Ординатура / Офтальмология / Английские материалы / Relearning To See_Quackenbush_2000

GENERAL DIRECTIONS

In acupressure acttvrt еь 1-3 gent у and s oAty massage ea:h area nd cated for a tew m nutes In acupressure activity 4, gently si des your curled fingers over the acupressure points as shown.

The purpose ot these self-healing activties is to increase the flow of energy as­ sociated with the visual system.

Rest your elbows on a table for sup­ port. Do not touch your eyes.

Remember to keep your neck released and to breathe abdominally. Though the eyelids can remain open or closed, closed eyelids is best. If they are open, remember to blink.

5. Feng-chi points. These two points are located in the two hollow areas just below the occipital bone. Place your fingers on me back of the head and use your thumbs to massage these points.

Chapter Twenty-One: Palming and Acupressure

1. Jing-ming points. These two acu­ pressure points are located on both sides of the bridge of the nose. You can use your forefingers as an alter­ native to the thumbs if desired.

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2. Zheng-guang points. These two acupressure points are located in the indentations underneath the eyebrow bones approximately one-half inch away from the bridge ol the nose. These points are associated with su­ perior oblique muscles.

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3. Si-bai points. These two acupres­ sure points are located on the cheek­ bones as shown.

Margaret Corbett, in her book Help Your- self to Better Sight, writes:

Ear training consists of... stimulation of the aural nerves by relaxation, that is by the total exclusion of all sound, earpalming.2

A C U P R E S S U R E

Applying a gentle, slow, massaging pressure to the acupressure points associated with the visual system increases the circulation of

meridians related to eyesight, and releases tension from the visual system.

See Figure 21-2: Acupressure Points.

NOTES

1Harris Gruman, New Ways to Better Sight (New

York: Hermitage House, 1950), p. 183.

2Margaret D. Corbett, Help Yourself to Better

Sight (North Hollywood, California: Wilshire Book Co., 1949), p. 205.

Better Eyesight magazine, October 1920:

Question: How young a person can you teach with this method, and up to what age can you expect results?

Answer: The age is immaterial. It is a matter of intelligence. People as old as eighty-two have improved. Children can be taught as soon as they are able to talk.

Better Eyesight magazine, November 1920:

Question: Is it possible to regain the ability to read without glasses when it fails after the age of forty, the sight at the distance being perfect?

Answer: The failure of the sight at the near point after forty is due to the same cause as its failure at any other point and at any other age, namely strain. The sight can be restored by practicing at the near point the same methods used to improve the vision at the distance—palming, shifting, swinging, etc. The sight is never perfect at the distance when imperfect at the near point, but will become so when the sight at the near point has become normal.

I N T E R F E R E N C E S T O C L E A R R E A D I N G

Many people read frequently and for long periods of time. If a person becomes fatigued or bored during these times, he may interfere with normal vision habits. When fatigued, many people do not rest, but continue reading. It is easy to fall into a "spaced out" staring habit in this situation.

Have you ever had the experience of still moving the eyes along the sentences, while your attention is on something else? Then, when the staring has stopped, did you need to go back and find out where your comprehension left off?

As mentioned earlier, research studies have linked myopia to literate cultures. It is not the activity of reading itself that strains vision— it is the formation of incorrect vision habits during reading that strains vision.

A L O C K E D N E C K

Many people lock their head and neck when they read—only the eyes are moving. Locking the neck will create fatigue. This can create a vicious cycle: fatigue creates staring, which creates more fatigue, and so on.

After the head stops moving, the eyes can also stop moving, as the person drifts into the staring habit. This is the worst form of star­ ing because the person is both rigid and dif­ fused.

ment, centralization, and relaxation allow a person to read comfortably and clearly for long periods of time.

How то R E A D NATURALLY

DIFFUSED SPEED READING

There are several "speed reading" programs that teach their students to look at large areas at a time. This is diffusion training.

If you diffuse your vision, you will strain it. In previous chapters, we proved that a per­ son can only see clearly in a small area in the center of the visual field. A person attempt­ ing to see a large area of print clearly simul­ taneously will strain their vision. Diffusion is confusion and a strain—and it lowers vision.

