Will eye therapy help to improve my daughter's nearsightedness?

[Liantao]

In a recent eye exam, my 9 year old daughter was found to have nearsightedness, with an eyesight of 20/40 and 20/200. Hoping to get her eyes back to normal, we have banned her from using computer and warching TV for this summer break, limited her time of reading, and asked her to eat a lot of fruits rich in Vitamin C. I am researching for any other things we can do to help. Will eye therapy help? Any other measures we can take? By the way, both my wife and I are nearsighted, so it is not surprised that she has this problem. We just didn't expect it came at such an early time.

Any inputs are appreciated.

Thanks

Robert in Salem, Oregon

[sophia35]

Hi again,
Got time and decided to send another post.Just a few more ideas, hope I don't confuse you.
I don't know how myopic your daughter is now ( I really only understand dioptres(?) ), but having been severely myopic all my life, I'll try to give you some more info.

Children can be cruel to each other, although I have no memory of being called
names. You know your daughter better than anyone and I think you should do what you can to make her feel sure of herself and develop a strong personality
and be prepared for that possibility but not make a big deal about it.

I do recall however that during my teens I was very self conscious about my glasses. Of course how you look is not the most important and what matters is what you are as a person and what you make of yourself, but try telling that to a teenage girl... I remember going to dances to places we visited in the summer and taking off my glasses. All these boys would ask me to dance and then afterwards I'd skoot away and ask my sisters ( got 3) if the boy was cute lol ( forgot to mention that when I used the glasses no one asked me...)

I don't how much of an issue this will be for your daughter but I do know of kids
who started using contacts before they were 18 which is when I started. Naturally you should ask your doctor.

I am a computer programmer but, just to be safe, I  dedicate only part  time to this activity  and also teach kids Math, Chemistry and Physics ( engineering training) .
I get horrible headaches and although it seems to contribute , to this day I cannot confirm that more time on the computer means more headaches...
A lot of very respectable eye doctors say that using the computer or reading
up close doesn't worsen myopia, but when I do research I do get confused...
I think the best attitude is to be reasonable and just not overdo things ( not spend too much time on the computer and if you read a book, do it with the correct light  and remember to rest your eyes ( goes for computer as well)... ( I loved reading and couldn't put a book down once I started...) I've read that it is terrible for example to read under the bed covers using a flashlight...) I've also read an article which states that scientific studies have shown that sleeping with the light on contributes to myopia because even when your eyes  are shut the light creeps in and your eyes strain themselves trying to see...Now for God's sake if your daghter ever slept with the light on don't think that's why she got myopia and its your fault. I'm just trying to give you information I hope is useful from now on!

The issue of physical activity can also be confusing...My first retinal tear happened after I lifted  this really heavy beam made of concrete just to show how strong I was... I felt a strange twitch in my eye ( no other symtoms)  and after a routine check-up two days later had to be operated... When it comes to weights, its best to just not overdo it.

Finally, although this situation is years away for your daughter, just to be on the safe side I had a C section programmed because with the contractions I just might get a retinal detachment and didn't want to take that risk.

Sorry for writing so much.Hope I was of some help. I really wish your daughter
the best of everything!

Sophia

[sharukh]

hey...
i know that it wid be stupid to reply now that the doctor has given his comment.....but from my years of high myopia......i observed that
Most probably doctors wud ask your daughter to wear glasses all the time........to avoid eye strain......

pls dont do that that wud start a cycle of dependence on glasses with the myipoc number rising every year by -0.5 to -1 and she might end up with thick glasses / high myopia by the time she is 20/22......this is the story of thousands of ppl world wide

make her wear glasses only wen she has to see distant objects and dont make her wear glasses all the time...... like wen she is playing with her friends why in the hell wud she need glasses...also similarly wen she is reading a textbook that is near vision and why in the world wud u need myopic glasses...on short....avoid the dependence.......but also at the same time avoid the strain........use glasses only for distant vision...

also good food....anti-oxidants might help(read berries and carrots).....and i suggest u read bates (of course most probably it wont help) but since its just the beginning....it might just help......u never know

this reply is from the assumption that she has been diagnosed for myopia

[sharukh]

and yes....long hours of television viewing (also computer) from a closer distance does spoil your eye sight no matter what the doctor might say....so if she has to watch sum thing on TV.......ensure that its from a longer distance

keep your child engaged in sports and other out door activities to prevent increase in the myopia.

