Re: Question on Improving my Eyesight

Hi there, I have been researching Natural Vision Improvement, and I
thought this would be a good place to search for a professional
opinion.


Not many "natural" enthusiasts here. Web based forums might be better.

Much of what I have found seems unproved and basically a con, tempting
people to spend $50 on an ebook and/or pinhole glasses or plus lenses.


Plus lenses really help me to avoid eyestrain.  I think they are a
simple and wonderfully effective way of working close without the eyes
feeling the strain of close work.  And they're really cheap!  What most
people fail to realize is that most myopes almost never have identical
acuity in each eye.  So its crucial to get prescription reading glasses
so your focus point (it should be just beyond your point of clarity) is
identical for each eye otherwise you'll be either straining one eye or
not using it at all since the brain will take the clearer of the two
images.

What methods are approved by the professional opthalmic health
community, for improving eyesight without contact lenses, glasses, or
laser surgery?


I've never heard of one.....oh wait....."Don't look at the sun".  :)
And if there was one, imagine how bad it would be for the industry?

From what I have read it is clear to me now that my myopia (-2.25 and
-1.75 astigmatism in each eye) was caused by close work from an early
age.


Most people have that occur in their early teen years.  Some people
blame the stress of puberty among other things.  Or it could be
dramatically increased schoolwork.  Obviously genetics has a role here.

Then I was given glasses for distance, and told to wear them all
the time, which brought that close work focally closer, and my myopia
progressed to where it is now.


And you probably noticed how awful your vision was when you took your
glasses off and looked into the distance after wearing them for a while.
That should tell anyone that there's something wrong.  When you take
reading glasses off the opposite occurs.  Your eyes feel rested and
alert.

My idea, is to reverse the damage to my eyes by wearing lenses that put
my computer screen focally as far away as my eyes can focus.  I spend
12 hours a day on my computer, so I hope it won't take more than a few
months for my eyes to adjust.


For a few dollars reading glasses will prove their worth.  You want the
focus just beyond (only a little bit) your point of clarity.  You can
roughly match your vision with 2 pairs of identical frames (plastic ones
allow the lenses to be popped out and in easily).

Is there anyone here (apart from Otis, who I have corresponded with
already in another forum) who thinks this might work?

I should mention that I noticed when I would go away on long vacations when
I was using my glasses/contacts a lot I would have 2 stages of improvment.
The first was that I wasn't wearing them on a daily basis. My vision improved
a bit over the first day. Then after about 2 or 3 weeks of no correction and
noticing my vision getting better and better it levelled off. This showed me
that we have perhaps 3 types of vision in modern society.

1:    No corrective lenses.
	No long term close work
	No sunglasses are used
	Bates/other methods are used to relax/strengthen the eyes.

2:  	All of the above without relaxing/exercising and moderate close work.

3: For the typical modern person
Corrective lenses worn as much as possible (because I HAVE to see perfectly.)
Lots of close work - even done with corrective lenses multiplying the problems.
Sunglasses are used always outside and lights are bright inside all the time. So there is not much pupil size change. This is obviously totally unnatural and is why sunglass wearer are so crippled when they don't have them. It took me 2 months to adjust to normal sunlight after wearing those auto tinting glasses.
Obviously no relaxing/exercising because "we just don't have time".

I'm in the second category. Before starting this I was measured with -2.5 and -1.75. That was wearing glasses a lot of the time. After dumping them (granted I didn't have to drive at the time) my eyes were tested later and they were about 30% better. They have remained more or less the same for a decade. Now I'm in my mid 40's. When I absolutely need to see sharply I use disposable contacts (which is very rarely) and these small segments don't seem to influence my vision at all. Only right after of course, but that is rectified the next day.

Some people have claimed long (40 day) water fasts have helped their vision though this is nebulous and sadly rarely measured. I have do doubt that eyes can be relaxed and strengthened but it may be a case of finding the exact exercise that helps your exact condition. Perhaps a vision therapist can direct you here. If you use one it would be wise to cross check their recommendations with an (open minded!) eye doctor. There are other dimensions to vision than measurable acuity, but that is the easiest to test so its the most widely used. I always found my depth perception was not so great with my glasses. So that was a welcome improvement. Hope this helps. You're on the right track. By doing nothing more than using 20/40 corrective lenses a minimum of time, using reading glasses (matched to each eye) when doing most close work and never using sunglasses, I think you will notice a major step forward. You can always do the exercises as well but the other things are easy and offer significant benefits. Plus you have real peripheal vision without glasses, if a little blurred...:)
.

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