Myopia effects 25% of US population. There has been an 11% increase from 1975-1995. There are more women who are myopic as compared to men and it is more commonly found in Caucasian vs Afro-Americans.

How Did I Become Myopic?

This is a controversial area.  Clearly if your parents are nearsighted you have a better chance of becoming nearsighted.  Identical twins have similar refractive errors as compared to fraternal twins.  Myopia studies show that heredity is clearly a very strong indicator of the development of myopia.  Myopia is more common in different societies such as Jewish and Chinese populations and less common among the American Indians and Eskimos.

Myopia is much more common in people with a higher education.  There are those who claim that since people with myopia can't see clearly at a distance, they become more interested in things up close where they can see clearly, e.g. reading, computers. 

The fallacy of this argument is that once myopic patients are corrected with glasses or contact lenses, distance vision is clear.  Most importantly recent research shows that myopic kids spend as much time participating in outside sports as non-myopic kids.  Lastly, intellectual gains tends to occur prior to the development of myopia. Zylbermann et al in 1993 studied the incidence of myopia in a Jewish cohort aged 14-18 and found that myopia was greatest in males vs females and greatest in the Orthodox population which studied 8 hours or more.  Most myopia develops during periods of accelerated growth (8-19). Previously myopia stopped by the early twenties.  Today, we see more myopia progressing in the late twenties or thirties in those patients who spend a preponderous amount of time reading and computer use.

Why Would Close Work Make Myopia Worse?

When we read both our eye aiming muscles and focusing muscles stay fixated to a flat surface approximately 16 inches from the eyes.  After sustaining at this distance for hours, it gets stuck there.  It doesn't release to back to distance or if it does it takes time, thus, the complaint of blur after sustained reading or computer work.

Is There Proof That This Happens?

There are numerous studies which show that after sustained near work the focusing system in a darkened room changes position (it moves inwards).  In addition, monkeys which are hooded (constrained near environment) and not allowed to look at a distance become myopic.  (Click here for more animal studies) The Naval Academy in Annapolis used have an entrance requirement that the cadets had to have 20/20 unaided visual acuity.  However, upon graduation 50% of the cadets became myopic.  People on submarines become myopic.  Lastly, Alaska before becoming a state which required that they had mandated education had little near-sightness.  Now 50% of the Eskimo children are myopic.  These, studies are compelling. If you take the right genetic child and put them in an environment in which they focus up close for long times they will become more myopic.  If you are a lawyer, or accountant look around most of your colleagues are myopic.

People who spend a lot of time on computers or microscopists show increased amounts of myopia. Sixty-six percent of the microscopists showed either the development or progression of their myopia.

Is There Anything We Can do to Stop, Reverse or Slow This Myopic Progression?

We can use reading glasses to decrease the focusing demand and hope that the progression of near-sightness works.  Previous experiments have shown them to be somewhat successful.  The National Eye Institute is now studying the effects of bifocals to slow the progression of myopia. Preliminary results suggest that bifocals may or may not slow the progression of near-sightness (myopia). Two new research paper have just been published which demonstrates the positive effect of bifocals in slowing down the progression of myopia.  However, the most recent study suggests that bifocals initially slow down the progression of myopia but this is short lived. There are no downsides to wearing the bifocals.  If my child was at risk of developing progressive myopia, I would suggest the use of an invisible  bifocal while monitoring his/her visual acuity. Click here to view the interactive acuity tester  which can be used at home to monitor visual acuity.  If the visual acuity in either eye decreases then make an appointment.

Drops, specifically Atropine, which dilate the eyes and paralyze the focusing mechanism have, also, been shown to slow myopia. Recently, there have a sleuth of studies demonstrating that Atropine drops with bifocals have a real effect in slowing down the progression of myopia.  Myopia progression dropped from .25 diopters per year to .05 diopters per year on the average. Unfortunately, treatment with drops may be worse than the disease. The drops dilate the pupils for 14 days and might result in light sensitivity.  There are no known long term effects from the drops. This medication has been around for almost 100 years with a low risk of complications in children and adults. We have been using this treatment for 4 years and find it to be very successful. 

There is an experimental drug, which is in the same family as atropine but doesn't have its side effects, which is as effective as atropine in stopping the progression of myopia in animal studies.  This new drug pirenzipine has been used in Japan and Europe for years to treat stomach problems.  It has a long safety profile and has passed phase I and II of the FDA.  It will be tested in the last phase fairly soon.  We have high hope for this medication.  The FDA is being very cautious about this drug since it will be used mostly in children.

Lastly, LASIK can eliminate the refractive error from myopia.  It should be remembered even after LASIK, previously myopic patients with greater risks for retinal problems do not eliminate that risk. 

My Previous Eye Doctor Use to Under-correct My Glasses, Could This be Harmful to My Sight?

A recent study at the Anglia Polytechnic University in Cambridge, England, has shown that under-correcting for myopia may increase one's near-sightness. Daniel O'Leary, O.D., stopped his research after he discovered that under-correcting myopia actually increased the myopia. When Dr. O'Leary fully corrected some children and under-corrected others, he found that the eyeball elongated faster (became more myopic) when vision wasn't completely corrected. Thus, under-correcting may actually stimulate more myopia.

I Just Heard That The FDA Approved Ortho Keratology (Ortho-K); What Is It and Am I a Candidate?

Ortho Keratology is a method of molding the shape of the cornea using semi-flexible gas permeable contact lenses.   By changing the shape of the cornea myopia can be temporarily eliminated.  The contact lenses are worn while sleeping and are removed in the morning.  The altering of the shape of the cornea is temporary and must be maintained with a "retainer" lens. There is some evidence if this procedure is performed in your children the molding effect could become permanent, i.e. reduce or permanently eliminate myopia.  Both Dr. Cooper is ertified in this technique.

Ortho K generally works in patients with 1-6 diopters of Myopia.  If interested call for a free evaluation.