Dear Absolutly Honest,

Subject: Answer the questions.

You are the only one who actually attempted
to answer these questions.

That is how you start solving problems,
and resolving issues.

The others posting here sit on their
a.s -- and do nothing but shoot off
their four mouth, and complain about
you.

They are pathetic.

Further, they have not yet addressed
fundamental scientific issues yet,
although "L" seems to be lurching
in that direction (while codemming
Bates as being "not-scientific".

Best,

Otis

entire picture of a post in mind before you set about a reply.  Try to
see from the opponent's point of view; what is the basis of his post?

++++++++

I took some time to go back and try to figure out how and where this
discussion started.  It seems to stem from a disagreement over what
the meaning of "science" and "vision" are, and what constitutes
ligitimate scientific discussion.  Surely, this leaves out the Bates
people.

Dear Absolutely Wise,

Here are the medically correct answers by J. Ralls MD.

Otis

==========

Answers to:

A QUIZ

by

Julie Ralls, M.D.

1.  Though inconvenient, myopia is not a disease.  T F

    (True per Sher, Trobe and Weingeist, "New Options For Vision
Loss", Patient Care, Sept.  1995, p.56.  but False per Sherman,
Beresford, Mutti and Zadnik as referenced below)

2.  Myopia is caused by long eyes.  T F

    (C'est vrai, c'est marque dans mon livre d'anatomie, which is
French for "That's true, it says so in my anatomy book.")

3.  There are no know treatments for nearsightedness besides
     corrective lenses or surgery.  T F

    (True per many members of the American Academy of
Ophthalmology , not true if they know "their" stuff, false per
many members of the College of Optometrists in Vision
Development.)

4.  If we had put the money invested into corneal surgery into
     investigating the pathophysiology of this condition,
     somebody might have won a Nobel prize by now.  T F

    (False per Dr.  Kawesch.  Per him we will not see a cure for
myopia in our lifetimes.  But I have this friend who became myopic
in her twenties.  This happened after she got a job working in
front of a computer all day long.  She saw an optometrist who gave
her reading glasses to use with the computer and this string with
beads on it to use for focusing exercises.  The string with the
beads ended up in a shoe box in her closet, but she did wear the
reading glasses.  Her vision normalized within one year.  And my
oldest brother, he became myopic in his teens.    Hated the glasses
and wouldn't wear them.

    Now he says he was just stressed out and mom was
over-reacting by taking him to the doctor.  His subsequent eye
exams were normal.  And my former roommate Lorraine was also
diagnosed as nearsighted.  She fought with her mother for a year
saying she didn't need the glasses.  On her follow-up exam, her
vision was better than 20/20 and has been great ever since.  These
sound like cures to me.  Does this sound familiar to you or to a
friend?  See an ophthalmology text under pseudomyopia, adult onset
myopia or ciliary muscle spasm.)

5.  True/false and multiple choice quizzes can be a form of
     brainwashing.  T F

    (True for Westerners.  Add sleep deprivation and it works
even better.  But you can beat, starve, imprison, rape, shock and
otherwise torture a Tibetan and they won't budge an inch.  The
most hard-headed, stubborn, backward people on the planet!  If you
don't believe me, just ask the Chinese government!)

6.  Patients do not know and cannot understand anything about
     their own health problems.  They need to keep quiet and do
     as their doctor tells them.  This is in their own best
     interest.  T F

    (False.  But this was actually considered to be true until
1964 when the Beatles toured the United States and changed
everything.)

7.  You shouldn't sit too close to the TV or you'll ruin your
     eyes.  T F

    (True, and you'll ruin your other muscles, including your
heart, plus your back and your brain.  So turn that thing off, go
outside and ride your bike or something!)

8.  Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees.  T F

    (True.  Sometimes when I look at a tree, it comes briefly
into focus, all the leaves, the details on the bark, everything.
To get your own clear flash, pick up a book on vision therapy.

    Not everyone gets these, but if you do, you will realize that
nature gave you everything you need to see, and that you still
have it all, it's just not working right.  Like a flashlight with
a loose connection.  Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera.)

9.  Myopia is caused by your cornea being too steep.  T F

    (True per Los Angeles Times article "Seeing The Light",
business section "D", 1-13-97.  This is simplistic to the point of
being misleading.  Yet the L.A.  Times did not publish my letter
regarding this, nor anything about an alternate viewpoint.  I do
think there is validity to BR2026's assertion that the media
accepts information from refractive surgeons without question.
Hardly cutting edge journalism.)

