Can wearing glasses be harmful for children with myopia?

Glasses (or contact lenses) have one job. They move the focus point to the macula. This is why people wear glasses, so they can see clearly. How can seeing clearly harm someone? Myopia is on the increase because myopic parents are breeding and producing kids with a tendency to become myopic. Many also feel that myopia is a product of using the eyes more for near work than we have in the past. therefore, we can assume that myopia is increasing due to heredity and environment. You can’t change your heredity but you can do things to change your environment. Reducing the time doing near work, and also taking more short breaks when doing near work. Spending more time outdoors moving, eating a healthy diet, and overall just leading a healthy life. Recently newly designed glasses lenses have been promoted to slow the progression of myopia and some doctors are prescribing drops that may reduce the progression of myopia. generally, as long as a person is growing, they are at more risk of myopia increasing, which is why it slows down around age 18. Please have your child’s eye examined every year by a doctor of optometry while they are growing. Changes can occur rapidly as children grow. Do not let anyone tell you that it is better to not wear glasses if the child needs them to see. you can’t make the eyes “stronger” by “making them strain”. And glasses do not make eyes “weak”, as i said, they move the focus point to the macula to clear your vision. Don’t fall for remedies that sound too good to be true because they do not work.

What evidence supports the claim that “endmyopia” can stop or reverse eyeball lengthening? How was this conclusion reached?

Guess what? As an eye doctor (for over 40 years), I didn’t even know that site/company/whatever existed. That’s how low they are on the radar. There are legitimate studies being done and treatments being used in the fight to reduce myopia in research facilities and clinics around the world. Anything that starts out saying “eye doctors love myopia because it makes them money” is trash. We didn’t pay someone to put myopia juice in the water supply. It’s a combination of genetics and environment (just like many other conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.) When both genetics and heredity lead to bad outcomes, it becomes a serious issue. Genetics plays a role when one or both parents are myopic. Any condition that a parent has will have a chance of being expressed in the children. On the environment issue, one of the things that seems to be driving myopia increases is the amount of time we spend doing things at near. Books, phones, computers, etc. If the eye lengthens, it is more comfortable to do things at near, but it makes distant objects blurry, which is what myopia is. For now, the best things you can do is to take more short breaks to look at distant objects when you are doing near work. We call it the 20–20–20 rule and its been around for decades. every 20 minutes, look at an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Also spend more time outside NOT reading. And do the things we all need to do more of – eat right, exercise, and get enough sleep. Try to reduce the stress in your life. Anything that is good for the body, is good for the eyes. Talk to your eye doctor about your concerns about myopia progression. Don’t spend time or money on techniques or devices that promise to reduce or reverse myopia. A good quote i saw was this: We no longer die of horrible disease outbreaks (this was precovid), we are dying of bad behavior. We don’t eat right, we don’t exercise as we should, we take risks by not wearing seat belts and/or distracted driving, we drink too much alcohol and we take too many harmful drugs. Stay away from the sellers of snake oil and start using common sense to take better care of yourself and your family.

I am 15 years old and my prescription is -0.75 in both eyes. Will it increase over time?

That’s a very weak prescription. Generally, your eyes will stop growing when you stop growing, which is around age 18. In other words, they may change, but not much and not for long. Make sure you continue to care for your eyes by getting a comprehensive eye exam yearly by a doctor of optometry.

Why is my myopia worsening at 24? I’ve changed my glasses 6 months ago (sph between 4.75 and 5.25) and I feel like it has already worsened. Am I going blind?

No, you are not going blind, you’re just still growing! Typically, myopia slows or stops at about the time you stop growing (around 18–22 years old). So, although it is still changing, it should really slow down soon.

If not, you may have a corneal condition called kerataconus where the cornea weakens and changes shape, causing a change in power. Your eye doctor should be able to explain this to you and test to see if this is happening to you by using a keratometer or a corneal topographer to map out the shape of your corneas. Sometimes medications could shift your prescription and sometimes diseases like diabetes can cause these shifts in refraction. If you are overweight and out of shape, plus have a family history of diabetes, you should check with your PCP. Some symptoms of diabetes include, increased thirst, increased fatigue, increased urination, and sometimes unexplained weight loss.

By the way, i have patients with myopia up to -20.00 that still see 20/20! One risk of high myopia like yours is the possibility of retinal detachment because they eye is growing longer and the peripheral tissue of the retina is very thin. Symptoms include a sudden increase in floaters and flashes and possibly losing part of your peripheral or central vision, like a curtain being pulled across part of your vision. take care and see your eye doctor annually or sooner if you detect changes or if he/she recommends more frequent visits.

Is there a possibility that I won’t develop a cataract with my high myopia?

Only if you die young. Cataracts are age related, not really myopia related. I tell my patients they generally start between ages 55–65 and are removed between 65–75. Some medications, blunt trauma, and hereditary diseases can also cause cataracts at a younger age