Myopia

[Miraclealltime]

Hi everyone, i have a concern
did anyone start with different prescriptions of eye power for both eyes? How did u manage and did it make any issue for daily life?
especially for small kids. Any solution or way to make the difference gap closer or smaller?
i am worry as my kid start with different power for both eyes .

I started wearing glasses at 13. My prescription has changed over the years, but I have always had a difference of about 2 diopters between my eyes. It’s dealt with fine by glasses or contacts. it’s really never been a problem.

I started at the age of 5 or 6 years old, with a difference of -1.5. My parents were very strict with glasses needing to be worn at all times, and it did me a world of good. Myopia is different than other conditions where you can give your eyes a break, especially if you’re already at a higher value (-2 or more).

It slowly stabilised, and now as an adult my gap is only about 0.5 or 0.75 between eyes (depends on the year, they’re still changing a little).

Make your child wear their glasses constantly, it really does make a difference, and is the main way to avoid lazy eye. If they take the glasses off, they’ll go back to unconsciously favouring their stronger eye when looking at things. I started wearing normal contacts at 15, and the myopia growth really slowed down then.

It will depend on each case. Your optician will refer if needed though.

ds has never been under a high street optician because of his needs all his eye care to date has been hospital led.

The eye becomes "lazy" because the brain starts to ignore it. It's not that the eye itself stops working.

If the images from different eyes are hard to resolve, the brain starts to depend upon the better eye. If vision in both eyes is properly corrected, the brain continues to use both images as they will both be in focus.

Me too! I only wear glasses when I have to read very small print.

During that time did you develop lazy eyes because of the different diopter? Or did your parents start any myopia control plan on you?
i am glad to hear that you different diopter gap going closer from time to time
all u did is just wear your glasses all the time? Can i know you start from what diopter to what diopter?
or did your parents do anything to make your gap closer or it happen naturally?

In the kindest way it does sound like your allowing yourself to get into a worry spiral that isn’t going to help anyone.

Pretty much everyone on this thread has reassured you that what you describe is fine, presumably the opticain has also done so. If your still worried then ask for a chat with the optician for more reassurance but please don’t get dragged down into a panic spiral.

I have a difference of -7 between the eyes and I cannot wear glasses because the difference is so much that glasses give me double vision. So I wear contacts and am on monocular vision by under correcting one eye for close up vision and fully correcting the other eye for far off vision.

So yes it can be a problem but the eyes need to be very far apart.

Mine are -2.75 and -4.25, I’m in my mid forties and they’ve been pretty stable from late infant school. Only now am I starting to find my near vision is aging.
The difference was how I expressed at a young age I needed an eye test, I realised I could see more with one eye. They still worked together in general and the difference wasn’t a problem in anyway. I presume as they are only an issue with long vision. They worked together reading close up, doing fine detail etc all the time.

Did u start with the huge gap? Or time make it so huge?

I did not develop lazy eye, because I wore my glasses religiously. There is nothing parents can do to stop the gap growing, bar following the advice of professionals. Please don’t go into a spiral of worry and panic your child as well with your reactions to this.

Glasses are normal. Myopia is normal. Different diopters at that age is normal. Just make sure they’re wearing their glasses as much as possible (but don’t become anxious about it), and it’ll sort itself out.

I don’t remember exactly what my values were at the start, I was 5 or 6. I think somewhere in the region of 1-1.5 and 2.5 each eye?

I have no idea what a “myopia control plan” means or how any parent can apply it. My parents followed the advice of health professionals, trained ophthalmologists (as in my country the high street optician is not qualified to prescribe treatment for kids).

The values can grow at an alarming rate until the child finishes puberty. Do not panic. They will stop at some point. Mine slowed way down at 16 (when I was almost done with puberty), but kept growing slowly until 24-25, when my body actually stopped developing.

This. Is is perfectly normal.

Because i didnt have any close friends or family with this gap
as normally only gap -0.25 -0.50
for this big gap in this is the first time i need to handle
and i afraid that will be issue
and the gap too i worry how will it run
i just wanna look for similar case that can give me some power that is actually will get closer the gap
i understand it out of my control
but as a parent it is hard for me not to worry about the gap
kid is small
so i am looking for advise and any similar case to gv me support that i am looking for

OP, even if you don’t find support in anyone who’s had a similar case, please be reassured your kid will most likely be fine. Nobody becomes an adult and gets treated differently because of their eye prescription. Please don’t let your child feel your worry.

One of my parents was always very upset I had to wear glasses, and I remember feeling so strange because to me, they were so normal and painless. Didn’t affect my day at all. Swimming was a bit uncomfortable when I became a teenager (myopia too strong to see unaided, too young for lenses), but it was never a big issue. I wish my parent hadn’t spent so much time pitying me and worrying about my future when I was just living a normal childhood.

