Ways to stop kid's myopia (short-sightedness)?

[Leo12345]

Hi!

My daughter is now 7 years old.

1 year ago she was diagnosed with myopia about 0.5 each eye.
Now we came for the test and she already has -2.0

I myself have had myopia since the age of 10 and it progressed from about -1.5 to -5.0 (I am 41 now). When I was child, I did different exercises for the eyes and even attended special course several times a week: I was reading my book for one hour and the nurse would change lenses in my glasses once in 5 minutes (lences from +5 to -5 in steps of 1 dioptre).

Now, I am afraid the myopia of my daughter can progress very fast.
Opticians say she just needs to change glasses - that's it, they even did not want to give me referral to the GP. They say it is 'normal' etc. - they absolutely don't care, just humiliating.

And I am absolutely sure that if I come to our GP, he will say the same: don't worry, use glasses, come for the eye test next year.

But I do worry, because once myopia reaches high values it may lead to retina detachment. And as far as I know, myopia can never 'improve', you can only slow it down. Because myopia is caused by the eye-ball growth, it can never contract back.

If each year it will worsen 1.5 dioptres (like this year), in 10 years she will develop -17.0!

We are now in our family trying to put strict control on how our daughter reads (and she loves reading and wants to read a lot). I am considering buying very large computer monitor, so she will be able to read e-books from 2 meter distance (when the eye is not focused on close objects, the accomodation muscle is not strained and the eye-ball growth does not occur).

Are there any private clinics in Greater London which specialise on stopping myopia progress with children?

Do you have similar problem with your kids? What do you do? Just each time wait for another year to visit the optician and see the vision worsened by another 2 dioptres?

I don't agree that opticians are self interested in giving glasses and don't think about prevention.

Any optician or eye specialist who could (successfully) prevent worsening of myopia would make a fortune. So it would be completely in their interest to do so. And their patient would probably need glasses anyway, just less strong ones - so win win.

The fact that no one has found a way to stop myopia is far more likely to be because it can't be done, than because they are all out for your money.

It is not "humiliating" not to have been given any advice to prevent the myopia. It is a reflection of the fact that they don't think anything will work.

If your myopia troubles you, eg when swimming, have you considered laser eye surgery?

But the reason no one is making a fuss about it is because it really isn't a problem. Nowadays you can get great glasses, thinned down lenses, contact lenses you can leave in for weeks if you want to, laser surgery if you're rich :) .. Retinal detachment is very rare. It's like worrying about getting hit by a bus every time you walk out the door.

if you believe that your optician is trying to make money through prescribing unnecessary increases in the strength of the lenses then maybe a second opinion from a different optician would put your mind at rest.

Still don't get how it would be humiliating not to get referred to someone else. Far more humiliating surely to go to some sort of eye specialist who would react like this

Make sure she plays outside lots bbc

Although I did lots of outdoor activities and I went from perfect vision to -4 between 12 and 15.

And retinal detachment, should it happen and it is fairly uncommon, is very treatable these days.

also meant to say that I do think, thanks.

As it happens though, my optician, who I've been going to for years and who has always been very professional and non money grabbing, has been studying eyes day in and day out since she was an undergraduate, so I think it's fair to say that she thinks about eyes a lot more than I do. Which is why I am happy to accept that she knows more about them than I do.

Please don't limit your child's reading. Allow her to enjoy books as much as she wants to.

If it was easy to prevent short sightedness charities like these would be out there educating people so they could help themselves, instead of asking people to donate old glasses. ..

www.visionaidoverseas.org/key-facts

I thought there wasa link between giving glasses and increasing myopia? sort of a downward spiral?

www.myopia.org/ebook/08chapter3.htm

That whole website is called the "myopia myth". It's a bit biased I think.... !

OP, since you clearly are unhappy with the advice you have been given and are concerned about your child's vision, might I suggest a visit to a private paediatric ophthalmologist? I'm almost certain you will be given nothing much more than reassurance but at least you will have the chance to discuss with an expert.

