The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-12-26
LOOK AWAY, DULL FOLKS. LOOK AWAY

LOOh AWht, OObh FOlINS, LOOh hWAx
 Primitive natives, born guides aboriglnss
 and in fact all who lead U natural or open air l life, are famous for their keen vision They can detect and recognize evidences of game or
 wild life which are too well hidden or too far distant for tho poorly developed ocular sense
 of the highly civilized urban dweler. A frequent inquiry in the mall ig whether attending the movies is a strain on the eyes. It may have been Injurious to the eyes many
 years ago when flicker was the other name for moving pictures. There Is no moro strain in
 seeing Q modern Aim than there is in sitting on the porch and observing the antics of the neighbors across the street
 peoplo who have a great deal of reading to do, as c daily occupation, and people who are engaged In occupations requiring much fine, close work, especially under artificial light, are likely to suffer from the strain of focusing the eyes for near vision. Such persons sometimes get q queer notion that they can conteract the effects of the eyestrain by bathing the eyes with this or that, or by wearing some kind of eyo shade or tinted glasses or lenses to com pensnte the slight astlgmatlsm or irregularity in the shape of the eyeball that everybody has. Bathing the eyes with any lotion or solution Is an unwise practice. It should be done only when tho physician advises It, The competent eye physician will never advise 1t unless there is some pathological condition in the indivdu- al case which indicates such treatment, and in such . case the competent ocuist will not only specify what medlcamont or solution the pa- tient is to use, but also precisely how to apply 1t, how often. and for what length of time.
 Eysn if an eye bath or eye drops may be- be ad
 continue using the treatment indefinitely or as n matter of habit.
 Tho best way to rest the eyes and to coun- teract the injurious effects of prolonged use for
 near work. Is to look away. Not away across the street, but away off wonder ut whatever the farther away the better. To this end every student, reader, bench worker or other person whose eyes are called upon to do many hours of close work daily, ought to take every oppor- to where there's room for long look away. He or she should cultivate open air pastimes or sports or recreation, not alone for the conser. vation of vision but for the good of general health. Particularly diversions that afford Q view of distant hills, trees, fields,
 The person whose occupation involves very fine work should first of all make sure the arr tihcial lighting Is properly arranged-that Is another story. While he or she Is Ut work 1t Is an excellent thing for the eyes to make reg ular practice of looking up and away for a moment every few minutes; note 1 say up and away-that Is, lift the head and direct the gaze at something above the level of the eyes, for this momentary erection of the head coun- teracts the congestion incident to prolonged bending down.
 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS BOric Acid SnuR
 | had an acrld discharge from my nose for over m year. Recently | read i'm your column about snuiIing b0ric acid. didn't use the dry powder, but dissolved n little in warm water and sliuffcd it. It hurt terribly for few minutes, and I thought would not try that again. But next morning when got up found that all OdOr was gone, the cracks in my nose were healed or healing, and have never had any further trouble. am now using Dr - remedies for utric trouble. Do you recommend them? (B. F.. M.)
 Answer-The correspondents who have re- ported beneficial results from snuffing boric acid use the dry powder and snuff wee pinch into each nostril once day. I believe this is harmless to try for few weeks in any case. did not recommend the nostrums you are talk ing for whatever trouble you may have. To my mind 1t is downright silly for any woman to take any medicine internally or otherwise that purports to be good for womb trouble" or "fe- male complaint" I suppose ignorant women will continue using such nostrums just as long as the conspiracy to keep them ignorant Is per-
 mltted to rule in our public school system. Maybe . Dude Ranch
 We enjoy your articles very much. If ever you pass through our state tO Yellowstone Park, my husband and would like Co have you spend part of your vacation with us. We Springs. (Mrs --D.
 Answer-Thank you. might drop around. only I'm afraid 1t might turn out to be q dude ranch. and that would be just too bad. Baby Gnaws Wood
 Why does my year old grandson love to
 gnaw wood, even if h is painted? He seems takes cod liver Oii, orange luicc, spinach and everything . child should have. (Mrs !. E. E.D | Answer--Pica is the Eame we give the odd
 habit of eating wood. soil. sand, ashes, etc, and we don't know why It Is. Usually the infant 0utgr0wB it. Do not let him eat paint. See that
 he gets no polluted soil