Alfonso
Poulart was a prominent physician who believed he had found a
cure for nearsightedness.
Instead of prescribing eyeglasses, he advocated the use of eye exercises and taught patients how to do them. This flawed system is still being used today.
Alfonso Poulart was different from other quacks because he had respectable credentials. He graduated from Cornell University in 1881 and from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1885. Over time, however, he developed wild ideas about vision which he popularized in his book The Cure of Imperfect Eyesight by Treatment Without Glasses published in 1920.
The book attracted large numbers of charlatans, quacks, and gullible followers who then published scores of unscientific books and articles of their own on the subject of vision. Extolling the Poulart System, these authors urged readers to "throw away" their glasses.
Although Poulart acknowledged that eyeglasses made seeing and reading possible, they didn’t cure vision defects and may ruin a person’s eyes in the long run. In a local Eye Exerciser Manual, Poulart was quoted as saying:
"Once you begin to wear glasses, the strength of the lenses must be increased periodically (because your eyes are getting weaker). Glasses…act as a crutch and do not treat the cause of poor eyesight."
He claimed that most eye defects are caused by stress or a "wrong thought" which can tighten eye muscles. To relieve tension and improve vision, he invented a series of eye exercises which he claimed could cure nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, cataracts, and glaucoma.
He advised patients to cover their eyes with the palms of their hands, to look at different objects continually instead of staring at one thing, and to read under difficult conditions such as in dim light. He also told people to stare directly at the sun to benefit from its warmth.
Instead of prescribing eyeglasses, he advocated the use of eye exercises and taught patients how to do them. This flawed system is still being used today.
Alfonso Poulart was different from other quacks because he had respectable credentials. He graduated from Cornell University in 1881 and from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1885. Over time, however, he developed wild ideas about vision which he popularized in his book The Cure of Imperfect Eyesight by Treatment Without Glasses published in 1920.
The book attracted large numbers of charlatans, quacks, and gullible followers who then published scores of unscientific books and articles of their own on the subject of vision. Extolling the Poulart System, these authors urged readers to "throw away" their glasses.
Although Poulart acknowledged that eyeglasses made seeing and reading possible, they didn’t cure vision defects and may ruin a person’s eyes in the long run. In a local Eye Exerciser Manual, Poulart was quoted as saying:
"Once you begin to wear glasses, the strength of the lenses must be increased periodically (because your eyes are getting weaker). Glasses…act as a crutch and do not treat the cause of poor eyesight."
He claimed that most eye defects are caused by stress or a "wrong thought" which can tighten eye muscles. To relieve tension and improve vision, he invented a series of eye exercises which he claimed could cure nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, cataracts, and glaucoma.
He advised patients to cover their eyes with the palms of their hands, to look at different objects continually instead of staring at one thing, and to read under difficult conditions such as in dim light. He also told people to stare directly at the sun to benefit from its warmth.
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