will i go blind in the future?

[pokothewinner]

Hi guys.  i am really worried about this please help me.  i am 22 years old with - 3.5 myopia on my left eye and - 7 myopia in my right eye which is categorized in high myopia.  i know that it will increase my risk to get retinal detachment,  cataract and glaucoma which eill cause blindness in the future.  please help,  is there anything i can do to prevent  all these?

[pokothewinner]

Also, what can be done to prevent myopic macular degeneration? Thanks

[JohnHaganMD]

There is no program to reduce risk of myopic macaular degeneration. There are many things that can be done to reduce the risk of age related macular degeneration (ARMD)  This have been listed many times before.  You can go to my home page and look at my Journal postings and read them.  You are also at increased risk of glaucoma although as I have said that might be 3-4%. Exercise and good diet can lower risks of glaucoma lots of green vegetables like spinach and kale

[pokothewinner]

so i do have risk for myopic macular degeneration? what i found on Internet is that there is no cure and it is hard to control as well and it strikes at yonger age.  I am so stressed out by this.

[JohnHaganMD]

Look, life is risky. We all are at risk of death by automobile accident, killed by terrorists or heart attack at a young age. But the risks are small so they must be put in perspective. Your risk of serious eye problem over your lifetime is relatively small. Higher than a non myopic person but still small.  See a good ophthalmologist yearly and follow the other suggestions I made and quit stressing out over it. Learn by cognitive training to deal with your anxieties in a more effective manner.

[pokothewinner]

I see.  Again,  thanks for your kind reply.  please allow me to ask a few more questions.  Considering that my high myopia is only - 7 which is not very high as compared to many otger people,  am i at risk to other serious conditions especially myopic macular degeneration? Since the risk you stated are still small,  can i consider myself have almost the same chances as other non-myopic of keeping my eye and vision healthy throughout my life provided that i visit my ophthalmologist yearly? Thank you

[pokothewinner]

Well I do realise that I have so anxiety issues but I just can't help it. Anyway I really appreciate your patient reply despite that I am asking so many hypothetical questions. I think I will just have to do what I can do, reduce my computer usage as much as possible and pray that my myopia will not progress again..  Thanks you so much for spending time to share information and knowledge with us.

[JohnHaganMD]

You are welcome. Note that outdoor activities have been shown to prevent and slow myopia so get outdoors often.

[JohnHaganMD]

The risks are small. The risk of glaucoma in a person without a family history that lives a normal lifespan is about 2%  your risk might be 4%.  We all get cataracts as we age sooner or later and there is great treatment for that. The risk of a retinal detachment in the non-myopic, non-high risk factor population is about one in 7000-10000   your risk might be one in about 5000    So these risks while higher than the general population are still small

[pokothewinner]

I see.  Again,  thanks for your kind reply.  please allow me to ask a few more questions.  Considering that my high myopia is only - 7 which is not very high as compared to many otger people,  am i at risk to other serious conditions especially myopic macular degeneration? Since the risk you stated are still small,  can i consider myself have almost the same chances as other non-myopic of keeping my eye and vision healthy throughout my life provided that i visit my ophthalmologist yearly? Thank you

[JohnHaganMD]

Not likely you'll go blind. See an ophthalmologist yearly, immediately if have a severe problem. Live a healthy life, exercise, don't smoke  (nicotine or cannabis), if you drink alcohol no more than 2 drinks/day, and avoid eye injury and wear proper eye protection for high injury risk activities or sports.  Don't do roller coasters, thrill rides or other violent head jerking activities.  Have a spiritual or religious philosophy to be a moral compass in life.

[pokothewinner]

Thanks doctor. I am so sorry for so many questions. What I read from internet is high myopia will increase risk of getting glaucoma, cataracts and retinal detachment, may I ask whether the increase in the risk is significant or not? Is that something that I should worry about? Besides there is some eye movement exercises in the internet that claims to be beneficial to our eye. Is that true? Thanks a lot.

[JohnHaganMD]

It is far more likely you will end life with good to acceptable vision than poor vision:  see an ophthalmologist yearly, avoid activities with high chance of eye injury, wear proper eye protection if you use power tools, lawnmowers, weed eaters, etc. Live a healthy lifestyle, don't smoke tobacco or cannabis, exercise, eat good diet, don't get fat, don't drink alcohol in excess, have a spiritual/religious philosophy as a compass in your life passage. See a general MD yearly for exam other parts of body.

[pokothewinner]

Hi doctor. Thanks so much for replying. I am actually a medical student and so I have to spend most of my time studying and doing computer stuff. As a result, my eyes are often painful and dry. Will this cause my high myopia to continue progress?

[JohnHaganMD]

When speaking of large populations the increase of near work: computers, ipad, iphone, reading, TV, video games are a major reason for the increasing incidence of myopia. However its not possible to tell an individual, like yourself, what roll it plays in their myopia progression.

[pokothewinner]

I see.  Is there anything i can do to prevent my myopia to continue ptogress? because my myopia had been continuosly progress for the past ten years.  I am afraid that it will not stop. thanks so much for your advice