tjoseph833:

Mr Opto, I think the jury is still out when it comes to axial length changes. Look at this study - http://www.iovs.org/content/51/12/6262.full


Seems like it can be reversed and more research is needed. Ophthalmologists and optometrists contradict each other somehow. Alternative treatments from Leo Angart etc is meant to relax the eye muscles.

I think atropine helps with the eye muscle ... tiredness causes the eye ball to stretch. Scleral growth and choroidal weakness might be due to genetics ... so unfortunately with near work / less sunlight / outdoor time ... the human eye elongates more.

Hi tjoseph833. I have come across this article before. Thank you for sharing. However, this study was not aimed at investigating the control of myopia progression. First the sample age (25yo) show irrelevance in terms of childhood myopia. Secondly, the axial length change due to defocus found in the study (max 43 microns) is very close to normal human diurnal variation in axial length (15-40 microns) (Stone, 2004). Furthermore, the repeatability of the biometer the study used (Lenstar) is 50microns (Schulle, 2013; Zhao, 2013). Therefore the reported result may just be part of diurnal variation of axial length or variability of the Lenstar measurements.

I agree that Atropine helps relax the eye muscles, but thinking about the extra amount of UV entering the eye just makes me feel uncomfortable unless the child is wearing cap and sunglasses all the time. Plus the mechanism of how it retards myopia progression remains unknown even to the ophthalmologists.




Here are some studies for your reference:

Stone, 2004 - http://goo.gl/vV9yYd
Schulle, 2013 - http://goo.gl/VG8X7D
Zhao, 2013 - http://goo.gl/RdKOYO

tjoseph833:

I attended Leo Angart's talk and bought his book. I bought a few other books too ... Dave Angelly says about the same thing (add defocus exercises) ... almost all focus on relaxing the eyes. For Leo ... myopia is mainly reversed by wearing lower prescription glasses and doing pranic healing (i.e. energy exercises). I asked him many questions but he said relaxation and eye focusing will help with axial length reduction. Very skeptical ... but the theory does make sense though still not proven by any study ... some people have recovered from stroke with amazing advances in physiotherapy. I believe atropine does the same thing ... relaxing the eye muscles ... it may even stop eyeball growth. The strange things is his videos and interviews claim so many people have reduced their myopia ... am not sure if its true or just actors. Watch this for some of his explanations - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4-8jkXJ5lQ


Anyway ... my plan is atropine 0.01% drops until DS reaches 11 and then use Ortho-K. I have seen the devastation of retinal issues with some friends. If you have high power please visit a retinal surgeon for checks once a year.

Science has still no proper explanation for myopia ... I've read a few medical journals too. Genetics and environment play an important role but why can't we fix it by now? Why not enough research? There must be a solution somewhere in the near present ... but until then we parents have to keep researching and pushing

Dear tjoseph833

Unfortunately axial length cannot be reduced once it has progressed.
About wearing lower prescription, studies have shown that wearing lower or higher prescription does not stop myopia from progressing. Everyone especially children has to be prescribed full correction with full time wear, unless they have binocular vision problems that require different prescriptions.

Studies on Atropine is promising but it is still a very new approach. It is claimed to retard myopia progressing by relaxing the focussing muscles in the eyes (ciliary muscles). Yet a 0.01% which is one thousand times diluted compared to 0.1% is recently marketed and claimed no compromise on near vision (which another word means either the ciliary muscles are still functioning without being stopped by the drug or near vision is compensated by the far point of the childrens shortsightedness). How is the mechanism of atropine still stick?

About relaxing eye muscles, it will only help in children with accomodation-related binocular vision conditions, or pseudomyopia (fake myopia). There is, however, no scientific evidence on how it helps in retarding myopia progression.

I hope the infomation helps. Feel free to me know if you need any other information.

Dear Sean wife. I attach an article with a compilation of studies done on atropine-myopia control. http://www.myopiaprevention.org/atropine.html


Atropine is generally used in completely stopping the muscles that help focus in order for us to see clearly, especially near vision, and also dilate our pupils so that we can investigate the back of our eyes. It is recently believed that by stopping those muscles from working, myopia progression can be controlled.

You could consult your eye specialist for more information on myopia progression control and other possible options available.

I hope it helps.

Dear Parents


I am an optometrist practicing in Singapore, I hold a Bachelor Degree (Hons.) in Optometry and have been working with children to manage their myopia progression for the past 3 years. After reading some of your posts expressing concern over your children’s eyes and vision, I have decided to step in to clear up misconceptions and to answer some of your questions.

I would like to emphasize that my responses, are based solely on the best of my knowledge, do not represent the opinion of any organization or company.

I do not have any business interest being on this forum. My mission here is not only to help you understand more about Optometry as a primary eye care profession but also help you know your children’s eyes better.

I welcome all questions. If you do not wish to enquire publicly, you may drop me a PM too.

Thank you.