the objects looked at seem fairly distinct while certain others are blur red. and this causes the eye to make strong muscular efforts to overcome the blur and get perfectly clear i1Ea- age. The strain brought about to cor rect the astignatic image leads to 1 stiffness and cramps of the muscles 1 with headaahes. and inseAzeEe cases to l an actual stretching of the eyebaH The surest way to stop the eVer7in creasing dangers of near-s atedness l is to correct asttgmatisEn by means of l properly fitting glasses during the l e-oTvi.lr period. Recently statistics I show that in accordamce with this 1 method Of treatment, r-sightedness 1 is becoming less Many children are obliged to wear glasses when reading l or during the period of greatest strain and if the astigrnatis1n IS or small mount, they can frequentIy lay aside l the, glasses when they have attained their full growth It is. therefore I rnI1cr better to allow the child to use classes during the growing period. a1 I least. and avoid strains than It IS Ie TIT, inc danger of developing a Aear- sfrhtedness. which is a. permanent l condition, and which Is apt to progress to a. point of damaging the vision