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Vol. XXXVII   No. 21 May 18, 1916

Reprint from THE OPTICAL JOURNAL AND REVIEW OF OPTOMETRY

COLOR VS. FOCUS IN GLASSES

By J. Raphaelson

A man, about 40 years old, called at my store and asked for a pair of medieum dark green google glasses. this was a year ago. As amber and yelow have been the popular colors and green was yet to become popular, I had many yellows and fuw greeen colored glasses.

I showed the man my stock of colored glasses and he tried on a few to feel their effect on his eyes, while facing the glare of the electric globe in my store. After a time, he said that he had decided to purchase a 50-cent pair. I cannot recall whether I had a suitable shade of green or whether he consented to try the late popular yelow.

In the meantime, I observed the eyes of the would-be goggle-wearer and noticed that he was frowning and blinking, not only when he faced the light but even when he was turned away from it.

I engaged him in a conversation in regard to the general condition of his eyes and their blinking in particular. I asked him whether they get tired while reading his newspaper, or if he used glasses for reading purposes. He confessed that it was hard on his eyes to read any length of time, but said that he never used glasses for any purpose.

"Why not buy a pair of white glasses to fit your eyes, instead of a pair of colored goggles to cover them?" I asked.

"Will they protect my eyes from the sun?" he questioned.

They certainly will," I answered. "And they will also stop the blinking of your eyes and they will enable you to read comfortably."

Upon my suggestion, he laid the goggles aside aand followed me to the fitting room for an examination. Because his eyes were sensitive to light, I dispensed with the objective examination. I tested his eyes with the trial case.

Age 41. Occupation, motorman. Vision, 20/15 with each eye. his near sight good, and his accommodation fair but symptoms of strain. My findings were plus 0.75 in each eye. With plus 0.75 he could still read 20/15. It neither blurred nor improved his vision. I handed him the reading chart and he could now read the finest print without any strain. I then directed him to face the electric light. He was now able to face the light and the blinking had almost disappeared. He was convinced that my statements were true.

It would seem that no further argument should have been necessary to sell this man a pair of spectacles. Yet the fact that he was a motorman inclined him to accept the color and reject the focus. He tod me that while the company will issue a permit for colored goggles it will not permit the men to wear spectacles while on duty. I then advised him to wear the spectacles at all times while off duty, expecting that they would strengthen his eyes so much that he would soon need no protection at all while on duty. In the event that the glare still troubled him, he could then get pair of colored glasses, to be worn only on very bright days, while on the car.

He finally decided to give the regular spectacles a fair trial, stating that, as an old employee, he might be favored with a permit to use them; if not permitted, he would wear them while off duty and report back to me the result.

In three weeks, he came back and reported as follows: The company had refused to permit him to wear spectacles, while it would permit the use of colored ones as a protection against the light. He had worn the spectacles constantly while off duty and felt no more need for colored glasses, for he could now face the light without any trouble. His eyes had stopped blinking. He could read comfortably. He was well satisfied and would recommend my services to his friends.

It is on color vs. focus that I am now writing. For in the case of the motorman, it was definitely case of color or focus. A pair of tinted focus glasses could not be sold, firstly because of the price and secondly because we did not know whether the company would permit the use of focus glasses, even if they had color.

As a rule, when a person comes to purchase a pair of glasses with or without an examination of the eyes, he has in view a pair of ground lenes without color or shade. When he calls for a pair of colored or shaded glasses, he understands them to be glasses possessing some color or tint but no focus.

When John Doe comes to you for a pair of glasses to help his eyes, he expects to pay not less than $2.50 in a plain white frame. When he calls for a pair of colored ones, he may be unwilling to pay more htan 25 cents. When Mrs. Smith calls for a pair of nose glasses to protect her eyes, she expects to spend not less than $4.50 in a gold filled mounting. When she comes for a shaded pair, she may pick out a 50-cent pair. When Mrs. Jones calls for a pair of glasses to relieve her eyestrain, she will frown at anything less than a pair of torics costing at least $7.50; but when she comes for a tinted pair she my be unwilling to pay more than $1.00.

Will a pair of focus lenses without color protect the eyes of Mr. John Doe, Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Jones from the glare of the sun or artificial light? My answer is that they will positively do so.

I suggest that when John Doe, Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Jones call for colored, shaded or tinted glasses, you put them on the list of your prospective customers for focus lenses and at the first opportunity induce them to have their eyes examined. I will wager that you will find their eyes defective. As a rule, the defect will be either hyperopia or astigmatism.

Contents | "Dust and Focus"