Myopia
and Hypermetropia are common refractive errors
which are usually corrected by glasses and
contact lenses. Moderate degrees of myopia may
also be corrected by refractive surgery, RK and
PRK or by orthokeratology.
Myopia is characterised
by a slight elongation of the eyeball, causing
the image to fall in front of the retina, while
hypermetropia is characterised by a slight
shortening of the eyeball, causing the image to
fall a little behind the retina. In both cases,
blur circles are formed instead of image points
leading to blurring of the overall image.
The classical
view
In traditional
optometry it is held that both these conditions
are congenital and unalterable. Wearing glasses
is not supposed to either improve or worsen the
condition, but it is held that correction is
essential in hypermetropia to prevent squint and
eyestrain which would otherwise be caused by
excessive efforts to shorten the focus.
The Bates view
Dr Bates held that
these errors were caused by strain. Tension of
the extraocular muscles would interfere with the
operation of central fixation causing the eye to
become, in effect, semi-amblyopic (see article on
amblyopia). Further efforts to see clearly would
have a negative effect on the ability to focus.
Glasses, by alleviating the symptom without
removing the cause, would confirm a bad habit and
make it worse.
Latest research
Current physiological
research confirms and goes beyond Dr Bates in
establishing that in a wide range of species,
introducing lenses, among other visual
distortions, influences the development of the
eye whereas most errors observed in the early
stages of development correct themselves if left
alone.
Research in hypnosis
with human subjects has shown that persons
experiencing multiple personality states manifest
different degrees and kinds of refractive error
at different times - demonstrating that it cannot
be an attribute of the physical structure.
The experience
of Vision Education
Both myopia and
hypermetropia are regularly found to respond well
to Bates teaching at all ages. Reductions in
manifest hypermetropia of up to 7D (+7 to normal)
have been experienced without any adverse
sequeliae such as squints or strain - on the
contrary, parallel improvements have been noted
in other areas of performance. Reductions in
manifest myopia of at least 8D (-16 to -8, -6 to
normal) have been found. Generally the
improvement in actual vision is in excess of what
the measurable results would suggest
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