Prevent Myopia, Part I: The Cause

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(NaturalNews) Myopia (nearsightedness) is an abnormal elongation of the eye,

causing distant objects to appear blurred. Now, because of computer use and

learning to read earlier in life, it is becoming an epidemic. In the US, roughly

one-third of our children, although born with normal vision, end their school

years with abnormal vision, condemned to wearing glasses the rest of their

lives. In some Asian countries, such as Singapore, Japan and Taiwan, over 90% of

university graduates are now nearsighted.

In spite of the rapidly increasing incidence of myopia around the world, eye

doctors continue to claim that myopia is inherited, even when there is no

history of myopia in the family. They claim that the way we use our eyes has no

effect on the development of myopia. They claim that the distance lenses they

prescribe and sell to their myopic customers do not make the myopia worse. There

is no proof of any of this. They are only stating their biased opinion. One

hears such " reasoning " as " much more research must be done before we can say

that reading causes myopia " or " wearing glasses is just a minor inconvenience. "

If you do not educate yourself, you can be a victim of this attitude.

Research, which is widely ignored, shows that the truth is just the opposite of

these claims. Myopia is caused by the large amount of reading and other close

work that we do in a modern society. Our eyes were never designed for constant

close-up use. Books were invented only recently in the long history of mankind.

Illiterate people, and our monkey cousins living in the wild, as a rule do not

become nearsighted. This has been known for over 200 years. Treating symptoms

and ignoring causes is the attitude that has become the rule throughout our

profit-driven, sickness-care system. The money is in treatment, not in

prevention

Are you concerned about what your children view on the Internet? You should be

more concerned about HOW they are viewing it. If they are wearing the glasses

normally prescribed for myopia, their vision will deteriorate. If you ignore the

information and fail to educate yourself, you are a partner with your eye doctor

in creating a visually handicapped child.

We are normally born farsighted. That means that the eye is somewhat shorter

than ideal, causing the eye to exert focusing effort at ALL distances in order

to see clearly. The focusing muscle (ciliary muscle), which controls the shape

of the lens, is thus in a constant state of contraction. This causes the muscle

to lock up or go into a spasm. This is followed, over time, by a permanent

elongation of the eye. This happens because the ciliary muscle is attached to

the tissues that go around the back of the eye. As it contracts, it pulls on

these tissues. As these tissues stretch, the eye becomes longer and the

increased space is filled with fluid that the eye itself produces. This means

that less focusing effort is needed.

This feedback system is used by the eye in an effort to attain an ideal eye

length, neither farsighted nor nearsighted. This state is called emmetropia. If

little close work is done, this elongation process normally stops with only a

slight amount of farsightedness left. Then the eye is relaxed for distance and

the entire amount of focusing ability is available to see close. The ciliary

spasm relaxes. The problem starts when constant close work causes this process

to go too far and the eye becomes too long, or nearsighted.

Think of this analogy. If you lift weights, the muscles become larger and

stronger. Why? Why don`t they just remain the same? The reason is that by

becoming larger and stronger the work can be done with less stress on the body.

The body does not like a constant condition of stress. The eye also does not

want to operate under a constant condition of stress. It wants to be relaxed for

distance, with the ciliary muscle contracting only for brief periods of close

focusing. That is the goal of the visual feedback system, refining the length of

the eye to attain maximum efficiency.

All of this is ignored when a child becomes myopic. Distance glasses (minus

lenses) are routinely prescribed. These function by bringing everything closer,

up within the range of clear vision. From a focusing standpoint, this means that

a distant mountain is now up at arm`s length. And a book that was at arm`s

length is now much closer. What does the eye do under these conditions? It

becomes even longer, soon creating the need for stronger glasses. This sets up a

vicious circle of increasing myopia, stronger glasses, and increased focusing

stress.

If glasses were never prescribed, the myopia would stop at a modest amount. It

is only the prescription of stronger and stronger glasses that pushes the eye

into a sight-threatening condition, with the tissues of the eye under enormous

stress. This kind of treatment ignores the age-old rule in health care, " First

do no harm. "

Ref:

www.myopia.org

www.preventmyopia.org/validation.html

The Myopia Myth (book)

Muhammad Ahmad Al-Masry

64, Muhammad Korayem Street,

Gomrok, andria, Egypt

Tel: 0020-03-4800555

Fax: 0020-03-3082667

Web: massrii@...

massrii@...