Yes, all i need is time to adapt. But because of the difference of diopter make me more worry and stress on it as i cannot see what going on and how will it progress.
as i said earlier no one close to me have similar case that i can refer to them and i dont know this will happen to my kid
honestly i think i same with one of your parent that cannot accept myopia in too young age but it make me more hard because of the difference diopter
I worry how the progress
i worry the lazy eyes
i worry the gap
i worry too many thing
many i search and asked will said hard for the gap to get closer if it already a big gap now , it almost impossible
so ,
maybe here i hope i can get more similar case that really can close the gap naturally
it will be my hope that my kid still have chance to get a more balance power for both eyes so that the issue will be lesser for daily life

Yes, eyes are very often/usually different strengths. That is why the optometrist tests each eye separately before checking them together. This is normal.

With the correct glasses and regular optical check-ups, it won't be an issue at all, I don't understand why you're getting so upset.

it will be my hope that my kid still have chance to get a more balance power for both eyes so that the issue will be lesser for daily life

The issue is just that, an issue. Not big or small, just there.

My eyesight is very bad (-8 or more bad). Having one eye slightly ahead or behind the other, wouldn’t make my issue “lesser”.

It’s normal for a parent to worry and take a bit of time to accept this. However, I can tell you from my experience that my myopia, gap in childhood included and all, has never been an issue in my entire life. My parent moaning and worrying unnecessarily about it, was. It made me feel wrong or less than, somehow? Please don’t do that to your child. They are whole, and normal. So strange because all I had were glasses. Not a chronic or terminal disease.

Time outside is a major factor in helping prevent myopia so make sure your kid is spending as much time as possible outside.

Eyes like feet are never exactly the same. Whilst most people only have a small difference in prescription for glasses (or shoe size) for some it's much larger, as long as you have the correct strength of lens for each eye (or shoe for each foot) it won't cause any problems.
Whilst a child grows there's often changes in the prescription required due to the muscles that control the lens function growing (sometimes at different rates again like feet) hence yearly eye tests for children but not for adults.
A lazy eye or squint will not develop just because she has a difference in prescription even if its a large difference, just have her use her glasses so she can see properly and she wont end up favouring one eye over the other.
Honestly you are worrying about nothing, she has glasses that will correct the vision in both eyes to as near to 20/20 as is possible in much the same way as you would manually focus an old school camera or a telescope only for each eye and using the correct lens for each in her glasses.
By the time she's an adult her prescription will have stabilised and she shouldn't have any problems with her vision (so long as she uses her glasses or contacts) until she reaches her 40s when everyone starts to need reading glasses. The reason that the specialists are saying just use the glasses is because thats the only appropriate treatment for her vision issues until adulthood when she can choose to wear contact lenses or have laser eye surgery (wouldn't recommend this due to the side effects and potential for loss of sight) instead of glasses

I had a lazy eye and needed to wear an eye patch about the age of 4. People don't realise that children's eyes learn to see until about the age of 5 and then stop developing. I distinctly remember this period as when I was tired I would have trouble controlling my eye and it would turn in. I think though that if your child is young and already being picked up for glasses that the specialists would notice a lazy eye if this was to ever develop. I started wearing glasses around the age of 8.

also eyes change through out life - mine actually improved / reduced my glasses when I stopped using screens as much.

When you age 4 u dont develop myopia yet? Or did you start with different diopter too?

As pp has said, lazy eyes may develop if there is a difference that isn't corrected, so the brain relies on the better eye. The difference is going to be corrected by glasses for your child, so shouldn't develop a lazy eye.

For what it's worth, my truck driver uncle has a lazy eye that wasn't picked up in childhood, as there weren't regular eye tests back then. He can do everything anyone else can, except for 3d movies. He needs to re do his truck driving test every 3 years due to the mono vision, but passes it fine.

The only thing I find annoying about having difference in eye strength is that cheap prescription swimming goggles are not strong enough, so I have to pay for more expensive ones. They go up tp -6, but as I am -7 and -8, they corrected to different strengths. It's hardly life limiting though!

I started with a gap of 1.5
The -7 gap was a result of an accident that caused sight loss.

Not if they are wearing the glasses as recommended.

I've not had any problems & opticians have never mentioned the possibility of a difference between eyes causing a problem. Myopia can cause a risk of detached retina but that's linked to the severity of the myopia & not the difference between the 2 eyes

I'm very short sighted though my worst eye is -7 so to be honest I wouldn't get very far without glasses.

I've never given it another thought until recently when I developed long sight due to middle age & had to spend out for varifocals.