Keywords myopia, eye strain, reduced prescription, vision correction, eye health, nearsightedness, eye muscles, prescription glasses, vision therapy, eye fatigue Summary In this episode, Dr. Sam Berne addresses a common concern regarding myopia and the adjustment to reduced prescriptions. He explains the physiological and psychological factors contributing to eye strain and muscle tension when transitioning to a less strong prescription. Dr. Berne emphasizes the importance of understanding the habits that lead to eye strain and offers practical advice for easing into new prescriptions, ultimately highlighting the potential benefits of reduced prescriptions for improving overall eye health. Takeaways Reduced prescriptions can reveal underlying eye muscle tension. Eye strain is often a result of habitual squinting and straining. Adjusting to a reduced prescription requires patience and practice. Wearing a less strong prescription can improve distance vision over time. Overcorrection in eye exams can lead to unnecessary strain. Prescription glasses can have side effects similar to medication. Understanding your prescription is key to managing eye health. Children may need guidance to adapt to new prescriptions. Chronic eye issues may improve with reduced prescriptions. Awareness of eye habits is crucial for better vision. Sound Bites "Any prescription that you wear is like a drug." Chapters 00:00 Understanding Myopia and Reduced Prescriptions 02:56 The Impact of Eye Strain and Muscle Tension 04:54 Adjusting to New Prescriptions and Habits Hey everybody, it's Dr. Sam and I'd like to welcome you to the podcast. So I received a question from a mom who I'm working with her son who's got nearsightedness. This is a very interesting question. So I gave him a prescription that reduces his myopia and she said that he's having a hard time adjusting to the prescription that is creating eye strain and his eye muscles hurt and she wants to know Sam Berne (00:30.71) what she can do to tell him to get used to the prescription. Well, it's interesting because when you're presented with a reduced prescription, your eyes should relax. Basically, any reduced prescription is saying, can I let go with my muscles and can I release and relax? Sam Berne (00:56.694) Now in this particular case, there's two possible scenarios going on. The first is that and this is very common with people that start wearing reduced prescriptions. They start feeling their eye muscles more and they start feeling this area. Whereas before it was very a very unrealized area, meaning they had no awareness of it. And so when you wear something that's less tight, Sam Berne (01:26.402) Guess what happens all of that tightness that you've absorbed over years of the strong prescription. You feel that so it's showing you what's already there. It's not causing it, but the relaxation potential is showing you the tension that you've been carrying for a long time. The second part of this is Sam Berne (01:54.921) It's not the prescription that's causing the eye tension. It's the attitude and habits that we bring to the prescription that creates the eye tension. So this means that we're so used to having it clear that when we're given a softer prescription and it's a little on the soft blurry side, we immediately want to get rid of it by squinting and straining. Sam Berne (02:23.595) So we're back to our old habits again. Sam Berne (02:28.321) Yeah, exactly. So the reduced prescription is going to confront the habit of you wanting to squint and strain and muscle it. So what I told the mother is just invite the child to wear this reduced prescription at near at the 14 inches, maybe maybe 20 inches at the most. But don't try to wear it in the distance for now. Sam Berne (02:56.171) I mean the prescription was prescribed for near vision to begin with and it can be a big jump and kind of disorienting if you get this reduced p...