10.  Myopia is a pathological condition with strong environmental
     influences.  T F

    (True, see references below.)

11.  Adults can grow long eyes.  T F

    (True.  This actually happened to a friend of mine in her
early 40's!)

             --  REFERENCES  --

1.  Sherman, Arnold, O.D.  , Myopia Can Often Be Prevented,
     Controlled or Eliminated, Journal of Behavioral Optometry,
     Vol.  4, No.  1, p 16, 1993.

2.  Brody, Jane, Personal Health, 2 articles, "New Surgery for
     Myopia:  Look Before You Leap", and, "In Debate on Myopia's
     Origin's The Winner Is:  Both Sides?", The New York Times,
     Section C, Page 10, Wednesday, June 1, 1994.

3.  Zadnik, O.D., Ph.D., et.  al., "The Effect of Parental History
     of Myopia on Children's Eye Size", Journal of the American
     Medical Association, May 4, 1994- Vol.  271, No.    17.

4.  Sato, T.  Acquired Myopia, Lecture delivered at the First
     International Conference on Myopia, New York, Chicago,
     Professional Press, 1964.

5.  Young, F.A., Baldwin, W.A., Leary, G.A., et.  al., The
     transmission of refractive errors within Eskimo families,
     American Journal of Optometry and Archives of the American
     Academy of Optometry, 1969, 46, 676-685.

6.  Beresford, Muris, Allen and Young, _Improve Your Vision
     Without Glasses or Contact Lenses_ , Simon and Schuster,
     1996.

7.  Raviola, M.D., and Wiesel, M.D., The Neural Basis of Myopia,
     ON THE BRAIN, the Harvard Mahoney Neuroscience Institute
     Letter, Summer, 1995.

8.  Mutti, Donald O., Zadnik, Karla, and Adams, Anthony, "MYOPIA,
     The Nature Versus Nurture Debate Goes On", Investigative
     Ophthalmology and Visual Science, May 1996, Vol.    37, No.
     6.

P.S.  And I am sorry for offending Dr.    Kawesch and any other
     ophthalmologists out there.  I exaggerated my position to
     make a point.

    My colleagues should be like my siblings.

    My first ophthalmologist was like my uncle.  I still can
barely believe there's been a goof-up, but I can see with my own
eyes that it is so.

    Plus I think there is a lot of truth to the comments about
the inadequacies of family physicians.    Specialists should be able
to run circles around me in regards to their own field.

    I wouldn't feel comfortable referring my patients to one who
couldn't.  In general, they will always know more about the fine
details, but I will have a better view of the forest.

    But in regards to myopia the medical profession has not done
it's homework or has ignored what homework has been done.

    It amazes me how many of my patients and friends have become
myopic as adults and been treated with negative diopter lenses.

    They are not told about etiology, co-morbid conditions or
treatment options.  But what is even more amazing, they don't even
ask!  They wear the lenses and their vision gets worse.  I even
know a few doctors who did this.  I thought we were smart.

Dr.  Ralls

+++++++++

Hello,

That would be a great shame! A dweeb of your nature would be
disallowed from this newsgroup; you would surely fail any intelligence
test.

Hello,

Yes I do.

Hello,

I'll take up your challenge.

Where do you lives?

Dear William,

Subject:  Visual Acuity 20/20.

You stated that her visual acuity went from 20/200
to 20/100, but her "frozen eye" measurement
did not change.  Why, EXACTLY, should be
concerned with here "dead eye" measurment.

But let us continue.  Let us give her credit, and
say that she reads her IVAC Snellen, an slowly
CLEARS the 20/20 line.

Then, with that confermation, she goes in
and passes the DMV (20/40 line) with flying
colors.

Now, as far as the DMV is concerned, her vision
exceeds their standards.  Now why should Julie
care a flying-fig what your "frozen eye" measurement
might or might not show???

As far as "wining" a bet -- who cares.

Julie should only care about the 20/20 she achieves
through Bates (or any other preventive measure).

I would bet that, on reaching 20/20, Julie would
care far more for her 20/20 vision, than
she would care about your $1,000 bet.

In that circumstance, Julie wins -- and you lose.

Otis

She won
Just by taking the bet.
If humankind did not look into the sky for
thousands years dreaming to fly ,
no one aircraft still would not took off the runway.

Lena

Hello,

How much can pseudomyopia account for, please?

0.5 diopters?

Or is it 20 diopters?

Or sometimes 3?