eyesight

[mallgirl12]

hi I am 14 year old female,I got my glasses one year and a few months ago,my vision was 20/80 in each eye,I could see 20/20 with the glasses I got.When I went to the eye doctor maybe a few months ago my vision was 20/200 in each eye.I spend maybe four or five hours on the computer almost everyday.I am not sure if my vision got worse because of the computer.But now it feels like my vision is getting worse with my new glasses.I understand that sometimes vision could change as a teen is growing but I have quite a few years of growing and I don't want my vision to change every year and get worse,because I'm already scared that I am going to have worse vision.Please help me and give me some tips on how to keep vision healthy and is there chance that my vision could get better naturally is there things that could be done to get vision better again naturally.the eyedoctors I went to told me that my eyes are completely healthy.thanks for the help. bye.

[Sandy Feldman, MD, MS]

Dear mallgirl12,

It is common for children at this age to undergo changes in the prescription. There is some recent evidence that showed an increased in prevalence of nearsightedness as compared with two decades ago, suggesting that an increase of near work associated with working on the computer, longer schooling and activities such as texting might be contributory.  Perhaps, taking frequent breaks while you are on the computer and looking around the room at a distance object might help. I would also recommend that you go outside and perform exercise and partake in distance activities.

Dr. Feldman

Sandy T. Feldman, M.D., M.S.
ClearView Eye and Laser Medical Center
San Diego, California

[mallgirl12]

thanks for the help.