and Other Eyesight Challenges of U.S. Presidents
EyeSmart™ takes a look at the vision problems of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson
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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – SAN FRANCISCO – We recognize many U.S. presidents as visionaries, but did some of our leaders have trouble seeing – literally? This Presidents’ Day, EyeSmart™, the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s public awareness campaign empowering Americans to take charge of their eye health, takes a look at the vision problems of three of the best-known U.S. presidents…Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.
Abraham “Honest Abe” Lincoln actually couldn’t look a person straight in the eye, because he had strabismus. You can see this in some photos or portraits of the 16th president. Lincoln’s left eye tended to roll upward, especially when he was tired or excited. News reports of his fiery 1860 presidential election debates with Stephen Douglas describe Lincoln’s eye as “rolling wildly” as he spoke! His dominant right eye did most of the work of seeing, especially for near work like reading.
Lincoln’s left eye was set slightly higher in his head than his right, and his left eyelid drooped a bit. When he was 10 years old Abe was kicked in the head by a horse, and may have suffered nerve damage that led to a mild paralysis of his eyelid. Lincoln also suffered from double vision (diplopia) at times.
America’s 25th president, Theodore Roosevelt, was a Rough Rider and adventurer, and his move into the White House hardly slowed him down. In one of his many boxing matches while president, Roosevelt received a blow to the head that some sources say left him partially blind in his left eye. (Others say earlier injuries caused the damage.) If the tough punch was the culprit, Roosevelt’s loss of sight would probably have been due to a detached retina (undiagnosed), say Eye M.D. historians. Athletes who play impact sports today can take a lesson from TR, and make sure to use protective eyewear and seek immediate medical care for any eye or head injury.
Woodrow Wilson was shocked to awaken one morning in 1906, seven years before he became the 27th president, and find himself nearly blind in his right eye. He’d suffered a hemorrhage (severe bleeding) in his retina, the sensitive area at the back of the eye that relays images to the brain. Other than resting his eye for several months on orders from his Eye M.D., no real treatment was available in those days. Wilson had high blood pressure, a risk factor for “central retinal vein occlusion,” a blockage in the main retinal vein, and this probably caused the bleed and damage, say Eye M.D. historians. Eventually his vision improved some, and though Wilson complained his golf game was never again as good, he seems to have coped fairly well.
Several presidents have had trouble with eye “twitches” or “spasms” or “rapid blinking,” conditions that are more likely when a person is under pressure (especially emotional stress) and/or exhausted or sleep-deprived. Given the intense demands of the presidency, it’s a wonder these annoying conditions haven’t been more common!
For more information on these eye conditions or to learn more about eye health, visit www.geteyesmart.org
About the American Academy of Ophthalmology
The American Academy of Ophthalmology is the world’s largest association of eye physicians and surgeons—Eye M.D.s—with more than 29,000 members worldwide. Eye health care is provided by the three “O’s” – opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who can treat it all: eye diseases and injuries, and perform eye surgery. To find an Eye M.D. in your area, visit the Academy’s Web site at www.aao.org.
Sources:
* Abraham Lincoln and the Marfan Syndrome,Harold Schwartz, MD, JAMA, Feb 15, 1964, Vo. 187, No 7;
* Abe’s Eyes: Our Ophthalmic Heritage, Charles Synder, Ed, Lucien Howe Library of Ophthalmology (accessed by American Academy of Ophthalmology historian, Jenny Benjamin, Feb. 2011)
* Lincoln’s Craniofacial MicrosomiaThree-dimensional Laser Scanning of 2 Lincoln Life Masks Ronald S. Fishman, MD; Adriana Da Silveira, DDS, MS, PhD REPRINTED) ARCH OPHTHALMOL/VOL 125 (NO. 8), AUG 2007 WWW.ARCHOPHTHALMOL.COM1127©2007American Medical Association. All rights reserved. Downloaded from www.archophthalmol.com on February 10, 2011
* Woodrow Wilson’s Eyes: a talk to the Academy on 100th anniversary, 1996, by Michael Marmor, M.D. (from American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Historical Records)
* Wilson, strokes and zebras. Marmor MF. New Engl J Med 1982; 307:528-535.
* The eyes of Woodrow Wilson: Retinal vascular disease and George de Schweinitz. Marmor MF. Ophthalmol 1985; 92:454-465.
* Theodore Roosevelt’s obituary, New York Times, January 6, 1919, accessed Feb. 2011, M Wade
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