Having explained this to my optometrists they will take me seriously and give me most any prescription I want, though unfortunately I don't exactly know what to do. I just make sure I have dedicated outdoor glasses and limit screen time with them.
I avoided wearing contacts for a while due to this but also other concerns. I think this may have limited my romantic success somewhat, at least at the time. In retrospect contacts with readers may have been the better option.
I keep holding out for LASIK but don't know how much longer I should.
I think the Holy Grail should be eye surgery that is a permanent fix. Current options wear off with age (and not that many decades at that), and then you are back to corrective lenses. There are usually very few who can qualify for another surgery later in life...and then it wears off again anyways. It's a consumable elective surgery that consumes the benefit and the body, so in my opinion it is a net loss over the long haul.
Must people need different lenses over the years, so it's inherently a temporary fix. And one that comes with the risk of going blind and is almost guaranteed to come with various sight issues a few years after the operation such as having more issues seeing in the dark ("night blindness") etc. Wearing contacts comes with it's own risks however, so if glasses aren't an option for the patient, LASIK isn't that dangerous.
I could've gotten the operation for free (paid by my insurance) but decided against it, as my superlight glasses really aren't that bad and the risks just weren't worth it to me.
Are you implying that cell phones could be a factor?
The human eye (specifically the ciliary muscles) are most at "rest" when staring at objects in the distance.
The human eye doesn't seem to be as well-suited for staring at distance less than ~20 feet for long periods of time.
I imagine learning how to read and write in general, the shift from an agrarian society to cognitive labor, and the invention of glasses all were just as important factors.
Your theory about 20 ft is literally correct.
Atropine is successfully used to relax the cilliary muscles.
However, there is lots of anecdata that rigid contacts don’t make your eyesight worse over time.
I'm a little sceptical about that theory, but my own rx did not go increase much when I wore RGPs. After that I did have some progression, but also a million other things changed, so who knows.
RGPs however, are quite distinct in that they give absolutely perfect vision. better than soft contacts by a mile. Maybe some refractive thing as well, optometrist told me numerous times under-correction would lead to further progression.
Ortho-K is popular in Asia for prevention, those are rigid lenses worn at night. Deforms cornea a little, so it's like a reversible lasik thing. So, in this case, not only its rigid lenses, they also have weird geometry. Many report significant success.
I dont understand why people especially shortsighted people still use the same glasses for everything. Why don't octometrists know better?
Its a horrible user experience
It's not a hyperbole, glasses are massively inconvenient to those of us handicapped without, and having to hot-swap then depending on subject is massively more inconvenient.
PS: you are right, maybe instead of only at the desk, just wear a "near sight" pair all the time, when you're indoor, and a far sight pair when you are out. Point is you dont have to hot swap.
And yes, most will just use short-range glasses all day as their only pair, which is exactly the thing you insisted that you did not understand ("I dont understand why people especially shortsighted people still use the same glasses for everything. Why don't octometrists know better?").
Sometimes it might make sense to just ask those with the handicap rather than make baseless assumptions about their situation as an "outsider".
Also don't use them while walking, they bother me. I feel like my eyes dry out or something, very unpleasant. It's a bit blurry but don't really notice it, also -2 is not really advanced myopia. I can't read car plates from the distance but I sure see the car coming and know not to bump into people.
Bad UX for switching, and my "reading" glasses have too short of a clear vision range to use at my computer without having to lean in.
It's just a comment that so wrong it's not wrong.
Prescription glasses restore your range of focus to original which is why I said it aims for looking at far objects, at relaxed eyes.
Problem with myopia is that you overwork your eyes' muscles by staying in close focal lengths too long.
And books, too.
Go out and play (no citations needed)!
I don't follow this. The articles use blood serum concentrations of Vitamin D in their methodology, are you saying there is a separate Vitamin D production/concentration in the eye's vitreous?
[0]: https://www.optometrytimes.com/view/time-outdoors-and-myopia...
The evidence is actually pretty clear, what's causing this vast increase in myopia is not spending enough time in bright environments (i.e. outside) during one's formative years. In that regard cellphones (since they can be used outdoors) are a huge improvement over e.g. television.
If we actually cared about fixing the problem, we'd be making it easier for children to spend time outside and making outdoor environments more welcoming for them. But that would require parents to allow children some freedom, or maybe even actually make some lifestyle changes of their own, whereas the revealed preference of parents is to lock their children up indoors all day and night doing something that looks like "studying" (i.e. pointless drills).
I'd like a source on that. AFAIK the leading factor is so called "near activities", or more specifically, lack of "far activities" (i.e. lack of looking at a distance, which makes your eyeballs get and keep proper shape and characteristics).
> In that regard cellphones (since they can be used outdoors) are a huge improvement over e.g. television.
Again, environment brightness, AFAIK, is way less important than the distance at which you are looking. Hence, looking at the TV is better than at your phone. And I suspect both are better than reading a paper book.
It has been determined very conclusively that myopia is caused by spending too much time looking at close objects. That was in my highschool textbook like 20 years ago.
Yes kids should spend more time outside but it has nothing to do with bright environment.
Cos I am very serious about having proper lighting on the room I work in. But always thought the screen should be dimmer than the room for some reason.
Thanks for taking the time to share your POV.
Ophthalmologists tend to be better at complex medical management, especially when there are systemic manifestations and own anything requiring surgical intervention.
Optometrists do a 4-year doctorate. Ophthalmologists do a 4-year MD that includes the full spectrum of medical training (gen surg, ob-gyn, neurology, etc.) and then a 1 + 3 residency that includes 1 year of general medicine or surgery and 3 years of medical and surgical ophthalmology.
There are, of course, optometrists who are very good at medical management and ophthalmologists that are very good at refractive issues (e.g. refractive surgeons). We mostly work cooperatively although things occasionally get spicy. I I enjoy working with and learning from my optometrist colleagues. I go to an optometrist friend when I need a refraction and an ophthalmologist friend for my annual.
I just don't happen to know any ophtalmologists, or anyone with a PhD who specializes in this, and in any case a good optometrist has overlapping expertise and concerns with ophtalmology and current research. Take it for what it's worth, no more, no less.
I'm not sure why you'd think they wouldn't be honest with me: you should assume good faith.
My suspicion is that staring at objects closely and under dimly lit conditions causes pseusdo-myopia which is later exacerbated by wearing glasses, causing actual axial elongation in the eyeballs through hormesis. Especially since this is what seems to happen in other animals when we dissect them.