Where it all went wrong.

Now reading the title of this session, you might say … wth, Jake.  I don’t care about chitluns.

Bear with me.

First off, if you are a parent who signed up for the parent and child, you’re now ready to dive into the child program.  That is, if you feel ready.  No point rushing it, if you’re still feeling like immersing more here in the adult program, by all means.

And if you’re not a parent …

There are two critical things that affect your eyesight.  Luck of the draw, as they say.

Nature and nurture.

It’s ironic if you’re into psychology.  But with eyes too, we have nature and nurture.  Nature being, there are some genetic markers that vision science is exploring in a whole lot of clinical studies.  The consensus so far, indeed genetics play a role.

But not a role as your optometrist would say.  Not, “oh well your eyes are broken.”

Rather, you may be more or less predisposed to your eyes responding to environmental stimulus.

Genetics affect stimulus response.

This is one of those things where the whole lot of them tend to irritate me.  Smart people doing smart science, and trying to fit their findings into shitty foregone conclusions and dogma.  Seriously, if you go reading some of the gene studies … brilliance and idiocy, so much irony.

They establish the link between myopia and gene expression.  Amazing stuff, modern science.  Even things like certain populations being more affected.  (I’m looking at you, my Asian friends)

But then the missing piece in a lot of studies, is the lens wear.  You add lenses to the genetic marker, and you get a lot of myopia increase.  But if you don’t add lenses, and you keep close-up in reasonable limits, very little myopia develops.  (or none, if you are looking at agrarian societies with minimal closeup)

What does it matter?

If you started out with glasses the same as other kids in school and became more myopic, blame the genetics.

But don’t blame the genetics for myopia itself.  Just the degree of it, relative to your lens use.

That’s the nature part.

I figure you might be interested in these things.  If you want to dig further, keep an eye on the blog.  Every so often I get into some of the clinical studies.  Likewise, you can go to scholar.google.com and search for gene expression and myopia.  Lots of things there.

If you have kids, and you are myopic, you’ll want to be that much more careful about close-up habits and lens use.

If you don’t have kids but were one at one point, there you have it, the answer to why you may be more or less myopic than many of your peers.

Young child minus prescriptions should be a crime.

Here too is where I have to hold back.

But really, optometrist prescribes a -2.50 to a five year old child.  What in the holy hell is wrong with us, humanity, living in this century?  First of all, tell me how they accurately diagnose a five-year-old.  (with your wallet, that’s how)

And then, imagine starting off with that minus lens diet a decade earlier in life.  Instead of 15, when school and homework and computer games has you catch ciliary myopia, you start at  … 5.

Lots of time for the eye to adapt.

Take it one further, there is mounting evidence that the young child’s eye is far more predisposed to environmental stimulus then once we get into teen years.  Babies are hyperopic in most cases (farsighted), and the eye adapts by environmental stimulus.  Built right in, very active in early age, the eye looking to the environment to direct its growth.

Then those clowns go putting a minus on a five year old.

The handiest irony is that I’m not allowed to say a thing about this, or be called slanderous, because I’m not an optometrist.  Which is also the place to tell you this … the truth is ahead of its time.  You can’t be mad at the optometrist, since he’s just a parrot of his teachers and the establishment.  We believe what we’re taught.  You, me, everybody.  Especially if you are serious about your education, you’ll take things to heart.

Never, ever confront the optometrist, don’t sue them, don’t tell them what I said.  Please.

It’s just where we’re at.  Governments recommend dietary habits that give people coronaries and diabetes, and the medical establishment says ok to put minus in front of a developing eye.  We’re not nearly as smart and evolved as we put on.

Flavor of today, clearly a bit rant-ey.  😉

Action Items

Knowledge, vs. preaching some exercise regimen or silly lens therapy.  That’s why you’re here.

Part of that is understanding, and then the next part of it is accepting it for what it is.  Science is advancing, we’re slowly learning, but we’re still like toddlers when it comes to vision science.  That and money has to be made, egos have to be protected, and all progress is slow.  Don’t be mad at the establishment, just smirk and nod, and pull up your hood and don’t let anybody hear you grumble.

Use this session to look back and understand just a bit more about where things started.  If you’re high myope, genetics may have played a role.  Know it and keep an eye on your (future?) kids close-up habits.

Treat the optic shop like a McDonalds.  Don’t be mad at them for being what they are.  So important, this.  Not even worth lecturing any of them.

Appreciate all that is everything.

And look at your centimeter, work on your active focus.  Soon we’ll be off to a reduced distance prescription, and the real stimulus that’ll give your eyes some happy distance perspective.

Cheers,

– Jake

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