Journal of School Health Volume 20 Issue 1 1950 [Doi 10.1111%2Fj.1746-1561.1950.Tb09725.x] William H. Crisp -- WHAT ABOUT EYE EXERCISES

8/13/2019 Journal of School Health Volume 20 Issue 1 1950 [Doi 10.1111%2Fj.1746-1561.1950.Tb09725.x] William H. Crisp -

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20 THE J O U R N A L O F SCHOOL HEALTH

W H AT ABOUT EYE EXERCISES?

WILLIAM H. CRISP DDenver olorado

It is natural that persons with defective sight should seekimprovement Many of course obtain help by means of spectaclelenses. But there are many eyes in which serious disease preventsimproved vision with glasses and i t is natural that persons withsuch eyes should grasp a t any other promising method. There arealso many persons who so dislike wearing glasses that they willlisten to claims made for certain so-called exercises. Can sight beimproved in this way and is it possible to avoid the wearing ofglasses by exercise? In many persons itsoptical structure is decidedly imperfect. In other cases disease haspermanently destroyed parts of the optic nerve o r scars interferewith the accurate passage of light rays from the outside world intothe eye. Some misguided or definitely dishonest persons claim toremedy these conditions by subjecting the eye to exercises orinstructing the patient in the performance of such exercises. Some-times a substantial payment for this sort of treatment is acceptedand a supposed guarantee of cure is given.

Professional tests for the proportion of normal vision possessedby an eye are made upon mathematical bases usually with let tersof varying size or placed a t varying distances from the patient. Theability to read these letters is compared with the ability of thenormal eye to read such letters at corresponding distances. Thepatient may think he sees better at one time than at another butthe final decision does not depend upon the patients mentalimpression but upon his actual reading of the letters.

The human eyeball is only about one inch long. A difference ofone fiftieth of an inch in length makes an extremely importantdifference in ability to see o r in the strength of spectacle lensrequired for accurate seeing. The eye that is a trifle t o o long isnearsighted and one that is a trifle shorter than normal is far-sighted. Aatigmatism is due in general t o inequality of curvaturein different directions of the surface of the eyeball and such differ-ence usually unnoticeable on looking at the eye in the ordinaryway may be extremely important as to the accuracy of sight.

What are the exercises from which improvement of sight isclaimed by certain quacks? They ar e quite childish and futile Oneis palming which amounts in practice to nothing more thanresting the eyes by covering them while relaxing the mind. Swing-

The eye is a living optical instrument.

From S i g h t Saving Review Fall 1949 p. 168.

8/13/2019 Journal of School Health Volume 20 Issue 1 1950 [Doi 10.1111%2Fj.1746-1561.1950.Tb09725.x] William H. Crisp -

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THE JOURNAL OF S C H O O L H E A LT H

ing o r swaying is little more than rhythmic turn ing of th e bodyfrom side to side with the eyes closed. This particu lar exercise hasbeen unscrupulously recommended for the extremely serious dis-

ease called glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness arising in adultlife. The three-quarter-blind English novelist, Aldous Huxley, hasspoken enthusiastically of a ridiculous exercise which consists ofclosing his eyes while he imagines a long paper tube extending intospace from the tip of his nose, and with which he imagines himselfdrawing various outlines by movements of the head.

Huxleys defects of vision a re due to scars formed from eyedisease in his early life. In others there is definite destruction,partial o r complete, of the optic nerve which can never be repaired.Glaucoma, already referred to, is due to excessive hardness of theeyeball. Taken in time i t may be helped with medicines. Often itcan only be stopped by a surgical operation performed without toomuch delay. Cataract is due to clouding of the natu ral lens insidethe eye. When sufficiently developed, it calls for surgical removalof that cloudy lens. But none of these conditions can be cured oreven improved by an y so rt of exercise.

The only condition th at may sometimes be benefitted by certainforms of exercise known to the trained eye specialist is strabismus,squint, or cross eye.

About eight per cent of all males have important defects in theability to distinguish different colors. Dur ing th e second World Warmany attempts, a few honest, many dishonest, were made to qualifycandidates for enlistment in special services by training them inability to identify test cards for color vision. Because of certainpartial imperfections in these tests a candidate may occasionallysucceed in obtaining an improved score on a second or third test,although his color vision is still just as defective. Both theinstructor and the candidate in such a case may be endangeringthe lives of the crew of an airplane or a sea-going ship. Similarrisks from mistakes made by color-blind personnel exist in manycivilian occupations, including marine, railway, and aviationservices. From a thorough investigation by eye surgeons, optome-trist s, and members of th e armed forces it has been clearly demon-strated that defects of color vision cannot be corrected by any sortof special tr aini ng of the eyes.

Neither diseased conditions of the eyes, nor optical defectscalling for correction with spectacle lenses nearsightedness, fa r-sightedness, and astigmatism), can be remedied by any system ofexercises. Persons wi th defective sight should consult, and shouldaccept the deliberate judgment of, a competent eye specialist, andshould follow his advice as to the treatment necessary.

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