Hello!
My son is almost 10 years old and his last prescription was -5 D. A month ago we found out about Bates method . He does palming everyday and trying to learn other exercises as well, but not regularly , mostly it is palming for a few minutes a day. He is too busy with school, afterschool and homework He is going without glasses but still uses glasses (-2.5) at school to read a class board. His vision improved a little already. A few days ago he started to get many quick clear flashes but in them he is seeing double. Is this normal? What can you recommend?
i think is not normal.
I have this when i close eyes and remebmer the picture of acctually looking image, and imagination of worse image what i saw. Then i have better vision for a little time. Sometimes is double or more.
I think this is procced from one error refraction to another.
What i recommend ?
I can see clearly in 5 minute when i train with snellen card. At first im looking in the card for remember the best one letter. Next, im went far away from a card and imagination that letter but on futher side. This imagination must be clearest as he can do ! When he imagine this , then ask him to look on card but he cant forget memory of this lettter.
Ophthalmologist Bates in his better Eyesight Magazines says this sometimes occurs as visionis imporving.
Is harmless. Keep relaxation, shifting, central fixation.
it is actually a good sign, the vision thought slight double image is clear.
BETTER EYESIGHT A MONTHLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO THE PREVENTION AND CURE OF IMPERFECT SIGHT WITHOUT GLASSES
October, 1923
Multiple Vision
PERSONS with imperfect sight when they regard one letter of the Snellen Test Card or one letter of fine print instead of seeing just one letter they may see two, three, six or more letters. Sometimes these letters are arranged side by side, sometimes in a vertical line one above the other and in other cases they may be arranged oblique by any angle. Multiple vision can be produced at will by an effort. It can always be corrected by relaxation. One of the best methods is to close the eyes and cover them in such a way as to exclude the light. Do this for five minutes or a half hour or long enough to obtain normal sight. The double vision is then corrected. Practice of the long swing is a great help. When the long swing is done properly the multiple images are always lessened. Do not forget that you can do the long swing in the wrong way and increase the multiple images. One great advantage of the long swing is that it helps you to obtain a slow, short, continuous swing of normal sight. When the vision is normal the letters appear to move from side to side or in some other direction a distance of about a quarter of an inch. The speed is about equal to the time of the moving feet of soldiers on the march. The most important part of the short swing is that it should be maintained easily. Any effort or strain modifies or stops the short swing. Then the eyes begin to stare and the multiple images return. It is a great benefit to learn how to produce multiple images at will because this requires much effort or strain, and is decidedly more difficult than normal single vision which can only be obtained easily without effort.
There is another explaination posted (exactly your experience) in one of the Question and Ansewer pages at the end of on of the monthly magazines.
Throughout my progress, I have frequently had multiple images (each is usually clear). On the average over time, they become less and are sharper. Although sometimes I will see more, and more and more often I will only see one. One thing to definitely check is if each eye is seeing multiple images or if the double image is coming about because each eye is seeing one image in a different place. I see multiple images with each eye separately, although they change arrangement and number all the time. In any case, the advice Dr. Bates would have given is as written above - correct long swings, palming, and relaxing!
Re another post I made tonight, the double vision that people experience with clear flashes is either a symptom of astigmatism (ghost images) or actually strabismus.
If you experience ghost images, congratulations. That is often a way station between seeing fuzzy gray and crisp black. It's good news, just drive on.
If you are experiencing double images, ie one from each eye, I believe that is due to strabismus. Strabismus is probably underreported because many people can fuse their two eyes by straining, and there is no way for standard testing methods to tell if your fusion is the result of strain or effortlessness. If it is the result of strain, then it is a secondary strain. Releasing that secondary strain should cause double vision, which in turn is relaxed through effortlessness.
Many people discover their strabismus when they do long swings. If you are straining to fuse your vision and view double vision as something to be avoided (by straining of course), then you have decided that strain is necessary to see and your vision will not improve. Effortlessness means effortlessness, though, and part of "making vision worse" means risking doing something different. Many people I work with have a huge fear of making their vision worse, and as long as they have it their vision doesn't get better.
sorrisiblue Wrote:Hi Irena,
I see multiple images with each eye separately
Now he said that even when he closes one eye he still sees double . And I look at his eyes when he's seeing these flashes - they seem fine to me. So it is not strabismus , I think . His prescription is without any astigmatism. But he is little color blind (I think it is genetic from my father who had 20/20 vision by the way : ).
Oh, and he had 100% vision flash recently for a few seconds, not just more clear flash and even without double. It was after a long session of relaxation ("Relax for Whole Body Seeing" by Greg Marsh) .