[T-lynn]

Don't be so hard on your daughter.

My daughter was 4 years old with severe vision,we just encouraged her to do her best and she is now a very productive young lady in the Navy doing nuclear engineering.

At the time her eye Dr suggested no reading and therapy and all.We let her be a little girl.She done everything every other normal kid did,but done it with glasses and her script didn't change much through the years.

Heck she played softball,karate,ran track ,cross country graduated with a 4.0.

Her vision was poor 20/400 and 20/200.But she has succeeded at everything she done.

Heck the computer was her favorite thing as a teen.

Your daughter will do just fine with glasses and will adapt.heck they do better than what we do as parents as we put the blame on ourselves and  we look for other methods to solve the eye problem when there aren't any.there is always a chance that her vision may get better with time.my daughters did as she grew.

I have 4 children with myopia and my youngest has  nystagmus with hers.

[sophia35]

Hi,

Here's the only article I've found which mentions myopia treatment with results
in children:  www.mdsupport.org/library/myopic.html .

I plan to check with doctors specially if my seven year old becomes myopic.

There are also homeopathic doctors who say there is  medicine which
only has results in children, not adults. However, NEVER give anything to
your daughter without asking traditional doctors and making sure there are no
side effects!


Hope this helps.

Wishing you the  best,
Sophia

[Liantao]

Thank you for all your posts. At first I was scared to think her teenage years with thick glasses and can't join certain activities that she likes. Your posts make me feel a little bit better now. As some of you suggested, we won't take any extreme measures such as asking her to use too many vitamins, totally being away from computer. However, we will try our best to help her be aware of the importance of certain foods to her eyesight, and teach her how to take care of her eyes. I guess my biggest fear is it seems nothing can effectively stop the development of nearsightedness, and we can only do so much.

aao-M.D.-JH - Through talking with my daughter's doctor and research online, it seems nothing we do can help now. However, as a parent you want to hold on that very slim chance and that is why. Once the summer is over and we will let her back to her routine.

sharukh - Her doctor does suggest she only wear glasses when necessary (which means during classes and watching TV), not all the times.

T-lynn - Yes, I can't stop blaming myself, so many IFs..

sophia35 - I sincerely hope some breakthroughs may come in the near future to help people like you and my daughter. Thank for your time.

[sophia35]

I don't have much time but I hope this input will be helpful.
Firstly,although it is insightful to learn of other people's experiences,
what happens with one myopic person  doesn't necessarily happen to another
even in similar conditions.

I'm a severly myopic mom with ( now -22 and -17 ) and have been all my life. I  
wore horrible glasses until  I was 18 and lived through it, I was great at sports
and always top of my class.

I now use semi-rigid contacts and will  only use an intraocular lens if it is
really necessary. I confess I'm scared of the future because I already have a
cataract in my right eye and several holes, tears and scarring in my eyes, as
well as terrible headaches which doctors say are not associated with myopia.

However, I've got pathological myopia, which doesn't seem to be your daughter's  
case.

I should say that although my eyes are in bad shape I get around fine with my
contacts and have a lovely family who makes me very happy.

I really have to go, so here's some advice: as long as your sure you're not
giving your daughter too much of them,  vitamins, minerals and salmon oil,even
if they don't help myopia, will not hurt and are also good for brain  
development and health in general. However do check with your doctor.

I think your daughter should lead a normal life but she should avoid heavy  
weight lifting which at her age she won't do anyway. I've read that kids with
myopia shouldn't jump rope to avoid retinal detachment but it seems exagerated.

I could say more but realloy haven't the time.

I think it is really important however to find a doctor you trust and stick
with him in order to closely monitor your daughter.

I wish you and your family happiness,health and the best of luck!

Sophia

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Hello Robert, I would lighten up on your daughter. In the past many therapies have been tried to 'arrest' myopia including: avoiding reading and near tasks, keeping the eye from focusing at near with atropine eye drops, bifocal glasses, ridgid contact lens. None of these has been shown to be helpful applied to the general range of 'simple myopia' (this is different than pathological myopia). Diet and vitamins will not help.

Realize that simple myopia is not a disease just an eye that is a little longer than the internal focus mechanism needs.  It is also not true that glasses for myopia make the condition worse.

JCH MD Myopic Eye Physician and Surgeon