Too vain to wear glasses

I have had a lazy eye from the age of 9. It was never corrected
through patches or prisms. At school and college, I would squint to
see the board. Anything was better than having to wear glasses. As my
myopia gradually worsened during my teens I finally decided, at the
age of 22, with much reluctance to wear glasses all the time. Serious
headaches began too which made me thought seriously about looking
after my eyes.

My fears of wearing glasses at 9 were not unfounded. Most of my family
are shortsighted. My older sister had a lazy eye too, and unlike me
willingly had it corrected through wearing a patch. She needed strong
lenses and today wears very strong lenses. I feared that if I wore
glasses from such an early age, my lenses would only get thicker and
thicker each year. I feel that my refusal to wear glasses prevented my
myopia from worsening as today my lenses are less than -4 diopter.

In the past two years, my lazy eye has been somewhat mysteriously
corrected. My friends and family tell me I know longer squint. Is it
possible that my lazy eye cured itself? Although I have been to
opthamologists, none have ever prescribed me prisms. I know I need
some form of correction for my weaker eye as I have serious problems
focusing at things in the distance, my right eye still squints (also
get a funny feeling in my head) and also working on computer and doing
a lot of reading puts my eyes out of focus. I know I am not supposed
to wear my glasses for close-work, but I can't stick my nose to the
computer screen or a book right up to my face. I need to wear my
glasses also as I have astigmatism.

I have done quite a bit of research on the Internet to try and figure
out how my lazy eye came about. I read about anisomyopie, i.e.
refractive error. Apparently if this is not corrected, it can cause
amblyopia. As I never got a proper diagnosis and spent years
squinting, I am not sure if my lazy eye can be corrected. All I know
is I need to make both eyes work together, as with glasses I do not
have 20/20 vision and certianly do not want my lazy eye to become any
weaker.

Do you think it was a bad idea not to wear glasses and not correct my
lazy eye for so many years?

Do I need a prism lense for my right eye? How exactly do prism lenses
work?

It would be great to hear from any other lazy eye sufferers and get
any advice from specialists before I go and consult an opthamologist
(again!).


Susan

 

Susan

There is an explainable basis for the origin of strabismus and lazy
eye that is becoming more accepted in behavioural optometry at least.

We effectively have a left brain and a right brain that is joined
together via what appears to be a communication pathway called the
corpus callosum.

I would personally say that at a micro level each eye functions as a
separate unit. As far as larger movements are concerned generally
the eyes work together via some method of brain eye coordination and
feedback, however nearly all people with minor vision problems also
have various eye teaming problems of varying severity.

So whatever the mechanism is, eyes can move independantly of each
other by some method.

It has been shown by Harvard pyschiatrist Fred Schiffer and many
others (myself included) that patching one eye often stimulates only
one part of our mind in a rather unique manner. Effectively for
large numbers of people a patched eye allows what appears to be a
single hemispherical dialogue to occur.

A brain that becomes 'turned off', perhaps by some childhood emotional
trauma, is likely to become more and more unstimulated in an opposite
manner to the way that the 'eye dialogue' favours the open eyes
'brain'. This kind of psychoemotional problem could easily create
the problem of amblyopia.

Naturally if the psychoemotional problem becomes less significant then
the amblyopic 'brain' is more ready to see.

Similarly strabismus is considered by at least some behavioural
optometrists to have its origins in conflicts between the left and
right brains, so that the brains do not cooperate with each in the way
that is necessary for normal vision to occur.

It is evident for example that when people are tired and less focused
that strabismus becomes more obvious, and phorias (which are just a
less obvious form of strabismus) begin to be visible as strabismus.

I am not sure if you are ready for this! And naturally optometrists
who at best get involved in patching and lenses are not ready for it
either!

So if you do get professional assistance go to a behavioural
optometrist who can believe that your eyes are in a state of change,
and indeed can believe that your eyes are like two people, rather than
an optometrist who cannot believe that what you have observed is
possible.

