Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1914-10-30
HOW MUCH BLINDNESS
COULD BE PREVENTED


about 100000 a year to support
them. Probably rs per cent of this
blindness is due to two causes, name
ly, sore eyes at birth and neglect
during early school life. The first
cause can be removed in the sim
plest manner All that is necessary
is for the doctor or midwife to drop
into the eyes of the newly born babe
few drops of 2 per cent solution
of nitrate of silver. This will kill the
germs that produce the disease which
almost fills SO many blind asylums.
How easy this is, and how much
good would be produced to the hui
man race if this procedure was al
ways carried out! Those who are
about to become fathers and moth
ers should see to it that this simple
act is performed. 1t costs nothing,
is harmless, it prevents blindness, it
can easily be done; therefore, it
should invariably be done!
The second cause of blindness is
the neglect of childrens eyes during
early school life. Thousands of eyes
| could be saved every year if eye dis
| eases and defects were detected and
cared for in early life. Eye diseases
are frequently quite simple at the
start, but rapidly become worse if
neglected. The eyes Of school children
should be examined every year, and
diseases and defects detected.
Local boards of health could do
this if they had sufficient money to
hire competent doctors or school
nurses, but boards of health are
proverbially ''hard up" and usually
have net enough available money.
Boards of education could employ
doctors or nurses, but boards of edu-
cation are also often insufficiently
supplied with money.
School teachers can do this work
without additional expense. Instruc-
tons have been published in period
icals and books many times, and the
plan is perfectly easy and practical.
When accomplished it will be as
great a blessing to the teachers as to
the scholars; for by transforming
stupid children to bright children,
their daily work will be much easier
Teachers cannot and should not at
tempt to diagnose or treat eye dis
eases, but by the accepted tests they
can tell that something is the mat
ter. At the same time that the eye
tests are made, the teacher should
also examine the ears, noses and
Threats of her pupils. Simple meth
DDS for such examinations can be
learned in a few minutes by any
competent teacher.
Dr. Cronin has found that 80 per
cent of school children were two
years behind their grades and that
80 per cent of this is due to eye,
ear, nose and throat diseases or de-
fects. He examined $50 detectives in
one school and found that 1877 of
them had ear, nose and throat de-
fects, and that thirteen of them had
eye defects. These conditions were
relieved and in six months Is per
cent Of the children We're re-exam-
med. They were all doing well and
were rapidly advancing in school.
Their character had also remarkably
changed for the better. Such a plan
which has been successfully carried
out III over 200 towns and cities
during the past year involves no ex-
pense to the taxpayers, relieves the
medical profession of the suspicion
Of urging medical inspection of
schools for selfish reasons and yet
enables the teacher to separate the
normal pupil from the defective and
to recognize the defects in vision
under which some of her pupils Ia
bOr
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