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Eye Care Archive (Expert Forum)
decreasing vision
Our Ask A Doctor Ophthalmology Forum is where you can post your question and receive a personal answer from physicians affiliated with the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
decreasing vision
by eugal, Feb 01, 2007 12:00AM
I am 30 years old, I have been wearing glasses since I was 7. My problem is that my eyesight is still getting worse. In my teens I was told that it should stop when I'm 18-20 (when my body stops growing). Is it ever going to stop getting worse? Is there something that can be done about it? Vitamins, eye excercises? Anything?
I did have a laser surgery to correct my vision at age 20, which changed my -9 dioptria to a -0.5D, but now my eyes again at -3.75D. What is the prognosis? Should I worry about retinal detachment or anything else? (I have many floaters...and occasional, about 10sec long light flashes)
Thank you!
I did have a laser surgery to correct my vision at age 20, which changed my -9 dioptria to a -0.5D, but now my eyes again at -3.75D. What is the prognosis? Should I worry about retinal detachment or anything else? (I have many floaters...and occasional, about 10sec long light flashes)
Thank you!
Doctor's Answer
by Forum-OD-MP, Feb 01, 2007 12:00AM
multiple questions/problems here, really.
first of all, YES you should be getting regular dilated eye exams to rule out retinal detachment. this is b/c you started at -9 and are a known 'high myope'. even tho you had laser and your Rx is no longer -9, your EYE is still a'-9 eye'. laser didnt change the size of your eye or the appearance of your retina, and therefore laser did not decrease your risk for retinal detachment. most 'high myopes' with Rx over say -6.00 are in the higher-risk category for retinal detachment, regardless of what laser refractive surgeries they've had. should you 'worry' about it? no...but you should be getting seen regularly with dilation to look for retinal problems. especially given the symptoms of flashes & floaters.
secondly, i'm sorry you seem to have had lasik 'regression':
http://www.usaeyes.org/lasik/faq/lasik-regression.htm
sometimes indicates inherited corneal/eye disease, but usually just bad luck. very irritating on your end. may or may not be able to have an 'enhancement', but if you've already taken out -8.50, you'd have to have a REALLY think cornea to get another -3.75 out.
prognosis is difficult to predict. no, i personally doubt eye exercises or vitamins would keep you from getting increasingly nearsighted. could be from a corneal problem, which could not be fixed with either of those, or could be from a high amt of reading/nearpoint stress, in which case there are multiple theories on how to reduce that nearpoint stress. visual hygiene, separate near-vision glasses, and others. those may or may not work on you.
dont know what else to tell you. as an adult, i doubt there are going to be too many ways to keep your Rx from changing. its probably either going to change or not, and there probably wont be too much you can do to control it.
first of all, YES you should be getting regular dilated eye exams to rule out retinal detachment. this is b/c you started at -9 and are a known 'high myope'. even tho you had laser and your Rx is no longer -9, your EYE is still a'-9 eye'. laser didnt change the size of your eye or the appearance of your retina, and therefore laser did not decrease your risk for retinal detachment. most 'high myopes' with Rx over say -6.00 are in the higher-risk category for retinal detachment, regardless of what laser refractive surgeries they've had. should you 'worry' about it? no...but you should be getting seen regularly with dilation to look for retinal problems. especially given the symptoms of flashes & floaters.
secondly, i'm sorry you seem to have had lasik 'regression':
http://www.usaeyes.org/lasik/faq/lasik-regression.htm
sometimes indicates inherited corneal/eye disease, but usually just bad luck. very irritating on your end. may or may not be able to have an 'enhancement', but if you've already taken out -8.50, you'd have to have a REALLY think cornea to get another -3.75 out.
prognosis is difficult to predict. no, i personally doubt eye exercises or vitamins would keep you from getting increasingly nearsighted. could be from a corneal problem, which could not be fixed with either of those, or could be from a high amt of reading/nearpoint stress, in which case there are multiple theories on how to reduce that nearpoint stress. visual hygiene, separate near-vision glasses, and others. those may or may not work on you.
dont know what else to tell you. as an adult, i doubt there are going to be too many ways to keep your Rx from changing. its probably either going to change or not, and there probably wont be too much you can do to control it.
