Is It Possible To Improve Vision Naturally? (Exercises/Vitamins)

[Ginevra]

Because if it is, I really want to get on that. 😒

 

My MIL has truly amazing vision. She is almost 91 and needs no correction, even for reading. And she reads voraciously. It's quite remarkable! She has always credited her "eye exercises," which we all used to tease about, because she said she would always do her eye exercises while sitting in church. (The pastor was probably puzzled why that lady is always looking all around like that.) only now I wonder if there wasn't something to it!

 

Also, I was just having a delightful conversation with an 81 yo woman who is about as vivacious as a 50yo. She was "bragging" that she is on zero medications. She has perfect vision. And she said she takes many vitamins and supplements every day. I find that fascinating. I seriously would happily pick her brain on this subject for hours, but that would not be good party behavior. 😊

[klmama]

I think you should ask your MIL how to do the eye exercises and call the lady from the party to ask what supplements she thinks help her vision.  And after you find out, you should come back and tell all of us!  

[OneStepAtATime]

1.  If you have developmentally based vision issues then yes eye exercises can help (depending on what they are and what exercises you are doing and how diligently you implement those exercises).

 

2.   Yes there are certain things that apparently can improve eyesight, such as carrots.  I don't doubt that some supplements have the possibility of helping eyesight depending on the eyesight issues and the specific person's physiology that is taking them.

 

3.   There are also things that can speed up eye sight deterioration, such as spending extended periods of time too close to an electronic screen.  Changing to better lifestyle habits can help.

 

But some people are genetically destined to have deteriorating eye sight and some are not.  Some are going to still have great eyesight their whole lives while others will not regardless of what they do.  Doesn't mean trying to improve poor eyesight or actively maintain good eyesight is a bad idea, though.  :)

[Pawz4me]

I suspect mostly it's luck of the genes. MIL is 81 (or maybe 82, I forget) and only occasionally uses readers.

 

My optometrist is a huge advocate of lutein for eye health. She says one egg a day supplies all we need. In addition to getting enough lutein she recommends regular exercise to keep the circulatory system working well.

[PrincessMommy]

I think you should ask your MIL how to do the eye exercises and call the lady from the party to ask what supplements she thinks help her vision.  And after you find out, you should come back and tell all of us!  

 

I agree.  Ask them and then report back here.  Inquiring minds want to know.

[mumto2]

No idea about eye exercises but my vision did improve pretty dramatically while I was pregnant with ds. I credit all those hormones.

 

I was nearsighted as a teen and needed glasses to see the board etc. I ended up required to wear glasses to drive. Had contact lenses but preferred glasses for tv watching. At the time I was unexpectedly hospitalized while pregnant Dh could not find my good glasses. Neither could my mom or bf. Lots of old scratched pairs were discovered. I kept one pair with an irritating scratch for emergency use with me but decided I was apt to lose any new ones and decided to wait.

 

I was in hospital for 3 months with a game show loving roommate. Who Wants to be a Millionaire started while I was in and was on almost every night. It's hard to play Millionaire when you can't read the screen so I squinted my way through and improved with time. After the baby I wasn't really thinking about glasses and didn't even look for them for a few weeks as I was driving with prescription sun glasses. I had pretty much gave up glasses and found my contacts irritating. At my next eye exam my vision was greatly improved. I was told to get the glasses requirement off my license. I did and have since passed the eye exam portion in another country.

 

I guess I did exercises but I think the fact I did them while pregnant was what generated the improvement!

[mumto2]

No idea about eye exercises but my vision did improve pretty dramatically while I was pregnant with ds. I credit all those hormones.

 

I was nearsighted as a teen and needed glasses to see the board etc. I ended up required to wear glasses to drive. Had contact lenses but preferred glasses for tv watching. At the time I was unexpectedly hospitalized while pregnant Dh could not find my good glasses. Neither could my mom or bf. Lots of old scratched pairs were discovered. I kept one pair with an irritating scratch for emergency use with me but decided I was apt to lose any new ones and decided to wait.

 

I was in hospital for 3 months with a game show loving roommate. Who Wants to be a Millionaire started while I was in and was on almost every night. It's hard to play Millionaire when you can't read the screen so I squinted my way through and improved with time. After the baby I wasn't really thinking about glasses and didn't even look for them for a few weeks as I was driving with prescription sun glasses. I had pretty much gave up glasses and found my contacts irritating. At my next eye exam my vision was greatly improved. I was told to get the glasses requirement off my license. I did and have since passed the eye exam portion in another country.

 

I guess I did exercises but I think the fact I did them while pregnant was what generated the improvement!

