28G THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES. 



Squint may begin at any%ge, but commonly it is first noticed between the ages 

 of five and nine. Mothers sometimes tell us that the baby was born with a squint, 

 and it is quite possible. We all know that children are sometimes born with a club- 

 foot, and there seems to be no good reason why they; or rather some of them, should 

 not come into the world squinting. In fact, all babies have somewhat of a squinting 

 appearance it is very slight, of course, and it is extremely difficult to decide at first 

 if there is really a squint or not. 



The causes of squint are somewhat obscure. It is said that a child may learn to 

 squint from imitating other people, but this seems very doubtful. It is a common 

 opinion, but there is very little foundation for it. -Then it is said that habitually 

 looking at a scar or speck on the nose may induce it, and this is just possible. Many 

 children squint after a violent fit of passion. A child has squinted for months after 

 being left to cry alone in a dark room. In one little boy the affection appeared 

 from bathing him in the sea in spite of his earnest protestations by screaming and 

 struggling. It sometimes comes on as the result of the irritation caused by teething 

 or by*worms. It sometimes follows measles and scarlatina, or it may be associated 

 with a general condition of ill-health. Sometimes it comes on in the course of tuber- 

 cular meningitis and other affections of the brain, and it is then a bad sign. 



It is often by no means an easy matter to say which eye it is that squints. The 

 following test has been suggested : Make the person stand some four or five yards 

 in front of you in a fairly good light ; tell him to cover one eye, say the left, to look 

 at you with the other, and to keep the head straight. The right eye will then be in 

 the centre of the orbit. Now make him uncover his left eye. If the right eye 

 which has been open be unaffected it will keep its central position, while the left is 

 turned inwards ; but if it be the one at fault it will turn in, while the left will 

 become straight. The experiment should be reversed by making him cover the right 

 eye, whilst the left remains open. In the case of a child, a grown-up person must 

 stand behind and cover or uncover the eye as required. If the matter is still in 

 doubt the patient should be made to blink several times. Every now and then cases 

 are met with where nothing but a most prolonged and careful examination will settle 

 the question as to the existence of a squint or not. 



When we come to the question of treatment there is really very little to be said. 

 If the condition of the eyes is dependent on, or follows, scarlet fever, whooping-cough, 

 or some such constitutional complaint, hopes may be entertained of recovery, and the 

 same may be said of cases due to worms, teething, &c., but in other cases mere 

 medicinal treatment will be of little avail, and the surgeon's art will be required 

 before a cure can be effected. When the squint is the result of some imperfection of 

 the sight, remedying this by appropriate glasses may effect a cure, but in the large 

 majority of cases it will be necessary to divide the muscle at fault. The operation 

 in skilled hands is not a dangerous one, and all pain is obviated by the administra- 

 tion of an anaesthetic. 



Artificial Eyes. So many people have unfortunately to wear an artificial eye 

 that a little general information on this subject may prove acceptable. Artificial 

 eyes have been used from the remotest times to remedy the deformity arising from 

 a shrunken eye, and it is said that they have been found among the mummies of 



