Wear Glasses, Myopia Sure Get Worse One?
By Shawn Au, Optometrist
"Wear glasses, myopia sure get worse one?"
Parents tell me this all the time. Their child got glasses last year, the number went up this year, so the glasses must be the cause. It's an easy link to make. So let me answer it honestly, along with the questions that usually come next.
"Every new pair, the degree goes up. Isn't it the glasses?"
No. Myopia usually goes up through childhood because the eyeball is still growing longer. It climbs with or without glasses.
Each new pair simply catches up with the eye, so your child can see clearly again. The glasses aren't pushing the number up; they're following it. Myopia usually slows down in the late teens, when the eye stops growing.
To give you an idea: the BHVI Myopia Calculator shows that a typical Asian child who is 100 degrees short-sighted at age 7, in ordinary glasses, reaches about 600 degrees by 17. That climb is the eye growing. It's also why we talk about myopia control early.
"Then give a weaker pair, let the eyes work harder?"
It sounds sensible, but it doesn't work. Studies found that weaker glasses (under-correction) don't slow myopia, and some found it went up faster.
Meanwhile your child is squinting at a blurry board, getting tired eyes, and finding it harder to focus in class. Correct glasses give clear, comfortable vision, and that's what we prescribe.
"Wear them all the time, or only for the board?"
It depends on your child. We look at:
- How high the prescription is
- Your child's age
- How the two eyes work together
Many children are advised to wear their glasses full-time. Some with a low prescription may not need them for close work. We'll tell you what suits your child, and review it at every yearly check.
"So what actually helps?"
- About 2 hours outdoors a day. Daylight and looking far are good for young eyes.
- Breaks from screens and homework. Look far away for a short while.
- Keep glasses up to date. A yearly eye check, so your child isn't walking around with an outgrown prescription.
- Ask about myopia control. Myopia control spectacle lenses, contact lenses or Ortho-K aim to slow how fast the number goes up. It isn't a cure, and we only recommend it if your child needs it.
Glasses don't make myopia worse, and blur doesn't help either. Clear vision now, and a plan to slow myopia for later.
Book a children's myopia assessment
Shawn Au, Optometrist, EMME Visioncare
Visit us at The Cathay, beside Dhoby Ghaut MRT (+65 8690 3598), or Jelita Mall, situated at 293 Holland Road (+65 9383 8569).