EYE STRAIN

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 79, 30 September 1933, Page 15

EYE STRAIN

SHORT-SIGHTED CHILD

INTERESTING LECTURE

The lecture hall of the Red Cross Society was filled to capacity on Friday night on the occasion of a lecture on /'Eye Strain," by Dr. J. H. Beaumont, under the auspices of the Wellington centre of the society. Mr. C. H. Chapman, M.P., .chairman of the centre, presided. After referring to the importance of the relief of eye strain in the health and happiness of th i individual, Dr. Beaumont said that the myopic or short-sighted child tended to become round-shouldered, and a book-reading recluso, just becauso the pleasure of games had gone with the power to see clearly and smartly. The long-sighted boy, on the other hand, was good at sport, but tended to avoid reading books. The constant effort of focusing to overcome his long sight often gave him headache on reading. He tended" to one-sided. Adequate 'treatment of t^e wpuld enable children to live a fuller ' indoor and outdoor life. •'■'■ Squint or crossed eyes, from which more than 2 per cent, of school children suffered, was Responsible" fora large number' of.'• blind "eyes.' 'The " brain .ignore!}. £he sight from the eye which was^'turned' in or out." If it were not 'so""tire 'child'-w;6uid '■ see1' double.' ' The squinting eye x therefore; tended to become almost blind from disuse, giving rise to'what'is tn'own as a 'Mazy eye." Sir' William Lister described lazy eyes as "the unemployed becoming unemployable." ft was good news for many people 'that lly exercises on ( modern machines' most cases of squint could be cured without' operation, so that the eyes'we're straight "even'when the child was 110$ wearing" glasses. " The 'improvement in.the mental, outlook of these children was gjreater even tjian the' improvement" in ~theif' pefs'onal" ' appearance. Squinting patients hardly ever • had headaches, but people who had phorias or tendencies to squint generally had severe headaches due to the muscular strain of keeping the eyes straight. If one eye turned in, this eye was ignored and the headaches disappeared. This was another instance of gross errors causing less discomfort than slight The symptoms caused -by small errors, or-more correctly, by the strain of the effort'to'compeiisate for small errors; were more interesting from a medical point of view, ranging from a mild degree of headache to symptoms simulating grave organic disease." Two iypes'df'cases were'strikingly common. The first was the neurasthenic type, including people wlio " 'were ' going through a period of' prolonged mental worry-and anxiety, and the second was .the. Ed and 'those convalescing from an" acute' illness^'. ' The symptoms of small refractive errors might bo classified as follows: — (1) Visual symptoms; (2) ocular symptoms; and (3) referred symptoms. The visual symptoms were . often most marked in those cases where the vision remained good, for the defect might be remedied by muscular effort on the part of the patient. This was especially seen in those who used the eyes much for reading or in the study of small objects over long periods of time. ITine sewing, the cinema, or the theatre, sightseeing, motor driving in the distraction of confused traffic or any relaxation or employment which called for a high degree of visual activity' combined with attention or anxiety, ■ frequently caused a breakdown. A sense of confusion or a temporary blurring of vision was experienced —the letters when reading, for:.example, appearing to run together and continued attention became difficult .or impossible. Ocular symptoms were directly due to increased muscular work. , The eyes felt tired, hot, and uncomfortable. Temporary relief was obtained by resting or by rubbing them. Inflammation of the lids and recurrent styes were common. - Low-grade infections of the conjunctiva readily established themselves, the eyes having a characteristic ] 00 k—watery, .suffused, and bleary. Regarding referred symptoms, Dr. Beaumont said that no case of obscure headache should be treated on general, medical lines without first eliminating the possibility of . eye strain as being at least one of the factors in its cause. This was the statement of Sir William Duke Elder, London's most brilliant opthalmologist, who recently operated on both eyes of the present Prime Minister of (Jreat Britain. The headache of eye strain might be of any type. It might occur first thing in the morning, it might be periodic,, suggesting migraine, or it' might be persistent; simulating organic central nervous disease. Indigestion might be kept up by referred disturbances caused by eye strain. Spasmodic movement of the face, habit spasm, and even wry-neck might be associated with an error of refraction and could be cured by glasses together with other treatment. Eye strain might also be an exciting cause for migraine, chorea, epilepsy, and irritability of temper. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Dr. Beaumont for his address.