I have a friend, who was (he died of cancer) a very famous eye doctor. He told me once that specs COULD worsen myopia. But, as a practitioner, he has to advise children to wear glasses.

I remember (this is like 20 years ago) him telling me that, to be off glasses, and still see with myopia, a person has to learn not to strain the eyes. But, how many children can learn to do that? So most opticians are trained to just prescribe, eye doctors too.

This is a very senior doctor, he was the most senior in some hospital and he got quoted in newspapers kind, so he was very advanced and very well researched. I say this because most doctors are not as advanced, and so this point of view is normally not subscribed. Well, he passed away about 10 years ago, so I don’t know what happened after that when it comes to myopia research. But, I am strongly against wearing glasses, though DH wears a pair. It impacts your lifestyle, teaches you that you have poor eye sight and you cannot do anything about it.

But he has now passed on, I don’t know whether other researchers have proven otherwise.

I would say 99% of small children cannot resist or even understand the meaning of ‘straining’. However, I am one special case. Ha ha… not because I am smart, but because I am lazy. Whenever I cannot see something, I’ll just look away and say, cannot see lah. I won’t even bother to strain to see what the thing is. Not sure if this can help some of you who have children with myopia. Teach them ‘not to see’, if they can’t see. It will definitely slow down myopia worsening.

Another reason he cited for the bad eye sight was the white board vs the black board we use. Remember the property of light? How can our eyes take that reflection from the sun? Black board can be better, but they are dirty etc etc…

Another one, is sleeping late, and using florescent lamp. Most lightings in our houses are bad and wrong. Well, thing is, no matter how expensive those lamps are and how they emphasize they are good for your eyes, they are not. So, work in the day and sleep at night. Again, with our kids’ busy, busy schedule, this is close to impossibility.

Those are what I understand. I’m no specialist or eye doctor, just compiling from what my eye expert friends say. When he passed on, it was a very sad occasion. Perhaps some of his voice can be heard here. O, he also commented on Bates one time in the press… but I cannot remember exactly what he said, he did not say it won’t work, I think he said it will not cure myopia. But again, doctors are not God.