The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-05-01
DULL EYESICHT DUE TO MANY AILMENTS
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eye refractionists have been calling "muscuar imbalance." The strong healthy child can absorb really enormous amount of such strain without showing its effects. Perhaps she never thought of connecting James occasional nervous head aches" or Jimmys stomach upsets" with eyestrain. She may pass them off as incidentals of growth. Per- haps she never noticed that they hold their books 0 little too close to, or a little too far away from, the eyes-signs that may point to near sightedness" or "far- -sightedness' to eyes tha need glasses.
 Uncomplaining Children
 No, she can't be sure. And the children themselves don't know that they don't see perfectly. How can children konw that they don't see perfectly? Children accept poor eye sight uncomplainingly as they ace cept any other handicap that doesn't cause actual pain. T thousands of children today have no Idea that other people don't see everything blurred, just as they do They think blurry seeing is natural seeing. They know no other kind. Remember Theodore Roosevelt's remark when he first saw through glasses, T never knew the world could be SO beautiful
 But even if the childs eyesight was good few years ago, he still wouldn't notice that his sight is steadily growing worse, That's bee cause poor vision creeps on us 50 gradually that we do not realize the change. You, as an average intel- legent adult have within yourself no sure means of knowing whether your vision is less capable now than 1t was year ago. Then how can Q child possibly know?
 The only person who can say def- inltely whether o child or anyone else needs glasses Is one sclentif- ically trained and equipped with modern instruments for examining eyes,
 "Oh, but they like to prescribe glasses" you sometimes hear. That's unfair. No conscientious practitioner would stoop to such methods Often glasses are not needed at all, and the honest examiner says 50 with real pleasure. Yet the Better Vision In- stitute's figures, which you have read, prove conclusively that the need for glasses Is widespread.
 But hate to think of my child having to wear glasses Of course, Still If the child needs the help of glasses, isn't he even worse off if you refuse to let him have them? With glasses he can overcome the handicap that Is holding him back: without them he remains helpless.
 But once he starts wearing glasses he'll always need them" Not necessarily; children often outgroW the need for glasses But if he needs them now. he'll continue to need them, If you don't let him have them. All you can do by refusing the help of glasses now is to make life succeed with glasses or to fail with out them?
 The chief eye trouble among child ren is aStlgmatism. In this condition the formation of one part of the eye is such that no object can be focused sharply. Result--blur: just like when you take picture that is out of focus, Imagine having to go through life like that!
 Competent Examiner
 To prescribe glasses the competent examiner finds out u) which kind of trouble exists, if any, and (2) ex- actly to what degree the unaided vision Is wrong. Then he prescribes modern glasses made to fit that par ticlilar pair of eyes.
 The amount and kind of correc- ton in each lens hes to be calculated scientifically. More than that, the lens chosen must provide exactly the amount and kind of correction needed by the eye 1t is to serve.
 Do all lenses do this? Unfortun- ately, no. Tn their very center prob- ably most lenses do. But how often does anyone, especially a child look through the exact center of the lens? Eyes are made to move; and most of our seeing is done through some off, center part of the lens.
 Hence all eyeglass wearers, includ- ing children, of course, should be given lenses which provide the exact correction needed by the eye, no mat tr through which part of the lens they may look. Such lenses are made.
 The proper thing for you to do is to make sure now that your children uaa claarlv The nnlV Wav tn find