a myope wearing his minus glasses for near work at say 1/3 meter is the
same as giving an emmetrope -3 glasses for distance seeing. In both
cases the lens has to work hard to exert +3 diopters of accomodation.
In either case, glasses are totally un-neccessary at best. Why bother
wearing glasses if it makes NO difference in your vision? I certainly
dont see any better from near with glasses and in fact I see worse, so
off goes my glasses when I get reading. See below for proof that the
evil minus lense accelerates myopia:

This theory states that the muscle's weakness is usually caused by
doing lots of "nearwork", like reading books or using a computer
screen. Since the eye rarely has to focus on far distances, the muscle
is rarely used and, as a result, becomes weak. Since corrective lenses
do the ciliary muscle's work for it, proponents of this theory suggest
that they make it even weaker, increasing the problem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myopia

Both the prevalence and severity of myopia were substantially higher as
the level of education increased. The prevalence rate was 15.4% in
males with no formal education and increased steadily through the
education levels to reach 65.1% among the university graduates in
1987-91. This huge sampling conclusively proves that prolonged close
work, including reading and computer usage, is a major cause of myopia.

4. If minus (distance) lenses are prescribed, accommodation increases.

Proof:

It is a known characteristic of minus (concave) lenses that they cause
light rays to diverge. This requires greater accommodative effort to
bring these rays to a focus on the retina.

5. The increased accommodation caused by minus lenses causes the
ciliary muscle spasm to continue.

Proof:

This is self-evident since the ciliary muscle has no opportunity to
relax.

http://www.preventmyopia.org/validation.html

The epidemics of myopia in countries such as Singapore and Japan are
due solely to changes in lifestyle, they say, and similar levels could
soon be seen in many western countries as lifestyles there continue to
change.

"As kids spend more time indoors, on computers or watching telly, we
are going to become just as myopic," says Ian Morgan of the Australian
National University in Canberra.

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6117

Too much near work, without giving the eyes frequent and sufficient
breaks to view things across the room or further away, may result in an
“over-heating” of the ciliary muscle of the eye.  This
excess heat can be transmitted into the vitreous humor and, over time,
may cause pockets of this gel-like substance to soften.  Immobile
organic debris (known as “floaters”),

The closer an object is to the eyes, the more effort the ciliary
muscles must exert for the eyes to focus clearly on that object,
accordingly producing more intraocular muscle strain and, often,
headaches.  Reading and writing material should be kept at least 20
inches away from the eyes, and a computer monitor should be no closer
than 25 inches away

If eyestrain, eyelid twitching, headaches, and/or temporary distance
blur frequently is noticed after near work, it may be that a pair of
“reading” glasses, prescribed by a qualified eye doctor
even prior to the onset of presbyopia, will be helpful in preventing or
reversing myopia induced by nearpoint stress.

It has been theorized that in some cases of nearpoint stress, the
cornea of the eye takes on a “steeper” (more convex) shape,
due to prolonged pressure behind it.  If so, the pressure may be due to
an inordinate anterior-to-posterior thickening of the eye’s
crystalline lens from focusing too much at near, inducing a compression
of the aqueous fluid anterior to the lens and, thus, resulting in
pressure on the posterior cornea.  That a change in corneal shape may
be a factor in some types of nearpoint stress may be evidenced by the
fact that rigid contact lenses can retard or stop the progression of
myopia in many cases.  Apparently, in such a case, the rigid lens
prevents the anterior cornea from becoming more convex, thus arresting
the advancement of myopia in the eye.

http://www.tedmontgomery.com/the_eye/lens.html

High (pathological) myopia often leads to atrophy of the choroid and
subsequent retinal macular degeneration, with loss of central visual
acuity and high incidence of retinal detachment, glaucoma, and
strabismus

People with myopia can be classified in two groups, those with low to
modest degrees of myopia (referred to as "simple" or "school" myopia, 0
to 6 dioptres) and those with high or pathological myopia (greater than
6 dioptres). Simple myopia can be corrected with spectacles or contact
lenses, whereas "high" (pathological) myopia is often associated with
potentially blinding conditions such as retinal detachment, macular
degeneration, and glaucoma (fig 1).

Since no current treatments can reverse the structural changes of
pathological myopia, preventing myopia has long been a goal of
ophthalmologists and scientists researching vision. Understanding the
mechanisms and factors that affect ocular growth is prerequisite to
development of these therapeutic strategies.

Epidemiological research confirms a strong correlation between near
work, such as reading, and progression of myopia. This process may
continue through the third decade of life and is not limited to simple
"school myopia"

People who do not have a strong predisposition for myopiawho have no
family history of high myopia or who come from an ethnic group with no
strong preponderance of myopiaalso begin life hyperopic, and
emmetropisation occurs until the images are properly focused on the
retina, when the process stops. Further myopiogenic stimuli such as
prolonged reading or occupations that require extensive near work may
lead to mild myopia later in life.

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/324/7347/1195

I missed that sentence.

I don't see where he says that.

Sage words from the ackownledged master of the art.

1) Sounds like you have to start by convincing Dave Guyton.  His words
don't support your theory *at all*

2) I thought it already *was* the "second opinion."  You mean that
your opinion is that the future holds a second opinion that nobody's
even taking seriously right now?

Is that it?

Are you going to issue me that apology?

Are you going to answer "Only Have Eyes For You's" perfectly
reasonable questions??

[snip]

OTIS!!! YOUR HALDOL IS WEARING OFF AGAIN!!!

So long as you're trying to drive a "scientific discussion", perhaps you
should meet those standards that any undergrad would meet, and cite your
work.  Where did this quote come from?   While I have no problem
believing that Guyton would write something as rational as this, when
scientist say that another scientist said something, there generally say
where and when it was said.  This way, we can put it in context, figure
out if it was true and peer reviewed, find out what papers the quote
cites, and many other wonderful things that constitute scientific review.

Indeed.  I AM very careful when I prescribe minus, which is why I am
not afraid to prescribe it.

When was this written and where was it published?  Does this represent
Dr. Guyton's current views in light of current evidence, or something
dating back say 25 years?  Nevertheless, there is nothing in this tome
that suggests wearing glasses has any effect at all.  At most, Dr.
Guyton resorts to words like "if," "may," "should," and "suggest."

DrG

And so ortho-k, which you have repeatedly claimed is just like soft
contacts, is okay for overnight wear?  How convenient that you listen
and repeat some advice and clearly ignore others.

Excuse me but how did you get it aceman?

KC is a steepening of the cornea that results in large amounts of
myopia and irregular astigmastim and many KC people see poorly with
glasses and need RGP contacts for much improved vision. 20/25 with
glasses for high myopes is expected due to spectacle minification. The
higher your pescription, the harder its to see 20/20 with glasses. Very
high myopia, pathalogical myopes dont always correct to 20/20, not even
with contacts. Being corrected to 20/20 with contacts and near 20/20
with glasses is great!

Another optometrist who posted
in this google groups years back said hes had a few patients with
myopia in the teens and they were 20/40 to 20/50 BSCVA. Another said
very high and pathalogical myopes usually have slightly subnormal
BCVA(spectacle minification is to blame in part)