It is commonly believed that amblyopia is incurable for example once a
child reaches a certain young age. Therefore you will tend to be told
you never were amblyonic and so on:-(

Best

Andrew

 

Dear Susan,

The term "lazy eye" can mean several things. It is not clear
exactly what you mean (no insult intended). There is
an eye that "wanders".

Thus you can look at an object with both eyes, and
allow one eye to supress the image and "drift".
The eye that "drifts" can either go "out" or "in" -- towards
the nose.

The other "lazy eye" is a situation where the
application of a lens can not clear the vision
to 20/20.

From your text, I think you are talking about strabismus,
where one eye is "out" some of the time.
This would be called intermittant strabismus.

Perhaps you could clarify. I am certain the
highly qualified MDs and ODs can provide additional
advice -- when you are clear about the nature
of your "lazy eye".

Best,

Otis
Engineer

******

 

Since it is clear that phorias and strabismus are variable it is clear
that the optic chiasm cannot create some kind of rigid inflexible
association between the eyes. Whatever it does do it cannot link the
eyes together so that they cannot in some circumstances move
independantly.

Correct. I am not here saying that the vision of the open eye is only
a half view.

But I am saying that with one eye open there is a clear bias in some
individuals towards an awakening of mainly one hemisphere in the
manner in which that hemisphere appears to communicate with an
observer. So that different 'eyes' can see and interpret quite
different images and views of reality . Schiffer quotes the war
veteran who becomes uncomfortable with a plant being like the jungle
with one eye but is clear with the other eye it is just a plant in an
office. These kinds of visual differences dont seem to be as common
as the differences that are expressed verbably when questions are
asked.

Having one eye open does appear to preferentially stimulate one
hemisphere as i have indicated above. I am not pretending that i know
all the answers. I am mainly reporting what behavioural optos are
writing about.

Samuel Berne says that in amblyopia 'usually there exists unconscious
anger or fear with the lazy eye' From that i am taking he means that
if the underlying fear and anger can be brought to the surface and
resolved or more clearly seen then the vision will improve.

You are making a good point here. Some behavioural optometrists are
saying that in strabismus there is a background of conflict between
mum and dad. Whatever the mechanism, it has been observed that
strabismic patients have specific emotional issues for each type of
strabismus.

Eg according to Samuel Berne OD

Eso. Rigidity inflexibility, a pulling inwards away from the world.

Exo not being able to focus inwards. An ability to see the whole
picture but difficulty with detail. difficulty making decisions and
following thru with an action. Fear of intimacy and closeness in
relationships

Whatever is happening it seems likely that it needs a more holistic
treatment than can be possible via lenses etc alone

Well as it happens she did not have lazy eye but only strabismus.

Andrew

 

Well read what i am saying later about retinal surface area. The
point here is that observers **do** notice differences. Its not that
helpful saying they cant notice differences because it cant be
explained.

I am not sure why this effect is so noticable for **some** people.
However for the right eye for example there is much more retinal area
going to the left hemisphere? Therefore the total view seen by one
eye only and then interpreted by the brain might be predominantly
biased towards one hemisphere? As I say, these effects are being
observed. Some explanation might eventually be possible, but it does
not invalidate the observation.

I personally have observed some quite weird results. One woman
would not answer questions with her left eye patched and became very
anxious and wanted to remove the patch. I suggested instead she move
the patch to the other eye, whereupon she was clearly much much
happier. Almost joyful infact. She then went away and patched for
a week and when we retried it there was not the same dramatic
difference. However it seemed that something had been integrated for
her because her manner was so different. She just seemed more
relaxed.

For this woman the result we got was similar to the stuff that
Schiffer reported.

Perhaps but but many are highly competant professionals

Well i can imagine that might be considered the case. These things
merit more in depth multidisciplinary study rather than being
dismissed because thats the way it always has been treated.

Yes. And then there are people like me who for one reason or another
are approaching vision as a career while not practicing optometry.

Since we see with our minds rather with our eyes some kind of overlap
is inevitable.

