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Eyes Failing Sight

Sources: Papers On Health

This often comes as the result simply of an

over-wearied body and mind, without any pain or accident whatever. It

appears as an inability to see small distant objects, or to see at all

in dusky twilight. The sight is also variable--good when the patient is

not wearied, and bad when he is tired. When this comes on under thirty

years of age, the eyes have almost certainly been overworked, and need

rest. Rest from all rea
ing and other work trying for the eyes is the

best cure. If this can be had, it should be taken, with much outdoor

exercise. Fresh air is a fine tonic for the eyes. Where total rest

cannot be had, take as much as possible, and nurse the failing nerves

as follows. Apply the bran poultice, as directed for inflamed eyes,

just as long as it is felt to be comforting--with one patient it will

be longer, with another shorter. Now there is a cooling of the brow and

of the eyes themselves, which is as important almost as the heating of

the back of the head. We always find, as a matter of fact, that a cold

application opposed to a hot one produces a vastly better result that

two hot ones opposed, or one hot one by itself alone. So we find in the

case of the eyes. We have now, as we write these lines, eyes under our

care that are mending every day by means of a bran poultice at the back

of the head and neck, and a cold cloth changed on the brow and eyes.

They do not mend anything like so well if heat alone is used. Rub the

back of the head and neck with hot olive oil before and after

poulticing, and dry well. Do this for an hour at a time, twice, or if

possible three times, a day. Continue for a fortnight, cease

treatment for a week, and again treat for another fortnight. This

should make such improvement as to encourage to further perseverance

with the cure. Sometimes failing sight follows neuralgia. In this case

the rubbing described in Eyes, Squinting, given twice a day for fifteen

or twenty minutes each day, will be useful in addition to above

treatment.



Even in cases in which "cataract" is fully formed, we find that the

disease is arrested, and the patient at least gets no worse. But where

this malady is only threatened the haze soon passes away. We most

earnestly wish and pray that this simple treatment should be as widely

known as there are failing eyes in this world of trial.



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