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Development of Myopia
Bernie wrote:
I'm a 47 year old male. I started wearing glasses for very mild myopia and astigmatism at age 18. I was told at the time that by age 23 my prescription would probably stabilize, but that has not happened. I just found out last week that my myopia and astigmatism have changed yet again (my myopia is now at -4).
My question is: is there a chance that this will go on into old age? What am I doing wrong? I read a lot (under good lighting) and I spend a lot of time in front of a computer (two to three feet away), but that is my job unfortunately. Besides, I have countless colleagues who do the same and do not even wear glasses.
Which brings me to my second question: given that no one in my family wears glasses, is it possible that I caused my own myopia/astigmatism by studying and reading too much when I was in my teens? I've heard of studies that claim there's no correlation between reading/studying and myopia, but I find that hard to believe.
Your answers are much appreciated.
Dr Henry Smit's response:
Dear Bernie:
The debate about whether or not doing close work contributes to the development of nearsightedness has been argued for years without reaching a definite conclusion. It is believed that a number of factors contribute to the development of myopia, with genetic predisposition being near the top of the list. Although no one in your family wears glasses, I would not be surprised if you had more distant blood relatives who also had some measure of myopia.
It is true that, in typical cases, myopia stops progressing once the person’s eyes have reached their full adult size – usually in their early twenties. That being said, I have certainly seen patients in my practice who, like you, have continued to become more nearsighted through their adult years. A good number of them, like you, had spent a lot of time doing near tasks, but for many that was not the case. Additionally, there are many people today who spend much of their work time doing close work, and then spend several hours of leisure time doing close work such as reading or working on a computer. For most of these people, myopia does not progress.
Bernie, I don’t think the amount of near work you did was the cause of your nearsightedness. It could be argued that your near work may have contributed in some difficult to measure fashion, however, I do not think you need to blame yourself for your nearsightedness. The mechanisms that cause myopia are complex and not yet fully understood and not usually entirely attributable to the amount of close work that has been done.
Hope this is helpful.
Dr. Smit
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Are There Exercises or Medications to Slow Down Myopia
Janie wrote:
I started having myopia at around seven years old, and it's getting worse and worse every year. Right now, I'm in the eighth grade right now.
I was wondering if there are any eye exercises or medications to try to prevent my eyesight from getting worse. Also, is it possible to become blind from myopia?
Dr. Sally Aldayeh's response:
Hello Janie,
Myopia, or nearsightedness, is the result of genetics plus near work. Due to your young age, this is when your eyes get worse the most, this tends to slow down with age. There is no medication or eye exercise to slow down myopia unfortunately. Myopia CAN, but not usually, become pathological myopia which can lead to blindness. Thank you
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