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Dark as a Dungeon
The Rise and Fall of Coal Miners' Nystagmus
Ronald S. Fishman, MD
Arch Ophthalmol. 2006;124:1637-1644.
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INTRODUCTION
Coal miners' nystagmus was one of the first occupational illnesses ever recognized as being due to a hazardous working environment. It aroused great concern and much controversy in Great Britain in the first half of the 20th century but was not seen in the United States. Miners' nystagmus became a significant financial problem for the British workmen's compensation program, and the British medical literature became a forum for speculation as to the nature of the condition. Although new cases of miners' nystagmus were rare after World War II, the condition continued to be discussed in textbooks through the 1970s, after which it abruptly disappeared without any authoritative summing-up, and thereby hangs a tale.
MINERS’ NYSTAGMUS IN NEURO-OPHTHALMIC TEXTBOOKS
The authoritative chapter on nystagmus, written by Dell’Osso and Daroff in Glaser's text Neuro-ophthalmology in 1999, lists 46 types of nystagmus in 3 columns occupying an entire page.1 Halfway down the center column . . . [Full Text of this Article]
THE TECHNIQUE OF COAL MINING
ILLUMINATION OF THE COAL FACE
WORKING CONDITIONS IN THE COAL MINE
WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
THE PHYSICIAN'S DILEMMA
WHY DID THE UNITED STATES ESCAPE THE EPIDEMIC OF MINERS’ NYSTAGMUS SEEN IN THE UNITED KINGDOM?
WAS THERE A UNIQUE FORM OF NYSTAGMUS DOWN IN THE MINE?
THE MORAL OF THE STORY
AUTHOR INFORMATION
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