As it happens I am slowly becoming involved in possibilities for such
studies on large Asian myopia study groups. For sure this kind of
testing would be a great opportunity to find out one way or the other.

Thats a bit negative. If strabismus was proven to be due to
conflicting ennervation or whatever, which could be resolved by
skilled multdisplinary intervention, some parents at least, would
prefer to have a look at this predominantly mental health aspect
rather than other treatments.

Is there any evidence that strab is due to genetically short muscles?
Operating on strabismus often provides a cosmetic result with the
underlying condition being unchanged. If the problem is within the
brain that would not be so surprising.

Strabismus might arise due to birth trauma or whatever. Controlling
for these influences in studies is very very difficult.

As for twins the best way to really find out is to do the studies on
the strabismic children who cannot be helped by optometric methods and
find if psychotherapeutic and optometric methods used together produce
results.

Well I think it is a valid one

Andrew

 

(andrew Judd) wrote in

The way its done in non-human primate studies is to split the collosum and
chiasm, and then patch one eye. Fascinating results.

Scott

 

Not much fun if you were the poor animal involved but yes it is all
rather interesting dispite the horror factor

A summary

http://www.macalester.edu/~psych/whathap/diaries/diariesf96/chuck/diary3.html

More detail

http://www.macalester.edu/~psych/whathap/UBNRP/Split_Brain/Split_Brain_Consciousness.html

Using this kind of information in treating psychological problems
using eye patching

http://members.shaw.ca/karenledger/dualbrain2.htm

 

(andrew Judd) wrote in

Actually, a split brain like this is a rather subtle lesion. You'd have to
do some advanced testing to even notice it if such a lesion occured in
humans. The horror factor is much lower than you would imagine.

Scott

 

(Susan) wrote in message
Dear Susan,

Here is some backgound information about "lazy" eye
and various "corrective" methods for your interest.

Best,

Otis
Engineer

___________________________________________


EyeCareForYou and Your Family

1-800-615-EYES

Amblyopia:

Eye Alignment

Strabismus:

Strabismus (struh-BIZ-muss) is a broad medical term that
refers to various misalignments (deviations) of the eyes, such as
"crossed eyes."

For the two eyes to be properly aligned, they need to have
similar vision and focusing ability, and the muscles that move
them need to work together. Only then can a person have binocular
vision and depth perception, meaning that the images from each eye
are fused (blended) by the brain into a single image that appears
three-dimensional.

If one eye does not look in the same direction as the other,
binocular vision cannot exist. In a young child, the deviating
eye may eventually lose its ability to see clearly. This is
called amblyopia, or "lazy eye."

"Comitant strabismus," the type usually seen in children,
means that no matter in what direction the eyes look, the amount
of misalignment (deviation) is the same. This is in contrast to
"incomitant strabismus," in which the amount of deviation is
constantly changing, depending on which direction you look.
Strabismus affects about two to four percent of all children (boys
and girls equally) and tends to run in families.

What Causes Strabismus?

Most often, there is no identifiable cause -the child is
simply born with a misalignment or develops it early in childhood.

But there are also many known causes. For example, one eye
that is blind or has defective vision from birth (as from a
congenital cataract). One eye may be extremely nearsighted,
farsighted, or astigmatic, or the amount of eyeglass correction
required by the two eyes is vastly different. This leads to
different image sizes, and makes fusion difficult or impossible.
One or more absent, injured, or defective nerves to the eye
muscles, causing the muscles controlled by the nerve to function
improperly. Damage to an area of the brain dealing with eye
movement or eye muscle control. Injury from trauma that damages
any eye muscles or nerves, or blindness from disease or injury.

Intentionally crossing the eyes is never a cause of
strabismus; the eyes cannot get "stuck" in a crossed position.

Types of Strabismus:

The most common type, in which one eye turns inward ("crossed
eyes"), is esotropia. It is also called "convergent strabismus"
because the eyes converge or turn toward each other. With
exotropia ("wall eyes"), one eye turns out; it is also called
"divergent strabismus." Less common are hypertropia (one eye turns
upward) and hypotropia (one eye turns downward).