One instructor of a speed reading program told me that many of her students get headaches when they are taught speed read­ ing techniques.

It is possible to read very rapidly once cor­ rect vision habits are re-established.

POSTURE AND READIN G

Use correct posture while reading.

Figure 22-1: Book Support.

Tip: A book support for your desk can sup­ port better posture while reading.

R E A D I N G N A T U R A L L Y

To read clearly, a person needs to have cor­ rect vision habits. The principles of move­

When reading, simply move your nose- pencil—with a head movement—from left to right though the middle of each sentence. At the end of a sentence, move your nose-pen­ cil (and head) down and to the left, between the two sentences, to the next sentence. This releases the neck. Blink frequently, softly, and quickly. Breathe abdominally.

The eyes move also, but it is best to forget about your eyes. Your interest is what really moves through each line you are reading. So, you do not need to think about your eyes If you practice the correct habits and principles of natural vision, the eyes will take care of themselves—automatically.

One way to practice reading with head movement and centralization is by using a straightened paper clip. Simply move the tip of the paper clip exactly through the center of the words as shown in Figure 22-2.

A "high-tech" alternative to the paper clip is a laser beam, like the ones used for lectures and presentations. Simply move the (usually) red beam through the middle of each line. Vision students like the laser beam a lot!

Since there are some cones that pick up the letters close to the letter your nose-pen­ cil is touching at any particular moment, the visual system is able to determine what an entire word is—without diffusing.

For example, if the nose-pencil is on the let­ ter "o" in the word "dog," the letters "d" and "g" are so close to the letter "o" the visual sys­ tem can tell this word is "dog." But do not try or expect to see all of the letters of a word, or

all the words of a paragraph equally clearly at one moment. This would be a form of diffusion.

Never strain to see the letters on a page. You do not need to "sketch" every letter

as you read.

OPPOSITIONAL WORDS

From Better Eyesight magazine, July 1920: "In reading, the page appears to move in a direc­ tion opposite to that of the eye [and head]."

Imagine the words and the entire page are moving in the opposite direction of your head and eye movements. This illusion is essential for normal sight.

CHILDREN R E A D NATURALLY — UNTIL . . .

Learning to read is a complex activity. Have you ever watched a child when she first learns to read? The child moves her finger along the line she is reading. She uses her finger—nat­ urally—to help keep her attention on one word at a time. "It helps me keep my place." The main principles involved here are cen­ tralization and movement.

Unfortunately, many children are scolded for pointing, especially at other people. "Don't point; it is rude!" A child who is told not to point might assume that diffusion is correct.

A child also naturally moves her head when reading. Movement is natural.

Yet many children are told to "sit still" or "be still." Some are even told not to move their head when reading.This is incorrect and very harmful.

If the messages from adults that movement and centralizing are not correct translate into incorrect vision habits, the child's sight will lower. Many children are unwittingly taught how to lose their sight.

Additionally, many children are put under a lot of pressure to perform well at school. If this pressure translates into straining to see, vision will lower.

When a person has normal vision, there is no difference between the vision habits used during reading and during other activities.

The habits and principles of normal vision are the same at ail times and during all activities.

B A T E S O N R E A D I N G

BATES : " T H E M E N A C E OF LARGE PRINT"

Bates believed that the large print put in chil­ dren's schoolbooks could—and did—strain vision. Why? Large print can teach children to diffuse. If a child attempts to see a very large word clearly simultaneously, the vision will be strained.

Bates emphasized the importance of cen­ tralizing when regarding any type of print, and, for that matter, all objects!

Better Eyesight magazine, December 1919:

T H E MENAC E OF LARGE PRINT

If you look at the big "C" on the Snellen card (or any other large letter of the same size) at ten, fifteen, or twenty feet, and try to see it all alike, you may note a feeling of strain, and the letter may not appear per­ fectly black and distinct. If you now look at only one part of the letter, and see the rest of it worse, you will note that the part seen best appears blacker than the whole letter when seen all alike, and you may also note a relief of strain. If you look at the small "c" on the bottom line of the card, you may be able to note that it seems blacker than the big "C." If not, imagine it as forming part of the area of the big"C" If you are able to see this part blacker than the rest of the letter, the imagined letter

u ill, of course, appear blacker also. If your sight is normal, you may now go a step fur­ ther and note that when you look at one part of the small "c," this part looks blacker than the whole letter, and that it is easier to see the letter in this way than to see it all alike.

