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It is not always possible for patients to go to a competent physician
for relief. As the method of treating eye defects presented in this
magazine is new, it may be impossible to find a physician in the
neighborhood who understands it; and the patient may not be able to
afford the expense of a long journey, or to take the time for
treatment away from home. To such persons I wish to say that it is
possible for a large number of people to be cured of defective
eyesight without the aid of either a physician or anyone else. They
can cure themselves, and for this purpose it is not necessary that
they should understand all that has been written in this magazine, or
anywhere else. All that is necessary is to follow a few simple
directions.

Place a Snellen test card on the wall at a distance of ten, fourteen,
or twenty feet, and devote half a minute a day, or longer, to reading
the smallest letters you can see, with each eye separately, covering
the other with the palm of the hand in such a way as to avoid touching
the eyeball.

Keep a record of the progress made, with the dates. The simplest way
to do this is by the method used by oculists, who 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 As already explained, the figures above the lines of
letters on the test card indicate the distance at which these letters
should be read by persons with normal eyesight. Thus a vision of
10/100 would mean that the big C, which ought to be read at 200 feet,
cannot be seen at a greater distance than ten feet. A vision of 20/10
would mean that the ten line, which the normal eye is not ordinarily
expected to read at a greater distance than ten feet, is seen at
double that distance. This is a standard commonly attained by persons
who have practiced my methods.

Children under twelve years who have not worn glasses are usually
cured of defective eyesight by the above method in three months, six
months, or a year. Adults who have never worn glasses are benefited in
a very short time - a week or two - and if the trouble is not very
bad, may be cured in the course of from three to six months. Children
or adults who have worn glasses, however, are more difficult to
relieve , and will usually have to practice the various methods of
gaining relaxation which have been presented from month to month in
this magazine and will be described in more detail in my forthcoming
book, The Cure of Imperfect Sight by Treatment without Glasses.

It is absolutely necessary that the glasses be discarded. No half-way
measures can be tolerated, if a cure is desired. Do not attempt to
wear weaker glasses, and do not wear glasses for emergencies. Persons
who are unable to do without glasses are not likely to be able to cure
themselves.

Children and adults who have worn glasses will have to devote an hour
or longer every day to practice with the test card and the balance of
their time to practice on other objects. It will be well for such
patients to have two test cards, one to be used at the near-point,
where it can be seen best, and the other at ten or twenty feet. The
patient will find it a great help to shift from the near card to the
distant one, as the unconscious memory of the letters seen at the near-
point helps to bring out those seen at the distance.

If the patient can secure the aid of some person with normal sight, it
will be a great advantage. In fact, some persons whose cases are
obstinate will find it very difficult, if not impossible, to cure
themselves without the aid of a teacher. The teacher, if he is to
benefit the patient, must himself be able to derive benefit from the
various methods recommended. If his vision is 10/10, he must be able
to improve it to 20/10, or more. If he can read fine print at twelve
inches, he must become able to read it at six, or at three inches. He
must also have sufficient control over his visual memory to relieve
and prevent pain.

Patients who wish to preserve and improve the eyesight of their
chiildren should encourage them to read the Snellen test card every
day. There should, in fact, be a Snellen test card in every family;
for when properly used it always prevents myopia and other errors of
refraction, always improves the vision, even when this is already
normal, and always benefits functional nervous troubles. Parents
should improve their own eyesight to normal, so that their children
may not imitate wrong methods of using the eyes and will not be
subject to the influence of an atmosphere of strain.

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