"Thank you Otis and all members for having lively discussions over the years. Im
an ophthalmologist who joined this forum back when I was in late training to see
and learn about alternative techniques for myopia treatment and control. By age
30 I ended up a -6-1.00x180 OU and I was convinced that tere were alternative
explanations to this other than that which was being offered in our textbooks,
academy, or training prorams. Our academys official position just up to a few
years back was that myopia was hereditary and there was no emphasis on near work
or accomodation. Evidence proving otherwise has always for some reason been
ignored.

Recently, both optometry and ophthalmology are finally admitting the obvious. I
had one very well known hig volume surgeon in New York tell me that evidence
linking near work and myopia is irrefutable. I think its due to noise from
groups like this that have forced sincere physicians and academics to question
those who over the years have stubbornly rejected environmental influence on
myopia.

As an eye surgeon, I personally see the benefits and complications of refractive
surgery everyday with patients. After studying my own myopia diligently, I
opted to have the procedure done on myself. Its been 2 months and for the most
part Im satisfied. I can talk about tat later.

To make a long story short, I bought the alternative books, studied eye
exercises, and did them with little success. Based off my own research I know
that most myopia is axial myopia, meaning the eye rows permanently. Prevention
is te key but once your beyond about 2.5-3.0 diopters and past your growing age
of 20, I think myopia is permanent.

My understanding, the simple version: near work causes your lens to accomodate
(eye muscle activated, proloned near work causes strain on eye, and signal sent
to eye to begin lengthening which happens ever so slowly and over years.... to
lessen accommodation and resulting eye strain). Its a response to near work and
adapting to the environment. Yes i agree, that astimatism and extraocular
muscle tension probably play a role but im talking about axial myopa. Plus
lenses intuitively make the most sense to prevent myopia. You have to provide
the power the eye needs during the growing years to offset the tension it is
using to see. Perhaps all kids exibiting early myopia should try +2.50 lenses
while reading for a few monts before they get their first set of glasses.

Society demands a lot from our eyes now. Kids in the back of class may spend 40
minutes taking a test and then look up at the board to see something the
teachers writing but are blurred because their eye has been accomodating for the
last hour continously and despite them now relaxing their accomodation they cant
see. Studies have shown that if you read for as little as 10 minutes, it takes
30 minutes for your lenses to return to its fully relaxed position. i.e- imagine
an emmetrope who accomodates for 10 minutes, when he relaxes his eye, he returns
close to plano but is actually -.25 according to studies... -.25 for 30 minutes.
That -.25 is enough to blur him at distance if looking at small print on the
board. Now if he had been reading for 30 minutes it could take 10 hours to
return to plano once you relax accomodation per researc studies.



So, you read a book in your eye docs office before your eye exam? Lets
say he perfectly relaxes your eyes, according to eye studies he will
still overprescribes your lens by -.25 because he measures at perfect
distance. No big deal right? well, every year you come back and are
overprescribed -.25. Every year your eye lenghthens to offset the eye
strain. In 4 years you are overprescribed a -1.00 at minimum.

Bottom line: Myopia can become permanent at some point, no amount of exercises
or plus lenses will reverse it. Prevention is key! LASIK can be a lesser evil
to the handicap of eyeglasses.

Ill add more as time permits....

AK

I've only been doing some of the more passive ones, so Craig/MM can do a better job of explaining the more active ones, but mostly for me what it boils down to is:

* Doing without my glasses as much as possible (I try to only wear them when I absolutely have to).

* When I'm reading things I try to keep the text at the edge of my blur zone, so my eyes are encouraged to improve their focussing power.

* In a similar vein, when I'm out and about I try to keep looking at the point that's furthest away from me.

* Like one of the links in my first post says, when reading close up I try to remember to look up and into the distance every now and again, so that my eye muscles don't lock up.

* DON'T SQUINT. This is important, squinting just does the same thing to the eye muscles that minus lenses do, so don't do it.

Well that's about it, I think I'm doing it right, but if I'm not I expect Craig/MM will set me right.

Emotionally, myopes sometimes have issues with suppressed fear, leading to personality traits including anxiety, worry, and perfectionism. Myopes are often introverts who enjoy close, detailed and academic work and are usually left-brain dominant.

I'm using pinholes for television, which took a while to get used to (like seeing the world through the multiple eyes of an insect), but they force the eye muscles to work