[Tangerine]

This is what we are trying for my kids.  Their father and I have nearly perfect and perfect vision, and my first two have significant vision issues.  My 12 year old is in bifocals.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/21/opinion/21wang.html?mcubz=1

[Guest]

No idea about eye exercises but my vision did improve pretty dramatically while I was pregnant with ds. I credit all those hormones.

 

I was nearsighted as a teen and needed glasses to see the board etc. I ended up required to wear glasses to drive. Had contact lenses but preferred glasses for tv watching. At the time I was unexpectedly hospitalized while pregnant Dh could not find my good glasses. Neither could my mom or bf. Lots of old scratched pairs were discovered. I kept one pair with an irritating scratch for emergency use with me but decided I was apt to lose any new ones and decided to wait.

 

I was in hospital for 3 months with a game show loving roommate. Who Wants to be a Millionaire started while I was in and was on almost every night. It's hard to play Millionaire when you can't read the screen so I squinted my way through and improved with time. After the baby I wasn't really thinking about glasses and didn't even look for them for a few weeks as I was driving with prescription sun glasses. I had pretty much gave up glasses and found my contacts irritating. At my next eye exam my vision was greatly improved. I was told to get the glasses requirement off my license. I did and have since passed the eye exam portion in another country.

 

I guess I did exercises but I think the fact I did them while pregnant was what generated the improvement!

That's amazing!

[Arcadia]

Lutein did not work for my MIL.

Carrots make me look like I am suffering from jaundice.

 

My dad has perfect eyesight while my mom has very mild nearsighted.

 

I am mildly nearsighted and my eye specialist (for squint) as well as my eye OT said to use glasses only for reading because I don't really need them.

 

My hubby is very nearsighted as are his siblings but his parents eyesight isn't as bad.

[Tanaqui]

It's probably just good genes, but doing eye exercises is harmless so long as you continue to have regular checkups and don't ignore medical advice.

[MistyMountain]

You cannot really improve visual acuity but you can improve certain conditions with eye exercises. Eyesight is more then just acuity. It should be with a doctor's advice though because there is different things that can cause similar symptoms. If you have no symptoms or eye conditions then you do not need eye exercises. Some people do have better visual acuity then average. You can also keep your eyesight from getting worse by spending a lot of time outdoors and if you eventually do need a prescription not wearing a full prescription full time or wearing certain kinds of contacts. Wearing a full prescription full time can keep it deterioting. I want to keep my kids eyesight from getting as bad as mine so I will seek someone out who wants to help preserve vision. Once you have myopia there are no eye exercises you can do to fix it.

Edited July 5, 2017 by MistyMountain

[Junie]

My mom claims that her vision drastically improves when she eats a lot of carrots.

[RegGuheert]

Quill, are you being vain about not wanting to wear your glasses? ;)

[Tangerine]

The last time I went to the optometrist with DD, when she got bifocals, I was like "Doc! What is the deal?" She said "you need to limit her reading." And then I tried not to make a face. I'm pretty sure I made a face. I mean, I get it. But it was kind of like saying, if you don't want her vision to get worse, your family will need to change religions.

[heartlikealion]

Yes.

 

My dad doesn't wear his glasses anymore, or rarely. He claims he doesn't need them. He read this book:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0517886049/ref=sxbs_sxwds-stvp_3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=2972357942&pd_rd_wg=6HbdI&pf_rd_r=HQYAKJN2KC5M085ZKSYK&pf_rd_s=desktop-sx-bottom-slot&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=0517886049&pd_rd_w=Djul2&pf_rd_i=null&pd_rd_r=A60V9XV6FQFKGMTS9FJ0&ie=UTF8&qid=1498498806&sr=3

 

I want to help dd see in 3D. We just found out she lacks depth perception. In the past couple weeks I have met with two optometrists and an ophthalmologist for the kids (they both just got glasses. One is very near sighted and one is very far sighted). I got the info for one on the COVD.org site. She does vision therapy (mainly with kids). My kids might need it. She gave me a facebook group to join on the topic and I want to get this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Fixing-My-Gaze-Scientists-Dimensions/dp/0465020739/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1499277291&sr=1-1&keywords=fixing+my+gaze

 

The author has a TedTalk, but I haven't had a chance to watch the whole thing so I don't know if it's just about seeing in 3D. You might want to check it out.

 

Don't know about supplements, but I always hear about eating carrots. So I guess Vitamin A.

