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+--- Thread: how to help a friend with 20/400 myopia (/showthread.php?tid=1498)
how to help a friend with 20/400 myopia - fuggles - 06-15-2010
where should he start in impoving his eyesight
Re: how to help a friend with 20/400 myopia - Nancy - 06-16-2010
Palming, gentle long swings, glasses off as much as possible, a weaker 20/40 prescription for most things, starting to notice when and how he's straining.
Re: how to help a friend with 20/400 myopia - fuggles - 06-16-2010
how long should he palm ?
Re: how to help a friend with 20/400 myopia - Nancy - 06-17-2010
The Bates Method cannot be reduced to a formula of "Do X long swings and palm for Y minutes". I gave you a few suggestions of how to get started -- there's plenty of other information here which can help. Plus you've been on the forum long enough yourself to be a guide. Or find a teacher.
Re: how to help a friend with 20/400 myopia - JMartinC4 - 06-17-2010
20/400 does not sound like common myopia - there may be organic problems with the eyes which may negate the below opinion, which primarily applies to functional mid-range myopia.
Before beginning the Bates Methods, a person should find out whether they received neonatal antibiotic eye treatments. If so, since 1956, that would be an ointment instilled into one eye at a time, which renders the less-than-1-hour-old newborn's vision an unequal blur (the 2nd eye usually gets less treatment due to the infant squeezing its eyes shut after the first eye is treated), and affects the infant's visual coordination and synchronization, among other effects. The blur lasts at least 30 minutes.
So, for the first hour or 1 hour, 29 minutes of life, depending on exactly when and how the ointment is administered, the infant's eyesight is blurry for at least 30 minutes. During that time, the infant must necessarily fixate its focus at the nearpoint and attend to auditory and physical cues to orient him/herself within the environment.
Although the antibiotic is supposed to 'wear off' after 30+ minutes, it seems the infant would still need some additional stimulus to learn to unfixate from the nearpoint back to the normal relaxed eyesight. I suspect that doctors used to do a follow-up and flash a penlight or something in or across the infant's eyes. Maybe sometimes it didn't happen. Maybe now they do, maybe now they don't. Maybe they don't think they need to do anything anymore. Maybe the newborn never learns to unfixate.
It would seem then that palming for more than 30 minutes is unnecessary, perhaps, unless born before 1956 when the only antibiotic in use was a 1% silver nitrate solution, which is caustic and renders the vision a blur for 24-72 hours. In that case, longer palming might be beneficial. But I think not. It seems the purpose of palming for those who received the antibiotics at birth would be to recreate the pre-birth and pre-antibiotics experience, which is probably accomplished in less than 30 minutes depending on the state of darkness achieved. After uncovering, the eyesight could/should momentarily flash normal and clear. Then the unconscious memory of blur, and of being soothed into accepting the blur as okay and good, and then unequally and mis-timingly fixating at the nearpoint in each eye takes over again.
Also, since the newborn is incapable of fighting, and unable to flee, its only recourse is to cry and go rigid or curl into the fetal position until rescued and soothed by mother/parents. Again, unconscious memories can produce latent side-effects in the developing child and adult. Good luck with all that!
O0 8)
Re: how to help a friend with 20/400 myopia - Andrea Major - 06-19-2010
There is no such thing as organic myopia. Dr Bates has carefully reached the conclusion that all errors of refractions are of functional in nature before he wrote his book. Therefore your friend need not worry. Also it is no use to worry about the starting Visual Acuity. Try all exercises every day and do the ones that feel the best the most. I had trouble with the Snellen first (still do sometimes), so I printed a near vision test card, too. That thing is awesome in terms of encouragement for small improvements. I posted one on my cubicle wall at work and carry one around the house a lot at home. I put it first at half-an-arm's'-length, now it is usually at full arm's length! To me it is all about the baby steps. Took me two weeks of trying every day to take off my glasses for computer work, I couldn't believe it when I could finally do it, and in such a short time! The Snellen is in my view for the long swing nowadays, but sometimes it is time for the Snellen to face the wall! :-) That's OK, I think. We need to make it fun and avoid the stress at all cost... I hope this helps.
Re: how to help a friend with 20/400 myopia - blauw - 06-26-2010
Nancy Wrote:The Bates Method cannot be reduced to a formula of "Do X long swings and palm for Y minutes". I gave you a few suggestions of how to get started -- there's plenty of other information here which can help. Plus you've been on the forum long enough yourself to be a guide. Or find a teacher.
Very true.
Just doing the exercises is a start, and will help.
blauw
Re: how to help a friend with 20/400 myopia - DaniFixe - 07-12-2010
It is possible to buy glasses from internet ? I'm searching for a lower prescrition to help the in training.
Re: how to help a friend with 20/400 myopia - Nancy - 07-12-2010
http://zennioptical.com/.
Re: how to help a friend with 20/400 myopia - DaniFixe - 07-12-2010
Thank you so much.After this if i doesn't improve my vision, i simple quit.
Re: how to help a friend with 20/400 myopia - blauw - 07-20-2010
DaniFixe Wrote:Thank you so much.After this if i doesn't improve my vision, i simple quit.
Don't give up because something didn't work... I know that sounds kinda dumb, but hold on try something new. You will find what works for you.
Re: how to help a friend with 20/400 myopia - DaniFixe - 07-22-2010
Sure,but i'm always putting my glasses when need it and i think that now its the cause to see no improvement. Let's see what happens with undercorrection.