Keeping Fit (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Keeping Fit<br><br>Close your eyes and for a half minute imagine yourself blind... In warfare false eyesight is almost as useless as blindness.<br><br>The most frequent kinds of poor eyesight causing rejection from the Army were near and far sightedness and astigmatism. The same conditions, of course, handicap a man almost as much in civilian life.<br><br>Certain defects in the original structure of the eye itself can not be cured, and can only be corrected by glasses properly fitted by a competent oculist.<br><br>Certain other defects, due to mistreatment of the eyes, can be cured by proper glasses which, so to speak, "train" the eye back to normal. Some kinds of defects, such as certain cases of "cross-eyes," may be helped by a slight operation. Slight muscular defects often cause severe eyestrain without the patient knowing what is wrong.<br><br>Still other eye troubles affect chiefly the lids, or attack the lids first and only later affect the eyesight itself. Proper medical treatment will usually cure these conditions. Certain infected cases, however, may leave permanent scars.<br><br>Varieties of eye trouble are so numerous that they can not be described here, nor would it be wise for you to try to treat yourself, for the symptoms of very different complaints are often so nearly alike - headache, redness, dimness, etc. - that only a physician can prescribe properly. For any continued discomfort, go to a reliable eye specialist (ophthalmologist or oculist).<br><br>It is unwise to ask an optician to prescribe for eye defects. An optician is, or should be, merely one who makes the glasses ordered by the physician, and it is no safer to go directly to the optician than it would be to go to a druggist for surgical treatment.<br><br>It is possible, however, for you to know how to avoid preventable eye trouble. Many a man's career has been handicapped because he neglected these apparently simple rules:<br><br>1. When reading, writing, etc. be sure to have good, clear light, preferably over the left shoulder if writing, and not directly in the eyes or reflected sharply from the paper.<br><br>2. Do not hold the eyes less than 12 inches from your work.<br><br>3. Do not use the eyes too long continuously - rest them a few minutes occasionally by closing them or looking into the distance to relax them. One should do this at least every hour, especially if reading fine type or doing intense, delicate work.<br><br>4. Do not use your eyes much on vibrating train or car, or go too often to motion pictures. They strain the eyes.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.