The New York herald., 1921-07-01
Children's s Eyes.
Parents Should Have Them Cared
For by Competent Ocullsts.

From the Board OF Health Bulletin.
Those having control of children OF
the school age should know the impor-
tance of proper light in the conserva-
tion of eyesight and the harm done by
working the growing eye in improper
light. The starting OF near sight In a
normal eye is undoubtedly very often
caused by the eye strain necessary to
read and study in a poor light The
question of light receives but scant con-
sideration in many schools. Many class
rooms are lighted very poorly by gas
on all days but the very brightest, and
the study room OF one Of our high
schools IN the auditorium has practically
no daylight.
No more favorable setting could be
imagined for the development Of myopia,
blepharitis, headaches and all that long
list of neuroses caused by eye strain In
the growing child. 1t will be necessary
to do a great deal OF educational ana
propaganda work before we shall be
able to correct these defects in our
schools and guard against repetitions In
new buildings. Many OF the schools
used for night schools are not provided
with proper lighting equipment, and the
work done in these schools by the pupils
under this poor illumination Is produc-
ing the same bad results as in the poorly
lighted day schools.
A large part of the good results OF
the work OF the sight conservation clinic
Is obtained by skilful refraction, which
is the proper fitting of glasses. Refrac-
ton OF the partly sighted child, the
mentally defective. backward or very
young child, requires the highest skill
OF the experienced oculist and is usually
beyond the skill OF the oculst OF little
experience and of the optician.
This work calls for the constant use
Of skiascopy or the shadow test, by
which the measurement of rcfraction of
the eye is made without any assistance
from the child. as in these classes Of
children the child can be OF but very
doubtful assistance to the oculist. After
considerable practice high degree OF
accuracy Is obtained by this method OF
refraction. A great deal of harm may
be done to defective eyes by their i'm
proper use and harm may be done to
the physical we'll being of the child
from the effects of eye strain In pro-
ducing reflex nervous symptoms.
Out of tho 132 ungraded or mentally
defective children, refraoted by the su-
pervising oculist, and for whom glasses
were procured. thirty-four were found
to be normal mentally after relieving
their eye strain and giving them vision.
NJ tanr Ia
cided mental Improvement and many
showed physical improvement. In the
child of normal mentality defective
vision is q great handicap, as is shown in
every large school or group of schools.
In group of 400 "habitual left back"
children, found in one OF our large
schools, It was found that more than
100 had decided refractive errors
Glasses were prescribed for about 10 !:
100 of this number procured the glasses
and in less. than three months saw some
very agreeable results. Out OF the 100
moro than 9S OF the "habitual left
backs passed the regular school exam
nation, many skipping classes, and one
boy, far behind his grade for age.
skipped Ave grades on the examination.
or tho ten who did not have their pre-
scriptIon for glasses filled, only one was
promoted. In the same school we had
the walls of small room nearly COW
cred with test papers showing the start
ling Improvement made In writing,
drawing and arithmetic in remarkably
short periods by children OF all ages
after correction OF refractlve errors.