What I do suggest, however, is to stop trying to self help by implementing rules about reading etc. get proper advice.

I believe there is a massive degree of genetic inheritance when it comes to myopia and it may well be simply inevitable that your dds vision will deteriorate some more. However, your reasoning about progressing to -17 is not sensible; at that rate all people with myopia would end up blind or near as.

Finally there are of course many options available for sight correction and they continue to improve. I had laser surgery ten years ago and am still delighted with the results. You mention swimming as an issue, prescription goggles are easily obtained. I'm not suggesting myopia isn't a nuisance, it is, but you are catastrophising. Get some expert advice and then accept the situation.

I was sent for "exercises" when I was around 6. Made not a blind bit of difference and was in specs by 7. Wore variety of glasses and lenses over the years and finally had LASIK at 35. It's really only a problem if you make it one.

I have read that there is a genetic predisposition to myopia but some research seems to link expression of that with less exposure to outdoor light. - not reading.

There has been indeed some suggestions that there is a link between playing outside and slowing of myopia, as someone mentioned earlier in this thread.
I do think that it's important to measure things properly at the optician and not all do (in my country on the continent, I have been told they use eyedrops to help measure accurately, in young children (was not done in my time)).
I also do believe that some opticians are keen to get me some new glasses every year ,even though the prescription hardly changes nowadays (it a a bit to and fro), only the last one was fine with me wearing my old ones.Maybe I was a more assertive in asking....

2. The eye-ball elongates when doing close work/reading.

I thought this was an old wives' tale

Between 4 of us, we have 2 short sighted (DH and DS1)
1 very long sighted (DS2 - maybe we should have taught him to read as a toddler)
3 with astigmatism (strong in me and DS2, mild in DH)

The only humiliation is when I bump into things because my peripheral vision is a bit crap.

And if reading at a distance worked, it wouldn't have been the fact that he could no longer read subtitles or credits that unearthed DS1's short sightedness

That's exactly what he did!

DH (who is an optometrist) says current research suggests progression of myopia is down to (a) genetics (b) exposure to daylight (more time outside = slower myopic progression). Myopia is normal- it's not a reason to refer.

"Opticians say she just needs to change glasses - that's it, they even did not want to give me referral to the GP. They say it is 'normal' etc. - they absolutely don't care, just humiliating."

Sorry, but that is just a load of old nonsense. Opticians only refer to the doctor if they have reason to be worried about something. They don't just test eyes, they look at eye health and general health as well - some eye conditions are caused by underlying conditions such as diabetes.

A GP won't thank you for wasting their time as myopia is just one of those things, and is completely normal. It isn't humiliating to be told your child needs glasses either. You will just end up giving your daughter a complex.

There is a girl in one of DD's classes at school. She is short sighted buy won't wear her glasses. She can't see what the teacher is writing on the whiteboard so she pesters everyone else to tell her. They all tell her to wear her glasses and are irritated by her vanity. Do you want your daughter to be this child?

I've worn glasses since I was 13, and at one point it seemed to be getting worse year on year and I asked my optician about it as I was quite worried that was going to continue on and on, and he reassured me that I did not have "pathological myopia".

www.rnib.org.uk/eye-health-eye-conditions-z-eye-conditions/myopia-and-high-degree-myopia

You can always get a second opinion from another optician. I would avoid Specsavers as in my experience they tend to fob you off. Others may have had different experiences, of course, but for me they were rubbish. An independent optician which comes recommended is ideal. I was put onto Eyelink which is in central London if any good to you: www.eyelink.co.uk/Home.html

Also, to reassure you, my friend has very bad eyesight and has had an implanted lens (the sort of thing they talk about here www.webmd.boots.com/eye-health/features/implantable-contacts-hope-extreme-myopia) and has perfect vision now. They can be used for up to -20.

DH is myopic. He's worn the same prescription for about near on 20 years, only changing the frames 2 or 3 times. He's just changed his glasses again as his prescription has changed - his sight has actually improved.

Not the actions of opticians only out to make money.