able in the production of disease. It also seems to me highly important that this doctrine should be taught and extensively promulgated by all sanitarians, especially for the reason that if the people conceive the idea that the typhoid germ, for instance, is a distinct parasite which alone gives rise to the disease, and that it cannot proceed from any other agency, they will be content to live in the midst of unhealthy surroundings so long as the disease is not in their immediate neighborhood; but if they are aware that death may have its breeding place in filth and sewage without the intervention of a specific microbe, they will readily recognize that their only hope of safety lies in absolute cleanliness. CARE OF THE EYES. DR. C. F. CLARK, COLUMBUS, OHIO. Of the more prevalent defects of vision and diseases of the eyes, some are due to general diseases which are inherited, or causes beyond the control of the sufferer or his friends. That many of these indirect causes could be removed is beyond doubt; and that they will be, when hygiene and preventive medicine have achieved their victories over ignorance, is also beyond doubt. But a very large proportion of these defects and diseases of the eyes are due to direct causes which could, by the exercise of intelligent care, be avoided. No superior technical knowledge is required of those who, for themselves and those under their charge, would do all that can be done by care to preserve their sight. A little careful observation, and putting into use that much neglected common sense, with which we are all supposed to be endowed, would work wonders in this direction and take away half the occupation of the ophthalmologist. Of the diseases which may be prevented, the following are the most important: Nearsightedness-(Myopia.*) When not inherited this disease may, in a large majority of cases, be avoided by observing a few simple rules, which will be mentioned further on, when speaking of the effect of school life upon the eyes. And even in those cases where it is hereditary, or has already been caused by improper use of the eyes, much can be done to hold it in check *Myopia is a condition of the eyes in which, instead of being practically spherical, as is the case with the normal eye, the ball is somewhat elongated in a direction from before backward, causing parallel rays of light to come to a focus before reaching the retina, and thus to produce a blurred and indistinct image on that membrane. This condition of the eye-ball may be congenital, but in the majority of instances it is the result of strained effort, accompanied as such effort usually is, by prolonged congestion, causing nutritive changes and softening of the coats of the eye, which thus yield to the pressure of continued muscular strain and bulge out slightly in the direction of least resistance. It is thus seen that nearsightedness is a disease, and usually a progressive disease. When once the eye-ball has taken on this new form it cannot, by any means known to science, be reduced again to its proper shape. The tendency of this disease when the eyes are used continually for reading, writing, or fine work of any kind, especially when there is a generally lax condition of the muscular system, is to progress, the eye-ball stretching more and more, until vision becomes very defective and at times even blindness results. |