He definitely needs more relaxation and not only for the eyes :
Overall sounds like very encouraging progress! remember to keep it fun and to change it up a bit every now and then so it never becomes a chore for him he must be loving these clear moments of vision!
Have him check to see if the double image occurs more in one eye.
Also check if one eyes vision is more unclear.
If yes; Some eye patch work can help. See http://www.cleareyesight.info and Better Eyesight Mags for Switching, shifting, central fixation at close, middle, far distances with both eyestogether, one eye at a time, both together again.
This is Bates method combined with Behavioral Optometry.
Just a little practice of this activity, (no effort, must be done easy, relaxed, fun, like Sorris says), can clear the double image.
Then, the majority of the time use main Bates method.
I am also taking Greg Marsh's home course. Very informative, effective!
See what he says about this subject. He ansewers questions on his website. He always replys if I have a question.
Quote:Re another post I made tonight, the double vision that people experience with clear flashes is either a symptom of astigmatism (ghost images) or actually strabismus.
If you experience ghost images, congratulations. That is often a way station between seeing fuzzy gray and crisp black. It's good news, just drive on.
I am also having double images, I assume due to my astigmatism.
Robert's Your comment (above) about this being a phase before clearing from astigmatism is the first time I am heraing this, and makes me very happy.
Therefore I wanted to ask if you have any advice what exercises could be helpful in this phase. I got bored of rounding circles and spiral lines, and star lines. I am now doing shifting whenever I can, I love it because it brings realy nice sensation in my eyes and clears the vision.
About my double seeing: it is horisontal. every horisontal line is doubled. For example, the title on TV, if it is one line I see two, botom one being more black, bigger, I assume that is the real one and am trying to focus on that one. The top one is more gray, transparent, sometimes even smaller. So, if one line I can read, altghough slowly. If more lines of text, the middel ones are overlapping so I can't read those.
Irena,
I am not sure if this is helping in your son's case, as it seems to be strabismus(?). But what do you do about his relaxation? I also have son with strong astigmatism, he is 6 years old. And I can see he is under big stress, which I assume is cause for his vision problems. Whenever he goes into tantrum he is rubbing his eyes.
That's why I am so eager to fix myself to be example for those kids...
Hope all gets well at the end, and we give them tool for future!
I just got a note from a vision student that tracing around Leo Angart's Tibetan Wheel (you can also find this in Jacob Liberman's Take Off Your Glasses & See) is helping her astigmatism. Leo Angart has an on-line video you can check out too. You want to exercise your looking skills in all angles, not avoid the upper left, for example, so just notice where your eyes seem to get stuck, or have blurrier areas, & spend more time on those.
thanks for this. Yes, yes, I know about Tibetan Chart, I actually started with it, and was doing it for the first one month. Then I got bored with it, and also find out about the following: the circles and spirals, and was doing that for next two months. Now, these lines are almost clear, and I am doing it on arms lenght, started closer and as it was improving I was increasing the distance. But I have this doubling on bigger distances.
So, as my arms do not go longer (ha-ha) and the exercise became boring, I moved to steregorams, somehow am imagining it stimulates distance viewing.
Maybe I should go back to TIbetan Chart, but it really needs to be done without straining, and when I compare my eye muscels from the day one to now it's much easier to do it, eyes are more flexible to move around, without any pain, when initially it was really painful.
Thanks Nancy once again, I am just giving more detailed explanation in order to inform anyone else personaly interested.
Flower,
If I got such great benefits from the Tibetan Chart (good for you!) but was getting bored with it, I would look for other detailed areas in my environment I could visually sketch around the edges of, back & forth, down & up & around & around. The first candidate that comes to mind is the dense branches & twigs outside my back window which haven't bloomed yet. Tracing these, I can also trace toward me & away from me (the depth direction), which I can't do with the chart, & which will help my distance vision. Be creative: there are opportunities for vision practice everywhere, especially out of doors.
Nancy
Astigmatism - seeing horizontal lines less clear, slightly double- try shifting, tracing left and right, up and down... on the horizontal, vertical, diagonal lines on the astigmatism wheel. (Use the full line wheel: http://www.cleareyesight.info page 29.)
Then: shift, trace left and right along the horizontal line and remember and/or imagine it dark black and clear with eyes; open, then in the imagination with eyes closed, then open again. Breathe abdominally, relax, blink. No staring; shift, move the eyes, flash it, then look away.
Place the wheel in a place where you will see it throughout the day. Practice at close, middle and far distances.
Then shift on any objectgs. Central fixation without effort.
He is going without glasses but still uses glasses (-2.5) at school to read a class board. His vision improved a little already. A few days ago he started to get many quick clear flashes but in them he is seeing double. Is this normal? What can you recommend?
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