Comment by usehand
1 year ago
In opposition to the other comments, I have worn glasses since an early age and my vision got progressively worse even after wearing glasses. I know many people in a similar situation. As far as I know that claim is not supported at all
Same here. And my ophthalmologist explained to me that the moment you start wearing glasses, your eyes stop making an effort to correct the blur (because the glasses are doing that for them) so the muscles involved in correcting vision become weaker overtime. According to him, the best course of action once myopia begins is to not wear glasses and try to correct it with other techniques.
It's interesting how we scientifically know that sarcopenia occurs after age 50-60 or so, but we assume that somehow the eye-related muscles get weaker rapidly at a very young age itself.
Did he give any hints on what the other techniques are?
Mainly stopping whatever is worsening myopia (pauses from screens and looking at something far away, more daylight) and also incorporating orthoptic rehabilitation.
Except you don't know what your vision would be if you didn't have correction, so I'm not sure how that actually says anything
> I have worn glasses since an early age and my vision got progressively worse even after wearing glasses. I know many people in a similar situation.
That is normal and expected. I have never heard anyone claim that glasses prevent the progression of myopia. They obviously do not.
There is a theory going around that myopia is caused by insufficient exposure to sunlight, which seems highly plausible to me.
>I have never heard anyone claim that glasses prevent the progression of myopia.
The article seems to claim that:
>Fortunately, just a few minutes a day with glasses or contact lenses that correct for blur stops the progression of myopia, which is why early vision testing and vision correction are important to limit the development of myopia. Eye checks for children are mandatory in some countries, such as the U.K. and now China, as well as most U.S. states.
> Eye checks for children are mandatory in some countries, such as the U.K.
That is nonsense. Tests are free for children, but my daughter only gets a test if I book one.
What about people who live north of the Arctic Circle?
I have fairly mild nearsightedness and can corroborate, I've been wearing glasses for about 13 years or so and my sight has very slowly but certainly degraded in spite.
Corrective lenses definitely slow the degradation and improve daily quality of life, but unfortunately the rate of degradation does not reach zero.
> Corrective lenses definitely slow the degradation
And how do we know that? I mean, that an eye doctor would rather prescribe glasses than not, it's not surprising. The fact that they'd back up their choice by some "scientific" explanation, is only natural.
Let me offer the opposing view in the form of an example: I have been diagnosed with mild miopia (-0.5), and prescribed glasses. I did wear the glasses for a few months but at some point I lost them, and didn't go back for a replacement. Now about 20 years later, I have never again wear glasses or any other correction and I don't need them (I can read the small leters on the vision tests. I would not say that my vision is 100%, but I never need glasses to see the things in the distance). If anything, my vision improved without wearing correction!
>And how do we know that?
Because my sight is getting slowly but progressively worse each time I go in for eye exams to check if my glasses are still sufficient, but not as quickly as when I first had to get glasses in the first place.
Same. Exactly as my optometrists predicted, too.