I have Myopia and I am worried about eye strain.

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I was up last night working on the computer and this morning I read about how myopia gets worse with eye strain. I am asking anyone here if there are any known remedies I can have to help my vision, I really do not want to loose my sight.

Hi
Have you heard of the Bates method?
Relaxing the eyes and using the swinging method is said to reverse myopia, because it was caused by your computer screen it can be reversed in that case.

If that method doesn't help, do not hestitate to get some glasses for computer work as it'll irritate you all the time whilst on the computer.

I've gotten prescription glasses just for computer work--makes sense when you consider how much time you spend in front of the computer--if your eyesight is normal reading glasses aren't too expensive.

To counter the stress on your eyes from focusing on a screen for a long time, you need to look off into the distance with some regularity. From time to time, such as every 20 minutes of computer work, turn your head away from the screen and scan an area off in the distance. Let your eyes go up and down a door frame on the opposite side of the room or if it is day, look out the window. It is a strain on your eye muscles to keep looking at a fixed spot right in front of you, (just like it would be s astrain on your arm muscles to hold your hand in the air for an hour). The best way to counter that strain is by doing something with your eyes that is the opposite, looking off in the distance

Have you tried Pin-hole glasses?

I don't mean to belittle others' comments, but the Bates method and pinhole glasses do not work at all for Myopia.

If you really want to improve it, then you have to do these eye exercises as described in this book. There is also a forum here. The exercises are a little tiring, but they actually work. Myopia *can* be reversed, and it explains how on the website and in the book.

Or, if you just want to prevent Myopia, then buy a pair of reading glasses (i.e. plus lenses) off the shelf. Use a strength most comfortable to you, say +1.00 if you're only mildly Myopic. Yes, you are not long-sighted, and Myopia uses minus lenses...BUT using minus lenses is what makes Myopia worse. Using reading glasses will really help reduce the strain.

Also, NEVER use minus lenses (i.e. your prescription for Myopia) for close-up work, as that is very damaging to your eyes. Nobody ever told me this, and as a result I have high Myopia.

Smudge - is there any evidence for what you're saying?

I was told to take regular breaks. Something like 15 minutes every hour.

I think there is evidence on the PVS forum I linked to, even for the eyeball actually changing shape after doing those exercises longterm, despite what is believed by the majority that once the eyeball elongates - it can't go back. Think of it this way - when people become long-sighted, the eyeball shortens. There is no set point at which the eyeball can't shorten. The theory that the eyeball can't shorten once you are even slightly Myopic - does not make sense.

I've personally had no success with pinhole glasses or the Bates method. I think there have been studies on both proving they don't work, but I'm not sure who carried them out. Obviously if the people selling glasses funded the studies then I'm doubtful to trust them. I'm still in the early stages of the Power Vision System so I don't know about that one yet, but there are a great number of positive results on the PVS forum. If I do improve my eyesight even a little, it may take a few months, but I will post it here.

Taking regular breaks is a good thing, yes. Lots of close-up work though increases eyestrain and eventually increases Myopia, so what you really need to do is halt the process by wearing reading glasses as they focus your eyes more into the distance, thereby reducing eyestrain. Note that most Opticians never really tell you this. Even though I have high Myopia, and even when it was rapidly increasing, I was never told reading glasses were a good way to stop it getting worse. In fact, when I told them I wore reading glasses they actually said to me that I didn't need to do that. BUT, wearing reading glasses immediately stopped my Myopia getting worse. I've been the same prescription now for several years. It is very well known by Optometrists (or the ones worth their salt) that reading glasses help Myopics.

I hope that helps. In my experience, a lot of new theories are torn to shreds before they're given any credibility, and the subject of eyesight has bothered me for most of my life, especially as my eyesight never needed to be as bad as it is today, just because I've never been told for instance, that wearing your prescription for Myopia while doing close-up work makes eyestrain much worse.

I have myopia too, but my father forces me to wear it.

And as usual, nobody has anything to say to the things I come up with. I guess that stuff is as boring to people as politics.

All I can say is, I use the same pair of glasses I've owned since I was 15. All thanks to reading glasses. Does anyone care? No. Shut up smudge.

GreenTechnoFox and smudge, any updates on your vision?

My understanding is that you usually have to nip nearsightedness in the bud if you don't want to be stuck with it. If you're heavily dependent on glasses or contacts, then it's probably too late.

Oh wow, someone responded! A miracle!

On the serious side - with those eye exercises from the system I described earlier in the thread, I've kept trying to do them and I always end up quitting. They are so boring and repetitive.

What I have noticed though, very clearly, is that when I have done them for 2-3 weeks (eye rotations), my eyesight becomes very adaptable to change. For example, if I stare too long at an object close by, it makes my vision blurry and it lasts for days, unless I use really strong reading glasses. Then I get the opposite effect - my vision becomes a lot clearer and that lasts for days too. I do believe those exercises change your eyesight somewhat. Seeing such a big difference gives me a lot of confidence. Having said that though - even though I visually see a big difference, the way it works is that it has barely affected my eyesight. I would have to have a go at it for months before my eyes really benefitted.

For all those interested, it's called the Power Vision System.

Yes, between that and doing near-work, and needing to wear minus glasses, it's difficult to get good results. Ideally people would start on it when their nearsightedness is still mild, but most optometrists either aren't aware of this or don't care. I talked to a behavioral optometrist who does help patients reverse myopia, but he believes that only about 2 diopters can be reversed, and probably not even that in cases of longstanding high myopia.

They're in it for the money. Glasses (before they were cheap on the internet) were very expensive. Now they make their money selling contact lenses and eye surgery. I think the whole business is disgusting. In my 40s I will potentially experience problems with retinal detachment. So will many people with high myopia. And it all could be prevented. It is despicable.

For the parents on here, please don't make your children get glasses. Go to a behavioral optometrist if you can. Otherwise just encourage your child to spend more time looking into the distance. Maybe try the UltimEyes app.

It depends how bad their eyesight gets. You can't just tell people not to wear them.

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