If you look at a line of the smaller letters that you can read readily, and try to see them all alike—all equally black and equally distinct in outline—you will prob­ ably find it to be impossible, and the effort will produce discomfort and, perhaps, pain. You may, however, succeed in seeing two or more of them alike. This, too, may cause much discomfort, and if continued long enough, will produce pain. If you now look at only the first letter of the line, seeing the adjoining ones worse, the strain will at once be relieved, and the letter will appear blacker and more distinct than when it was seen equally well with the others. If your sight is normal at the near point, you can repeat these experiments with a letter seen at this point, with the same results. A num­ ber of letters seen equally well at one time will appear less black and less distinct than a single letter seen best, and a large letter will seem less black and distinct than a small one; while in the case of both the large letter and the several letters seen all alike, a feeling of strain may be produced in the eye. You may also be able to note that the reading of very fine print, when it can be done perfectly, is markedly restful to the eye.

The smaller the point of maximum vision, in short, the better the sight, and the less the strain upon the eye. This fact can usually be demonstrated in a few minutes by anyone whose sight is not markedly imperfect; and in view of some of our edu­ cational methods, is very interesting and instructive.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Reading—For АИАцея

From the earlier explanations of the dis­ tribution of cones in the fovea centralis, we know that a person sees more distinctly the smaller the area of centralizing. The corollary to this is: the farther away another object, or part of an object, is from the central vision, the less distinct it is.

The same holds true for contrast. Above, Bates highlights the difference between blacker, sharper images in the central vision and less black, less clear images in the periph­ eral vision. People with blurred vision try to see everything sharp and with the same high contrast simultaneously. This is impossible to do and strains the visual system, whether attempted while reading or any other time. Again, the principles of natural vision are the same for all activities.

Bates gave a lot of attention to reading because we live in a literate society—and many people form incorrect habits when reading.

Better Eyesight magazine, December 1919, continued:

Probably every man who has written a book upon the eye for the last hundred years has issued a warning against fine print in school books, and recommended par­ ticularly large print for small children. This advice has been followed so assiduously that one could probably not find a lesson book for small children anywhere printed in ordinary reading type, while alphabets are often printed in characters one and two inches high.

The British Association for the Advance­ ment of Science does not wish to see chil­ dren read books [with small type] at all before they are seven years old, and would conduct their education previous to that age by means of large printed wall-sheets,

blackboards, pictures, and oral teaching. If they must read, however, it wants them to have 24and 30-point type, with capitals about a quarter of an inch in height. This is carefully graded down, a size smaller each year, until at the age of twelve the children are permitted to have the same kind of type as their elders. Bijou editions of Bible, prayer-book and hymnals are forbidden, however, to children of all ages.8

In the London myope classes, which have become the model for many others of the same kind, books are eliminated entirely, and only the older children are allowed to print their lessons in oneand two-inch types.b...

... [Yet] the reading of fine print, when it can be done with comfort, has been found to be a benefit to the eyes

a Report on the Influence of School-Books upon Eyesight, second revised edition, 1913.

bPollock: The Education of the Semi-Blind, Glasgow Med. Jour., D e c , 1915.

From Chapter XV in Perfect Sight Without

Glasses:

SHIFTING AND SWINGING

When the eye with normal vision regards a letter either at the near point or at the distance, the letter may appear to pulsate, or move in various directions, from side to side, up and down, or obliquely. When it looks from one letter to another on the Snellen card, or from one side of a letter to another, not only the letters, but the whole line of letters and the whole card may appear to move from side to side. This apparent movement is due to the shifting of the eye [and the head], and is always in a direction contrary to its movement. If one looks at the top of a letter, the letter is

below the line of vision, and therefore appears to move downward. If one looks at the bottom, the letter is above the line of vision and appears to move upward. If one looks to the left of the letter, it is to the right of the line of vision and appears to move to the right. If one looks to the right, it is to the left of the line of vision and appears to move to the left.

