Bates Method: Eye Exercises

[8228]

cimman:

the string method was used, the one where you vary the distance and using the string to gauge the distance. My niece tried the method for 2 weeks. I'll have to check on the progress again to see if it was maintained.

It is good if you could check with her again as it has been a few months since. Hope to hear good news. It is advisable to bring her to an optical shop for a proper eye check.

I used the eye chart given in the seminar and my dd's eyesight seemed to be okay i.e. she could see quite well after the eye exercise. But I got a shock when I finally brought her to an optical shop as her power increased from 100 to 300 in less than 2 years. I went to a second shop and the result was the same. :yikes:

[jenniferteo]

Hi Cimman,


Pretty curious, did you manage to know how is the progress ?

[tjoseph833]

[quote=\"cimman\"]my sister tried the eye exercises promoted by Leo Angart:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3937553088/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_g14_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=14QSY00RD5DFGTY58YM9&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

her child, a P4 kid, did the exercises for 1 week and her myopia went down from 400 degrees to 200. You have to do the exercises every hour on the hour for a week though. Each exercise just takes a few minutes, but it is tiring.
Once there is an improvement, the frequency of the exercises can be dropped to a few times a week, rather than every hour.
I'm wondering if the effect is permanent though. Anyway will be monitoring.
quote]

Hi ... just wondering if it helped your sisters child ... did it stabilise? I notice this post more than a year. My DS is facing same issue with worsening myopia. Please share.

[gpp]

Hi, we went for the workshop by Leo Angart too and have been training since then… However my girl eye sight is getting worse and now we are seeking help from the National Eye centre for the option of atropine (0.01%).

[zeemimi]

I’m skeptical about the Bates method too. DD’s eyes got worse with it. Also went to NEC for atropine and finally stabilised.

[gpp]

zeemimi:

I'm skeptical about the Bates method too. DD's eyes got worse with it. Also went to NEC for atropine and finally stabilised.

We have an appt at SNEC on 17 April for consultation, hopefully her eyes are suitable for atropine. Probably this is the last resort to slow down her worsen. Any side effects your DD experience? What is the atropine % used? Thks.

[savoury sweet]

My DD is on Atropine eye drop for many years now...so far so good . Stabilising ....

[zeemimi]

gpp:

zeemimi:

I'm skeptical about the Bates method too. DD's eyes got worse with it. Also went to NEC for atropine and finally stabilised.

We have an appt at SNEC on 17 April for consultation, hopefully her eyes are suitable for atropine. Probably this is the last resort to slow down her worsen. Any side effects your DD experience? What is the atropine % used? Thks.

Most notable is the glare experienced in the beginning. So we made transition glasses for her. She got used and adjusted to the glare easily.

[gpp]

Glad to hear that most who tired are stabilising… It is definitely a confident boost for me and many out there. Heard that 0.01% atropine has lesser side effect such as glaring. I hope that she is suitable for it. She is only 9 and heart ache to see her eyesight worsen and I am zero help to her.

[pym]

Bates method does not work, or at least there is no properly done study out there which shows that there is any effect from it. There is also no reason why it should work. It is based on a wrong concept of how the eye works: Bates thought that the muscles outside the eye-the ‘extraocular’ muscles (which actually only move the eye in different directions) are responsible for focusing.


Many times when the Bates method seems to work-it is because the spectacle power was wrongly measured the first time. Children can overfocus very easily, even if you give them extra 100 or 200 degrees of shortsighted spectacle power, they can still see clearly. So, a child with 200 degrees could be mistakenly measured to be 400 degrees. Then if measured another time under better conditions, with more experienced optometrist or doctor, then the real measurement is obtained. Another way to make sure the correct measurement is obtained is to do cyclo refraction-where the eyes are dilated. This is helpful for younger children especially less than 10 years old or whenever the shortsightedness seems to have jumped a lot.

Atropine is a proven treatment for slowing shortsightedness from increasing. The weaker concentration 0.01% has no side effects whatsoever, unless somebody is allergic to atropine. So normal glasses can be used.

The 1% one is stronger and will dilate the eyes, so progressives and transitions (which turn dark in bright surroundings) are required.

The stabilizing effect of 1% is stronger than 0.01%, but even the 0.01% can halve the rate of progression which is useful for many people.