Mountain advocate., 1920-08-27
TELLS NECESSITY OF ..
So CARH OF THE EYES

Optometry 10 the scientific meth
cd Of examining the powers and Wis
usl conditions OF the eyes, together
with the strsnsth aud poise OF their
related muscias, and. giving the pro-
per assistance. exercise or lenses, to
overcome their defects.
Optometry today stands forth as
% specialized profession, recognized
by law, for the measurement of the
powers Of vision asd the adaptation
OF lenses for the aid thereof.
The optometrist ands the defect
In the refraetion OF the eyes and cor
rects the same vita proper glasses,
not in the hope that he may mere
ly help" the patient 10 see batter, or
drive headaches away, for he "ands
the cause" Of the trouble and COR
reets 1t. In correcting the causes he
incidentally invitss' the disappear
ance Of headaches, nsrxousness. dig
zipess and many sdisorders resulting
from defective vision. 'Forty-six
states and several provinces In Can
ada have laws regulating the prac-
tice Of optometry By rigid examin-
alton.
Some people are Snder the imprss
sion that optomstry. 10 . branch Of
medicine, but It 10 -ss separate aud
distinct a. dentistry; more so, In
fact. v". ..
There are abost $4,000 known ir-
reguiarities Of the aye that require
glasses for their correction. Optom-
etry as practiced today, IL . twsn-
tieth. century science. It Is photo
sraphic, inssmueh sss 1t deals exclu-
sively with Light and bears no rela-
tion to medicine or surgery.
ExAming eyes for retroactive er-
rors and Atting glasses require spe-
cial training and years Of experience
are necessary to correctly diagnose
and relieve the many refex troubles
arising therefrom.
Our eyessproducs the major per-
centAge OF nerve troubles. It is not
necessary to be half blind to sufer
from eyestrsin; many persons who
apparently see = perfectly are the
greatest sufferers.
Eye-strain Is q most insidious and ,
In some respects, Q most dangerous
snltction. 1t .is-not dangerous in the
sense that, 1t means loss of vision.
Many people go thru life seeing we'll
enough, yet afflicted With eys-strail
to a. degfee that mskes life q pro-
ionsed misery The trouble Is that
symptoms OF eye-strain srsrnot al
ways located about the eyes. They
boften are In the nature of what. 10
called .rshex" On the physical. side
unsuspected eys-strain frequently
is the sole cause of chronic indiSss-
tion, headache and occasional at
tacks OF dizziness. ......
On sths mental aide II may make
its influence felt even more mischiev
ously. Those affected may have nc
obvious symptoms of eys-strain
They find 1t hard to concentrate tn,
attention. The head tires quickly
when they are trying to think. The
subject Is nervous and irritable,
All this impsiFs enciency and sands
earning power far below what II
ought to be. One 30 afflicted 10 Of:
ten difficult to get along with ~
hoem or In business.
When. as sometimes happens. up-
suspected syestrain makes one 90
oyerwrought that he cannot sleep.
then his plight Is miserable indeed.
| Many . so-calied "dull child" ID
SO because. Of come visual defect
which is sapping his energy. Testh,
nose. throat. stomach and even the
feet all receive due attention, but
many children are sent to school
without the lssst stteption to the
eyes-the msin avenue to education
When the younsstsr falls bshind IN
his studies tina blame is laid upon
everything but the real cause. The
child lis called stupid or the teacher
is blamed for his bsckvsrdnsss. Sew
en- out Of ten children have dsfec-
tive eyes. Owe them q chance. Dur
ing the last few years the school
boards have done excellent work IN
this line, but the work has necss.
sariiy been stew and incomplete
1t must have tb- eo-oDersti0n OF