In some people it is always the same eye that deviates. In
others the deviation shifts from one eye to the other; this is
called alternating. Alternating strabismus can be confusing to
parents. You notice that one eye seems to turn at one moment, and
just when you have concluded which one it is, the other eye seems
to be the culprit.

"Adult-onset strabismus" is any misalignment that comes on
after normal binocular vision has developed (usually by the age of
8). Unlike childhood strabismus, the adult type usually creates
symptoms, such as double vision (diplopia), which may be
accompanied by nausea.

What is a Phoria?

"Tropia" is another word for strabismus (as in esotropia).
"Phoria" is a related condition in which the misalignment is not
apparent. It is only a tendency, and it is usually kept under
control so that the eyes appear normal and work together normally.

(The misalignment can be unmasked by covering either one of
the eyes.) Phorias are named in the same way as tropias:
esophoria (tendency for one eye to turn in), exophoria (out),
hyperphoria (up), and hypophoria (down).


Most phorias cause no symptoms at all. But if the phoria is
large, great effort may be needed to keep the eyes aligned and
working together -- to avoid seeing double -- and this may cause
eyestrain and headache.


Sometimes, when the strabismus is intermittent, the eyes stay
aligned and appear straight some of the time, but lapse into
strabismus at other times. These lapses occur more commonly with
outward deviations than with other types. At the times when the
eyes appear straight, an exophoria is present, and when one eye
starts turning out, this a frank exotropia.

The tropia is more likely to occur late in the day, in the
bright outdoors, or when you are ill. As the years go on,
intermittent strabismus tends to become more constant and less
intermittent.

Examination:

The eyes should be examined when you even suspect that they
might be crossing or wandering, no matter how small the
misalignment might be. No child is too young to be seen and early
care can prevent later heartache. The sooner treatment begins,
the better your child's chance for achieving normal vision in each
eye and good binocular depth perception. Correction after the age
of 6 or 7 is more difficult and the result less satisfactory.

A complete eye examination and refraction (the measurement of
vision and a check for glasses) involves the use of eyedrops to
dilate the pupils and temporarily paralyze the focusing mechanism.
Eye movements, quality and degree of stereopsis (3-D vision), and
the ability to recognize double vision will all be checked,
depending on the age and cooperation of the patient.
Determination of the cause may involve referral to other types of
specialists.


Goals of Treatment:


For children, we would like to achieve normal appearance,
good vision in each eye (with or without glasses), binocular
vision, and depth perception. In adults, the goals are binocular
vision (which eliminates double vision), and relief of any
discomfort. If an adult has a childhood strabismus that was never
treated, it is too late to improve any amblyopia or depth
perception, so the goal may be simply cosmetic -- to make the eyes
appear to be properly aligned -- though sometimes treatment does
enlarge the extent of side vision.

Treatment:

Treatment may consist of eyeglasses, patching, eye
coordination exercises (called orthoptics) and/or surgery on the
eye muscles.

Eyeglasses, with or without patching, are often tried first
and can usually reduce the amount of deviation. This is
especially true for accommodative esotropia, a type of strabismus
in which farsightedness is a major part of the problem.
(Eyeglasses can be worn by infants as young as a few months.) The
glasses must usually be worn constantly, often for life. If
surgery is thought necessary, it is designed to correct only the
deviation that remains with the glasses on.

In cases of slight or intermittent misalignment, orthoptics
exercises are occasionally useful, but only in very specific
circumstances. Used inappropriately, orthoptics can be wasteful
and can lead to delay in starting proper treatment.

Patching:

"Patching" is the main treatment for infants and young
children who have poor vision (amblyopia) associated with
strabismus. A patch is placed over the normal (preferred) eye, to
force the use of the deviant (amblyopic) eye until vision improves
and equalizes. Generally, surgery is postponed until that
happens. In adults, a patch over one eye is one method of
eliminating any double vision. Prisms incorporated into the
eyeglasses is another.

