Evening star., 1960-02-21


written for the Columbus (0hio) Dis
patch during q recent visit by the
author to Columbus, where he wsS born.
surgeon. One of the greatest Of
them told me, 1T is as easy for
us as clipping q fingernail or
tying q shoelace."
The operation is successful
more than 90 per cent Of the
time. In the New York hospital
where my cataract was removed
in 1910 (the Eye Institute Of Co.
lumbia Presbyterian Center) only
three patients out Of $500 failed
to recover the vision they had
had.
Twas one Of the three because
my cataract had formed IN an
eve that had taken q terrible
beating in 1902 from q dread in
fection called sympathetic OPP
thalmia.
You may hurt your left thumb
and 1t will have no effect what
ever on your right thumb, but
the relation Of your eyes is some
what akin to that of SiameSe
twins.
Neglect Of eye injuries or eye
troubles Of any kind is perhaps
the major cause Of blindness to-
day. In the United States alone.
$4,000 people go blind every year
and the sight of many Of them
could have been saved by the ex-
ercise of common sense.
II my own left eye had been
removed in time 1t is likely I
would have normal vision in the
other eye today.
Cut comeo
The first rule is this: II any,
thing at all happens to your eye.
you should see a reputable doc
tor at once.
One of the commonest acci-
dents is to cut the cornea, or
transparent covering Of the eye
ball, with the edge of q handker-
chief or even the edge Of a facial
tissue.
The pain is sharp but usually
goes away in a matter OF seconds.
Nevertheless it would be wise to
let an eye doctor look at the eye.
It takes a cataract some time to
form and promptness in this case
is not so urgent, but anybody who
thinks eye drops Of any kind will
cure cataract Is a danger to him
self and to the community.
Some years ago all reputable
firms putting out a certain eye
drop for cataract withdrew their
products from the market when it
was established by laboratory re-
search and the examination OF
1000 persons who had used the
drops for several months or longer
that they rendered the cataract
inoperable.
There is condition super
hcially resembling cataract that
can be easily cleared up, but the
tragedy of this is that thousands
of people have spread the false
news that cataract can be cured
by ordinary citric acid.
Deluded people all over the
country and all over the world
have writer me about fake
cures" for cataract and all other
eye conditions.
Odd Cures
have not only been told to
use orange juice, but to rub my
spine with a billiard ball; to put
a hot hatiron against my temple;
to watch jumping beans; to swal-
low the scrapings of church bells,
and even to become emotionally
involved with an Apache princess.
Some of the most intelligent
persons I know are as ignorant
about the nature and care OF the
human eye, as child OF s.
The normal human eye is not
fragile, but is one of the strongest
organs of the body. 1t can take
a bad beating and survive it, and
it is not easily susceptible to
outside infections.
One famous eye man told me
that a certain eye drop which
soothes the eye would cause the
tongue to swell up and be painful.
Now and then beating, or a
fall. or other accident may cause
a detachment of the retina, or
segment Of the retina. This is a
condition that cannot and must
not be neglected.
A few years ago an American
Army officer in Germany was
flown to a New York hospital for
a retinal detachment operation,
but he had kept putting off the
trip until the retina was COM
pleted detached and nothing
could be done about it in his case.
On the other hand, operations
in time are, I am told. at least IS
per cent successful and the retinal
segment stays put.
Fear OF Operations
Although the five operations I
underwent were long time ago, a
distinguished eye doctor told me,
compared to recent, or postwar,
improvement in knowledge and
technique of eye operations, you
we're practically operated on in
the dark ages"
Many people are terrified Of
eye operations, but they should
not be. First of all, DO NOT
DELAY and then consult your
physician and obtain the name
of.a reputable surgeon.
Un my case, the multiple opera
tions were due solely to the unique
bad condition of my eye before it
was operated upon. Never COM
pare your eye to anyone else's,'
my doctor told me-
The highly improved technique