History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

2 5 8 History of Medical Practice in IllinoisThat proper use of the eyes was being given consideration is evident bya paper presented the following year (1884) by Dr. Hotz, entitled, "Whichof the Books Our Children Read Are Injurious to Their Eyes?" He consideredthe possible effect of reading on the development of myopia in children,and advocated proper size type and paper. Of the school booksstudied, only the dictionary had print smaller than could be consideredacceptable, but many of the books read at home were found to be unacceptablefrom this standpoint. Dr. Hotz concluded: "Look at a child when itis deeply absorbed in a story book, see how the little face gradually approachesand almost touches the page; think then of the enormous musclestrain these young eyes have to endure in order to read this miserable printand you will know at whose door we have to lay the blame for the impairedsight of many children. You will unite your effortswith mine inholding up before the people the danger of these cheap books and periodicals.For too dearly bought is this cheap literature, if it is to be paid forwith the priceless gift of Nature—good eyesight." One cannot help butwonder what Dr. Hotz would have thought of the movies and now television.In his 1885 report to the Society, Dr. Montgomery stated that "the pasttwo or three years will be memorable in the history of this specialty. Thediscovery of jequirity as a remedy for chronic granular conjuctivitis willhold a position not less important than the discovery that the operation ofiridectomy has a curative effect upon a large per cent of glaucomatouseyes. The discovery of the local anesthetic properties of cocaine will takerank in importance with the invention of the ophthalmoscope." The lastprognostication bears merit, but sixty-five years later ophthalmologistsknow nothing of jequirity, which even then was not completely acceptedfor Dr. Jones, in discussing a paper by Dr. Robert Tilley on the use of thisremedy, stated:"Patients who entrust their welfare to us have a right toexpect that their cases will not only be treated intelligently but with thesame care and prudence, and with the same interest that we would wishto have exercised in our own cases if we were unfortunate enough to bethe patients instead of being the physicians. I very much doubt if the enthusiastsfor jequirity would be as willing, and I had almost said as reckless,in having that remedy used as freely in their own eyes, as they havebeen in using it in the eyes of others." Dr. Jones's criterion of therapy remainsas a standard still applicable.The general progress of ophthalmology is recorded in Dr. Tilley's 1886report with comments on advances in the study of circulation in the eyeand formation of aqueous, refractive errors in the newborn, the actualcautery, and introduction of Mules's spheres in enucleations.The following year (1887) Dr. Jones reported that "the yearly contribu-