THE MYOPIA MYTH: Eye doctors

THE DEFENDERS OF "BUSINESS AS USUAL"

Prevent Blindness America - www.preventblindness.org
Formerly "The National Society to Prevent Blindness", this is an organization devised and financially supported by doctors and optical companies. Many people feel that their goal is not to prevent blindness but to drive in more business. "Save Your Vision Week" was created by the same type of people. Although myopia is a major cause of blindness, this organization seems unaware of it. Under Site Map/Eye Problems/Common Eye Myths you will find five myths, of which three are myths themselves - "Using glasses won't harm your eyes; Reading in dim light will not hurt your eyes; Regular eye exams can save your sight." (Not if the doctor prescribes minus lenses!) They seem to ignore all the research that shows the connection between prolonged close work, acquired myopia, and the resulting blindness in many people. It would be better to say nothing than to spread this "information" to the public. Some public-spirited organization!
On 11/15/01 we received the following email. Note that our comments about this organization were not addressed. They just want to shut us up:
To whom it may concern. This information is inaccurate and we would appreciate you removing our name from your website immediately. Thank you.
Daniel D. Garrett, Vice President, Marketing & Public Affairs, Prevent Blindness America,
500 E. Remington Road, Schaumburg, IL 60173, Tel: 888.331.2020, extension 330.
American Academy Of Ophthalmology - www.eyenet.org
Public Information/Refractive Errors will tell you that myopia is a structural defect. Sadly, some websites are just not very informative.
National Eye Institute - www.nei.nih.gov
A search for "myopia" takes us on a long trip over The Imperfect Eye/Some Problems Of Childhood/Refractive Errors/Myopia to learn that "The eyeball is too long or the cornea is too rounded and light is focused in front of the retina instead of directly on it. Eyeglasses or contact lenses can correct the problem." How informative! How many billions of our dollars have they wasted? As with most federal agencies, money talks and the public interest comes last. This website is a self-promoting wastesite.
New England Ophthalmological Society - www.neos-eyes.org
This is a union of 700 New England ophthalmologists that was founded in 1884. Unfortunately, their thinking has remained in that time period. Here is an unbelievable quote from their site under the heading "seasonal tips." Note the statement that there is no evidence to suggest that myopia is preventable. Everyone in this business knows there have been thousands of documents published that suggest that very thing. These MD's do not hesitate to resort to outright lying if it serves their purpose. It is because of this reactionary, profit-motivated stance that we encourage the public to take their vision problems to optometrists, not ophthalmologists.

"Myopia is the most common, correctable eye problem. It is an hereditary condition. A child's eye normally gets larger as he grows, but the myopic eye becomes excessively large, long, and egg-shaped instead of round. In such a long eye, the retina is too far away from the eye's cornea and lens to focus images properly. A person with an average eyeball who is normally-sighted can focus the image of what he is seeing on the retina, whereas a myopic person cannot do this for distant objects without the help of glasses or other corrective methods. The New England Ophthalmological Society would like to dispel some myths about myopia:
1) There is no accepted scientific evidence to suggest that myopia or the progression of myopia is preventable by any method. 2) Eye exercises do NOT prevent or correct myopia. 3) Similarly, myopia is NOT caused or affected by reading too much, reading in poor light, or nutritional deficiencies.
There are a variety of approaches for correcting nearsightedness. These include glasses, contact lenses, and, in recent years, surgical or laser techniques. Nearsighted people should have yearly vision exams, especially during their growth years when advancement of myopia is expected. On rare occasions, myopia can progress quite severely and result in uncorrectable vision and sight problems. Fortunately most people with myopia have healthy eyes and good vision, with corrective methods. This fact should make the little nuisance of wearing lenses, or undergoing other corrective methods, quite tolerable."

Canadian Ophthalmological Society - www.eyesite.ca
Search for "myopia" at this site and you will learn that "It is an inherited condition usually detected in children between the ages of eight and twelve. Few factors outside of heredity affect this condition. Using dim light, reading too much or nutritional deficiencies do not seem to impact it one way or the other." Better not take your child to these fossils.
American Optometric Association - www.aoanet.org
What does this union of optometrists have to say about myopia? At Common Vision Conditions/Myopia, all you will find is "There is also growing evidence that nearsightedness may be caused by the stress of too much close work....Your optometrist can prescribe glasses to correct nearsightedness....Refractive surgery or laser procedures are also possible treatments." It would be difficult to come up with a weaker, more uninformative statement than that. Eyeglasses or surgery - take your pick! The AOA spends a lot of money misinforming the public.

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