Question
QUESTION: i have recently had an eye test and have found out that my short sightedness has got worse, , my first test when i was about 13, my eyes were only -.25 a test about 3-4 years ago was only at -.75 now my eyes are -2.50 and -2.00, im 22 years of age and i have been in univeristy and studying, is this considered quite a steep increase and should i be wearing this new prescription full time or try and jst use it when i really need to? my new glasses seem quite strong for me, if they are overcorrecting my short sightnednes will wearing them make my eyes go even more short sighted and should i go back and get the optician to double check?
ANSWER: Your eyes still getting worse while you are still in the university is not so unusual, though that leap from -0.75 to -2.50 does sound a little extreme.
1) if it feels too strong, definitely go back and have it rechecked. If you wear glasses that are too strong you are likely to grow into them - and will wind up needing that Rx soon.
2) with your type of Rx, I recommend definitely NOT wearing them while studying on paper or computer. I believe you can see fine to read paper with your natural eyes and can see the computer ok if it is not too far away. If you wear your glasses for these activities, it is almost the same problem as wearing glasses that are too strong. It can make your eyes get worse faster. At -2.50 I would say you should wear them outdoors, definitely for driving, and for TV. You can try to get by without them the rest of the time.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: thanks for the quick response,
I sometimes wear contact lenses, your point about wearing the prescription when reading was interesting, does it make your eyes worse and how does it do that? should i try and limit my contact lens use as I will be wearing them for near and far distances, the last thing i want is my prescription to keep on increasing!
the most recent appointment, they used one of those auto machines and the machine said it came out as that and said that I will adapt to the new prescription,can i ask the optician to give me a slightly lower precscription so as to avoid my eyes getting more short sighted?
thanks in advance
Answer
Actually, there is controversy over whether reading with your correction on, or wearing glasses that are too strong does make your eyes worse. But I believe it does. What happens is this: If you have your proper correction on for distance viewing, then your eye muscles can only be at rest when you are looking at something twenty feet away or farther. To focus on anything closer, your eye muscles have to pull in to change the shape of the lens that is inside your eyes. When you are young, you don't realize this is happening because it is fairly automatic for young people.
So, if the eye muscles have to spend a large part of the day pulling inward to focus on a page or computer screen, they get tired and sort of stuck. Picture making a fist and holding it tight for like 8 hours. It would be hard to open it at the end of the day, right? Well, making your eyes focus up close all day as many do in our society is similar. At the end of the day, the eyes can be stuck in the near focus just a tiny bit. Over the course of weeks and months, this can translate into an actual permanent prescription change.
So, in your case, reading without your eyewear is more like making a loose fist all day, rather than a tight one. Your eye muscles can be almost at rest when you are focusing at near. So at the end of the day, it is much easier for your eyes to switch focus back to the far distance and they don't get stuck.
As for wearing your contact lenses, I would just do the best you can. If you have to read when you are not home, just go ahead and do so with the contact lenses on. But if you are home and just doing a bunch or reading or computer work, then just don't wear the contact lenses for that. Every little bit of not reading with the eyewear on helps.
If you still have concerns that your prescription is too strong, I urge you to go back and have it rechecked. The machines can make mistakes just like people can. If it turns out to be correct, then yes, you can ask the optician to cut the Rx a little. You will have to keep it clear enough to drive safely, but outside of that, there should be no reason the optician would not comply with your request.
