Defective Sight.

Otago Witness, Issue 2578, 12 August 1903, Page 64

Defective Sight.

The announcement by Dr Weir Mitchell about 30 years ago that conditions of tho eye requiring extreme effort to focus it — in other words, eye strain— causa certa.'ta nervoua headaches, directed the attention, of many other observers to "the far-reaching effects of defeotive vision.

The short-sighted child may become more studious -than the average from the fact that ho is able to see only objects close at hand. He may thus turn, to books with a degree of application which, may bs harmful, inpsmuch as 4he defect renders it likely that hie outdoor pleasures are correspondingly restricted.

The far-sighted child may be even more seriously affected. He perceives objects near at hand with a blurred and indistinct impression. It is a difficult process for him to apply hifl attenticm to a book or to a, copy, because the eyes rebel -against prolonged strain. Not seeing e'early, he ia less apt to reason clearly. A new idea dawns «!o\vly when study demands a marked expenditure of nervous energy. In this event it is not to bo wondered at if etudy becomes tiresome and distasteful, aad if tho ohild's ingenuity is exercised to further his. escape from as much school work as po : siblo. A physical defect which, it is possible to correct may thus easily become responsible for ti ait's of character which permanently impair mental progress. A noted observer lias .stated it as hie opinion that a child with a marked degree of far-sightc-dness is always backward in his studies, and prone to the habit of making excuses for lessons unlearned.

Children who are crocs-eyed have a doub'e disadvantage, in that they are hampered by sight-confusion, and are also frequently Uie butt of their companions' thoughtless ridicule. It has been noted that -the correction of cross-eye has improved the disposition asi well &b the sight of a child previously affected. Defeots of the eye productive of far and near eightednees aro not always readily detected. Parents should; bear in mind the ]X>sp ibility of defective. vi=ioVL as _ a O&USG far the backwardness of children in echool or at play.