[mathnerd]

There are yoga specialists who specialize in eye exercises and doing those exercises for the long term is known to have improved eye sight in extremely near sighted people. I am slightly near sighted and if I ever find a yoga teacher who specializes in eye exercises, I will learn how to do them. Until then, I do some of the eye exercises that I picked up from youtube :)

[Tangerine]

How the carrots thing evolved is talked about in this article: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-wwii-propaganda-campaign-popularized-the-myth-that-carrots-help-you-see-in-the-dark-28812484/

 

I had always heard the "carrots improve your vision" thing, but I was unfamiliar with the "night vision" claims.

[Guest]

Quill, are you being vain about not wanting to wear your glasses? ;)

Yes. I really hate wearing them, but can also no longer wear contacts. I admit to vanity.

[heartlikealion]

I'm so used to wearing them that now I think I look kinda weird without them :laugh:

[RegGuheert]

Yes. I really hate wearing them, but can also no longer wear contacts. I admit to vanity.

 

Me, too!  That's why I got my eyes lased about ten years ago. :tongue_smilie:

 

I was interested in the possibility of fixing them with exercises, also, but I didn't know how to go about doing that.  Hopefully some of the advice you received here will help! :thumbup1:  (Not sure the emoticon should have glasses...)

 

[Guest]

Yes.

 

My dad doesn't wear his glasses anymore, or rarely. He claims he doesn't need them. He read this book:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0517886049/ref=sxbs_sxwds-stvp_3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=2972357942&pd_rd_wg=6HbdI&pf_rd_r=HQYAKJN2KC5M085ZKSYK&pf_rd_s=desktop-sx-bottom-slot&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=0517886049&pd_rd_w=Djul2&pf_rd_i=null&pd_rd_r=A60V9XV6FQFKGMTS9FJ0&ie=UTF8&qid=1498498806&sr=3

 

I want to help dd see in 3D. We just found out she lacks depth perception. In the past couple weeks I have met with two optometrists and an ophthalmologist for the kids (they both just got glasses. One is very near sighted and one is very far sighted). I got the info for one on the COVD.org site. She does vision therapy (mainly with kids). My kids might need it. She gave me a facebook group to join on the topic and I want to get this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Fixing-My-Gaze-Scientists-Dimensions/dp/0465020739/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1499277291&sr=1-1&keywords=fixing+my+gaze

 

The author has a TedTalk, but I haven't had a chance to watch the whole thing so I don't know if it's just about seeing in 3D. You might want to check it out.

 

Don't know about supplements, but I always hear about eating carrots. So I guess Vitamin A.

Interestingly, Amazon has a plethora of books on this topic on the page you linked. Thanks for the link; I'm bound to order one or two of these.

 

This also jogged my memory about my friend's father, who also had theories about training your eyes to avoid vision problems (with age). He had a "super light" installed over his reading chair and that was part of his plan. It was a very bright daylight light for reading.

[Guest]

It depends on what is wrong. But eye exercises have been huge for my daughter, who had issues with focusing, near sightedness, and muscular weakness in her eyes. Saccadic exercises and tracking exercises won't hurt and can really assist in slowing decline or even improving function. They won't fix retinal issues, though.

[Calm37]

This is what we are trying for my kids.  Their father and I have nearly perfect and perfect vision, and my first two have significant vision issues.  My 12 year old is in bifocals.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/21/opinion/21wang.html?mcubz=1

 

That was interesting. I had been told when my kids were little that the outside play was necessary for distance, not because of brighter light. Inside we rarely focus on anything more than 10-15 feet away. 

[Guest]

It depends on what is wrong. But eye exercises have been huge for my daughter, who had issues with focusing, near sightedness, and muscular weakness in her eyes. Saccadic exercises and tracking exercises won't hurt and can really assist in slowing decline or even improving function. They won't fix retinal issues, though.

I have astigmatism. iIRC, that is the large majority of my problem.

[Guest]

I have astigmatism. iIRC, that is the large majority of my problem.

Yeah. You can't fix that. Buuuut you can still improve your tracking, focusing, and optic flexibility. These are exactly the things we saw the developmental optometrist for and he was amazing. One of his therapists didn't get vision therapy until her forties and it drastically changed her life. As she told us, she hadn't read a book for pleasure until that point in her life - in school she had her older sister read her homework. She could t track smoothly and got headaches, had double vision, etc. Prescriptions didn't fix it but therapy did.

 

She loved it so much she made a midlife career change, so she could help children not suffer as she did and thinking they were just stupid or their eyes were broken when it was something so easily corrected. Truly inspiring lady.

 

Here is a link to get you started. My kiddo practiced every day for fifteen minutes and saw improvements in her vision within a month. She still does maintenance near/far tracking exercises at home.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/victoriaoptometry.wordpress.com/2014/06/14/how-vision-therapy-can-improve-saccadic-eye-movements-and-help-reading-problems/amp/

Edited July 5, 2017 by Arctic Mama