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Myopia

Adventures in Lenses

Originally posted on November 15, 2016

I would like to share the stories of two women with whom I am currently working. Both are attorneys and long past the age where common wisdom accepts there is any way to reduce a prescription for myopia. Common wisdom only recently decided it was possible to stop or reverse myopia at all, but still has not looked very closely at prevention. One of the women is currently in a vision therapy program in my office. The other drove seven hours for an evaluation and will not be able to engage in the typical one-visit-per-week vision therapy program in my office. Both had very exciting changes immediately.

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To See Or Not To See, That Is The Question (Not Really)

Originally posted on January 24, 2016

I am extremely nearsighted - have been since I was eight years old. My parents did sought the best treatment by the best doctors. There was no internet back then, just literal word-of-mouth. Nonetheless my nearsightedness continued to get worse and worse for two decades. Today many parents are informed enough to know that the standard approach to treating nearsightedness is just not what they want for their children. They have found alternative options that appeal to their hearts and minds. I like to think that I am one of those options.

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Blurry In Broomall

Originally posted on November 18, 2015

I am often contacted through this website with questions about vision problems. I try to answer people's questions personally whenever possible - sometimes in written form, sometimes over the phone. I thought it might be useful to share some of these exchanges from time to time. So here is the first installment of my new segment: I've Got Mail...

Dear Dr. Gallop,

I have been searching for quite some time to find a doctor who is not merely content to increase the strength of my nine year old son’s glasses. His father and I are both nearsighted. During our research my husband came to the conclusion that one should probably not be wearing full distance glasses for activities like reading, homework, the computer, etc.

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I Can't Really See Anything...But It's Very Clear

Originally posted on December 30, 2014

Pinhole Glasses

Time and again I am asked about pinhole glasses. One reason for this is that I have something of a reputation for working differently with nearsightedness (myopia). I am very much in favor of preventing, reversing, reducing or eliminating nearsightedness. I have the same philosophy as regards farsightedness and astigmatism. The other reason is that there are still people out there singing the praises of things like pinhole glasses to treat these conditions, particularly nearsightedness.

I decided to become an optometrist because of my severe nearsightedness. I was intent on helping people avoid what I had gone through for most of my life at that time. I got my first pair of glasses around the age of eight. My prescription just got stronger and stronger as time went on. It only stopped getting stronger after I stopped letting eye doctors tell me what to do. Around that same time I was evaluated by a behavioral optometrist. I was finally properly diagnosed and I started a vision therapy program - this was early in my first year of optometry school. I simultaneously began a more creative approach to lenses - using myself as my first guinea pig. And yes, I tried out some pinhole glasses around this time.

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Too Close For Comfort

Originally posted on December 04, 2014

When we last met, I stated that the human visual system was not designed for the amount and kind of close work that is so common in modern society. Perhaps some explanation is in order. First and foremost, our visual systems are designed for action. In fact, the primary purpose of the visual process is to direct action. Conversely, movement is critical for the health and development of the visual system. Also, our visual systems were designed for doing things in three dimensions. The third important aspect is the fact that we are meant to vary our looking distance, shifting from near to far, to in-between. It is not particularly good to spend long periods of time staring at one thing like a book or computer screen.

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Some Thoughts on Myopia Reduction

Originally posted on April 28, 2014

Myopia/nearsightedness is one of the most common visual conditions. Nearsightedness affects more and more people every day. Some insist it is hereditary. Some contend that it is caused by the way we visually interact with our environment. I believe both factors can come into play. Amount of time doing close work, amount of time spent indoors, posture and lighting have all been implicated in the appearance and increase of nearsightedness in people of all ages.

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To See Or Not To See, That Is The Question

Originally posted on August 16th, 2012

Myopia Reduction: Try It, You’ll Like It

My last couple of posts were about preventive visual care. One of the most common conditions and also perhaps one of the most preventable is nearsightedness or myopia. I have written and lectured extensively about myopia reduction over the years, including my book, Looking Differently at Nearsightedness and Myopia: The Visual Process and The Myth of 20/20. My lectures on myopia reduction, control and prevention continue to be well received. Myopia reduction means different things to different people. For me myopia reduction is an almost inevitable consequence of providing the type of visual care that I provide routinely in my office. I rarely if ever consider myopia reduction as a primary reason to work with someone. One reason for this is that almost everyone who is nearsighted has other, more important visual issues regarding eye movements, eye-teaming and focusing abilities, which need to be addressed first.

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