Functional nervous diseases of reflex origin / by Albert Rufus Baker.

  • Baker, Albert Rufus, 1858-
Date:
1890
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Functional nervous diseases of reflex origin / by Albert Rufus Baker. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by UCL Library Services. The original may be consulted at UCL (University College London)

    8/16 (page 8)
    only by a large practice that the oculist who has had a wide experience, excels the beginner, and this is the reason why so often spectacles that are theoreticall}'' correct are rejected by the patient. The dizziness which results from looking at a rapidly moving train of cars, while swinging, or from looking over a precipice, is due to the same excessive muscular efforts made necessary for the proper coordination of the eyeballs, and those of accommodation. The frequent instruction of stewards on board steamships to the passengers to keep their eyes shut while making their toilets and until thej^ reach the deck, to prevent seasickness, is a practical illustration of this principle. The most essential factor in the cause of sea-sickness is due to the muscular efforts made necessary on shipboard in viewing objects at varying distances. Persons suffering from astigmatism are peculi- arly liable to giddiness and vertigo, undoubtedly due to these unusual muscular efforts. An astig- matic patient of mine, could not sew on striped goods; and was frequently caused to vomit while ironing such goods. Another said the mere mention of a barber's pole always caused a squamish sensation at the pit of his stomach. Another if walking behind a person with a striped dress on the street was always obliged to close his eyes or look in another direction to pre- vent falling. These cases were all cured by cor- recting the error of refraction. A statement made by an eminent oculist that if we, like the giant Cyclops, who assisted Vulcan in his work- shop, had but one eye in the centre of his fore- head, would not suffer from muscular asthenopia, is not strictly true, because we not infrequently meet persons who have but one eye, (or what is