Surgery:


Surgery consists of tightening some eye muscles and loosening
others, to change their pull on the eyeball and bring the eyes
into alignment. (Occasionally, a loosening effect can be
accomplished without surgery by injecting a potent paralyzing
medication, called Oculinum, directly into the muscle.) Surgery is
sometimes performed on infants as young as a few months of age
when there is a good chance of obtaining binocular vision.
Children require a general anesthetic.

When surgery is indicated, the appropriate eye muscles can be
"moved" as indicated in the series of pictures below depicting eye
surgery.


Adults often prefer to have a local. During the first month
or two following surgery, exercises may be designed to redevelop
the ability to use both eyes together normally.

Strabismus surgery is quite safe, though it does involve some
risk as does any surgery and anesthesia. If an operation is
necessary in your case, the risks will be carefully explained to
you along with the potential benefits. Many times, more than one
operation is necessary to obtain good eye alignment. Glasses may
also be required after surgery to obtain the best possible visual
result.

Prognosis:

The outcome of treatment is dependent on many factors, such
as the type of strabismus, age of onset, and visual acuity of each
eye. It often involves years of commitment and care. Most
patients can obtain comfort and a highly acceptable appearance
with good eye alignment; some also gain fully normal function,
with coordinated use of both eyes (binocular fusion and depth
perception). Each patient's potential for a good result is
different. This fact must be well understood to avoid
disappointment.

Surgery of an Eye Muscle:

This series of pictures shows a recession or lengthening of
the muscle. (See diagrams above)

Usually a patient is done under general anesthesia. The
hospital stay is a matter of three or four hours. There is almost
no discomfort at all with this kind of surgery. The child will be
able to perform all normal activities (except swimming) the day
after surgery.

All of the surgery shown is external to the eye. You don't
ever go inside the eye itself (sclera) during any part of surgery.
Only the external eye muscles are manipulated with the overlying
tissue.

About Dr Gluckin - Accepted Insurances - Areas of Medical
Expertise

 

Perhaps you could clarify. I am certain the

Hallo Otis,
I do not think the poor girl may clarify anything, since she is
wearing glasses or has untreated imperfect sight, how can she be
clear? She is confused from the very base.

I am also certain that the highly qualified MDs and ODs here are still
groping in darkness and know nothing about any cure for vision
problems.

If the cure is a pair of glasses, or contacts or a butchery operation,
then what kind of cure is this?

And by the way, I am here reading some of these posts in this
newsgroup since many months now, but I had not yet the opportunity to
hear about some progress in the condition of these poor people like
Susan who ask advice to the Mds and ODs. Nobody comes here to report.

I remember one Italian Idiot named PIPINO IL BREVE, where he is now?
Just an idiot with stronger glasses, lost somewhere in the darkness of
his misery.

Then the Behavioural Optometrists, where they are, what are they
accomplishing?

Accomotrack people, where are they?

Where are the Natural Vision Improvement people? Where are the
fraudolent "Bates Method" people?

What progress have all these people to report?


Here we have the AE Judd, who is a strange fellow, he says he knows
but he is still at the same level as he was two years ago: myopic and
psychologically bent on his own prejudices. No hope for a recovery
whatever.


I will be glad to hear from these people if they have some progress to
report.

If they have had the opportunity to witness for themselves a clear
flash of perfect sight without glasses, if they are able to gaze at
strong lights or the sun with some level of easyness, if they can see
one or two or more lines of the Snellen chart better, or if they have
had the opportunity to read diamond type if hypermetropic/presbyopic.

Where are these people?

Please, share some good results, either by science of by meta-science
methods.

Tell to this poor girl Susan that a solution MAY exist, at least, that
somebody has done something positive for a betterment of his/her
eyesight.





Anyway, poor Susan may have the chance to find something more
interesting on my webpage http://thecentralfixation.com.


Also the new entry Cathy, who happens to be a fair girl, may find my
webpage useful for her research.