Eye Care Blog

Eye and Imagination

Imagination is closely allied to memory, for we can imagine only as well as we remember, and in the treatment of imperfect sight the two can scarcely be separated. Vision is largely a matter of imagination and memory. And since both imagination and memory are impossible without perfect relaxation, the cultivation of these faculties not only improves the interpretation of the pictures on the retina but improves the pictures themselves. When you imagine that you see a letter on the test card you actually do see it, because it is impossible to relax and imagine the letter perfectly and at the same time strain and see it imperfectly.

The following method of using the imagination has produced quick results in many cases. Look at the largest letter on the test card at the near-point, and you will usually be able to observe that a small area, about an inch square, appears blacker than the rest, and that when the part of the letter seen worst is covered, part of the exposed area seems blacker than the remainder. When the part seen worst is again covered, the area of maximum blackness is still further reduced. When the part seen best has been reduced to about the size of a letter on the bottom line, imagine that such a letter occupies this area and is blacker than the rest of the letter. Then look at a letter on the bottom line and imagine that it is blacker than the largest letter. If you can do this, you will at once become able to see the letters on the bottom line.

Eye Flashing or Blinking

Since it is effort that spoils the sight, many persons with imperfect sight are able, after a period of rest, to look at an object for a fraction of a second. If the eyes are closed before the habit of strain reasserts itself, permanent relaxation is sometimes very quickly obtained. This practice I have called “flashing” or “blinking,” and many persons are helped by it who are unable to improve their sight by other means. Rest the eyes for a few minutes by closing them or palming, and then regard for a fraction of a second a letter on the test card, or a letter of fine print if the trouble is with near vision. Close the eyes immediately and repeat the process.

Eye Central Fixation

When the vision is normal the eye sees one part of everything it looks at best and every other part worse in proportion as it is removed from the point of maximum vision. When the vision is imperfect it is invariably found that the eye is trying to see a considerable part of its field of vision equally well at one time. This is a great strain upon the eye and mind, as anyone whose sight is approximately normal can demonstrate by trying to see an appreciable area all alike at one time. At the near-point the attempt to see an area even a quarter of an inch in diameter in this way will produce discomfort and pain. Anything which rests the eye tends to restore the normal power of central fixation. It can also be regained by conscious practice, and this is sometimes the quickest and easiest way to improve the sight.

When you become conscious of seeing one part of your field of vision better than the rest, it usually becomes possible to reduce the area seen best. If you look from the bottom to the top of the big C on a test card and see the part not directly regarded worse than the part fixed, you may become able to do the same with the next line of letters, and thus you may become able to go down the card until you can look from the top to the bottom of the letters on the bottom line and see the part not directly regarded worse. In that case you will be able to read the letters.

Since small objects cannot be seen without central fixation, the reading of fine print, when it can be done, is one of the best of visual exercises, and the dimmer the light in which it can be read, and the closer to the eye it can be held, the better it is for you.

Eyecare and Sun Treatment

Sunlight is as necessary to normal eyes as is rest and relaxation. If it is possible, start the day by exposing the closed eyes to the sun. Just a few minutes at a time will help. Get accustomed to the strong light of the sun by letting it shine on your closed eyelids. It is good to move the head slightly from side to side while doing this, in order to prevent straining. When you have become used to the strong light, raise the upper lid of one eye and look downward as the sun shines on the sclera. Blink when the desire to comes, or when you lose the power of relaxation. One cannot get too much sun treatment.

How to Practice Eye Vision with the Test Card

Place the card permanently on the wall in a good light.

Place yourself from ten to twenty feet from the card and read as far as you can without effort or strain. Over each line of letters are small figures indicating distance. Over the big C at the top is the figure zoo. The big C, therefore, should be read at a distance of two hundred feet if the vision is normal.

Now let us say you can only read as far as the fifth line at the distance indicated. Notice that the last letter on that line is an R. Now palm your eyes and remember the R. If you will remember that the left side is straight, the right side partly curved, and the bottom open, you will get a good mental picture of the R with your eyes closed. This mental picture will help you to see the letter directly underneath the R, which is a T. Use the same method at whichever line the vision seems to fail: notice the last letter of the last line you can read, palm, get a good mental picture of the last letter seen, and you will find it easier to see the one directly beneath it.

Now if you stare at the final letter, you will notice that all the letters on that line begin to blur. It is beneficial to close your eyes quickly after you see the final letter, open them, and shift to the first figure on that line. Then close your eyes and remember the first figure. You will become able to read all the letters on that line by closing your eyes for each letter.

It takes only a minute to test the sight with the card. If you spend five minutes in the morning practicing with the card, it will be a great help during the day. Also keep a record of each test in order to note your progress from day to day. Record the vision in the form of a fraction, with the distance at which the letter is read as the numerator and the distance at which it ought to be read as the denominator. For example, 20/ 20 is normal, 10/20 less than normal, and 25/2o be^tter than normal.

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