Persons with normal vision are rarely conscious of this illusion, and may have difficulty in demonstrating it; but in every case that has come under my observation they have always become able, in a longer or shorter time, to do so. When the sight is imperfect the letters may remain stationary, or even move in the same direction as the eye.

It is impossible for the eye to fix [on] a point longer than a fraction of a second. If it tries to do so, it begins to strain and the vision is lowered. This can readily be demonstrated by trying to hold one part of a letter for an appreciable length of time. No matter how good the sight, it will begin to blur, or even disappear, very quickly, and sometimes the effort to hold it will produce pain. In the case of a few exceptional people a point may appear to be held for a considerable length of time; the subjects themselves may think that they are holding it; but this is only because the eye shifts unconsciously, the movements being so rapid that objects seem to be seen all alike simultaneously.

[Even some people with normal vision think that what Bates is teaching is incorrect. Many people with normal sight think that stationary objects appear to be stationary. But we know stationary objects appear to move in the opposite direction of our movement.]

The shifting of the eye with normal vision is usually not conspicuous, but by direct

examination with the ophthalmoscope3 it can always be demonstrated. If one eye is examined with this instrument while the other is regarding a small area straight ahead, the eye being examined, which fol­ lows the movements of the other, is seen to move in various directions, from side to side up and down, in an orbit which is usu­ ally variable. If the vision is normal, these movements are extremely rapid and unac­ companied by any appearance of effort. The shifting of the eye with imperfect sight, on the contrary, is slower, its excursions are wider, and the movements are jerky and made with apparent effort.

It can also be demonstrated that the eye is capable of shifting with a rapidity which the ophthalmoscope cannot measure. The normal eye can read fourteen letters on the bottom line of a Snellen card at a distance of ten or fifteen feet, in a dim light, so rapidly that they seem to be seen all at once. Yet it can be demonstrated that in order to recognize the letters under these conditions it is necessary to make about four shifts to each letter. At the near point, even though one part of the letter is seen best, the rest may be seen well enough to be recognized; but at the distance it is impossible to recognize the letters unless one shifts from the top to the bottom and from side to side. One must also shift from one letter to another, making about sev­ enty shifts in a fraction of a second

OPTIMUMS A N D PESSIMUMS

In nearly all cases of imperfect sight due to enors of refraction there is some object, or objects, which can be regarded with nor-

8 An instrument for viewing the interior of the eye. When the optic nerve is observed with the oph­ thalmoscope, movements can be noted that are not apparent when only the exterior of the eye is regarded.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Reading—For All Ages

mal vision. Such objects I have called opti­ mums. On the other hand, there are some objects which persons with normal eyes and ordinarily normal sight always see imperfectly; an error of refraction being produced when they are regarded, as demonstrated by the retinoscope. Such objects I have called pessimums. An object becomes an optimum, or a pessimum, according to the effect it produces upon the mind, and in some cases this effect is easily accounted for.

For many children their mother's face is an optimum, and the face of a stranger a pessimum. A dressmaker was always able to thread a No. ю needle with a fine thread of silk without glasses, although she had to put on glasses to sew on buttons, because she could not see the holes. She was a teacher of dressmaking, and thought the children stupid because they could not tell the difference between two different shades of black. She could match colors without comparing the samples. Yet she could not see a black line in a photographic copy of the Bible which was no finer than a thread of silk An employee in a cooperage fac­ tory, who had been engaged for years in picking out defective barrels as they went rapidly past him on an inclined plane, was able to continue his work after his sight for most other objects had become very defec­ tive, while persons with much better sight for the Snellen card were unable to detect the defective barrels. The familiarity of these various objects made it possible for the subjects to look at them without strain—that is, without trying to see them. Therefore the barrels were to the cooper optimums; while the needle's eye and the colors of silk and fabrics were optimums to the dressmaker. Unfamiliar objects, on the contrary, are always pessimums.

In other cases there is no accounting for