Care of the Eyes

Of all the senses sight may be considered as being the most valuable. Without sight man would be almost incapable of knowing or recognizing his environment. Never would he be able to enjoy the sunrise or the sunset that are the focal points of the day. Neither could he enjoy the gifts of nature- the flowers, the animals, the clouds or the sky at night. No matter how well one would try to describe them it could never be the same as the real thing.

For those unfortunate to be born blind this may not be so traumatic as for the person gifted with sight who unfortunately suddenly loses it. But still it remains a terrible infirmity. Persons afflicted with blindness are forever dependent upon others for their daily needs. It therefore becomes clear that for those of us who have the benefit of natural sight, it is most important that we should protect it with all the means available to us.

To fully understand the problems that afflict the eyes it is very necessary to learn something of the working and construction of the organ itself. Once we can fully understand how it works, it becomes easier to know how to protect it. The author of this book has brought to our notice many of the technical aspects affecting the working of the eye, which provide us with plenty of guidelines on how not to treat this most sensitive and precious organ.

The stresses and strains, which we unknowingly put upon the eyes as a matter of course during our daily activities, really show how careless we are about these wonderful gifts of nature. We are once again to be reminded that this kind of carelessness, which we practice, will eventually lead to an irreplaceable loss, which can never be replaced or satisfactorily be repaired.

This all revolves around mankind's slow but progressive move away from a natural life style. The student burning the midnight oil, or trying to read in unsuitable light, the factory worker or artisan overworking his eyes whilst doing fine or microscopic work. All of which the experts tell us should be avoided. Added to this is the greedy employer worried about workschedules not allowing his skilled workers enough time to rehabilitate their eyes in be-tween or during jobs that are running behind schedule. No amount of money can replace eyesight that has been lost or weakened by continual overworking of the eyes. We are all guilty at one time or another of abusing our eyes, especially during our youth, mainly through ignorance of the consequences. How many of us rue those days when we watched too much television or read novels by candle-light and now find ourselves wearing spectacles and praying that we do not have to suffer further losses due to our follies.

But the author assures us that all is not lost for if we are careful and perform certain simple exercises whilst avoiding some of our previous bad habits we may once again regain a certain amount of what we may have lost. Obviously this does not include damage caused by disease. But most definitely it does include the correct treatment at the right time if we are afflicted by any of them. It also means that we should try to avoid coming in contact with those causes, which eventually lead to them.

There are amongst us many who have through sheer guts overcome the affliction of blindnessand to some extent lead normal lives but they will tell you how this trauma has changed their lives and most probably of the envy that they hold for those who are able to see and enjoy their normal seeing lives. Much has to do with the treatment we mete out to our eyes and how hard we try to protect them. A little care and trouble each day can almost assure us of natural sight for the full length of our natural lives. This is what we have to aim for and try to achieve. Reading this book is a start. The rest is up to you and how you use the information given to you.

For those of us lucky enough to have our eye-sight intact, it is not a time to be complacent. We should also keep ourselves informed of the means and ways available to protect our sight. We must remain fully conscious of what we are doing, and in what ways we are potentially harming ourselves.

It is a well-known fact, and one to which wider publicity should be given, that the average man or woman is either too obtuse or too indolent to properly care for, or prevent injury to, that most delicate part of the human organism-the eye.

This is evidenced by the thousands and tens of thousands of people who attend the various Ophthalmic Hospitals throughout the country for treatment of some eye affection or other, and by the very large number of patients who receive private treatment from specialists for eye affections and diseases that could be avoided, were the eyes cared for in anything like an intelligent manner.

It is in order to demonstrate how the healthy eye may be kept healthy, and how the weak eye may be strengthened, that this little booklet has been compiled.

**Contents and Sample Pages**