Two parents with terrible vision- how did your kids’ vision turn out?

[Anonymous]

All of us have glasses, but not as near-sighted as you. I had glasses starting at 4. DH, 15, DS, 10, DD, 9.

It allows us to discuss eyeglass fashions!

[Anonymous]

I get the outside thing, but I have terrible eyesight like OP (-9 and -8) but my brother's is much better. He needs glasses but is more on the "normal" side of myopia. And we really had similar upbringing, and if anything I spent more time outside - he was a total computer nerd - was communicating with people from his teenage bedroom in the 80s with a modem before anyone was online mainstream.

Anyway, i'm sure that is part of it but some of it has to be genetic.

[Anonymous]

OP, how did you improve from -10 to -8.5?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are both very nearsighted (-9/-10 diopters) and our kids both needed glasses starting in second grade. One of them started a course of orthokeratology in third grade and it has worked wonders: stopped the worsening of the prescription entirely and all DC needs to do is wear hard contact lenses at night. The other child still has glasses and has a worsening prescription (currently about -5 diopters in HS).

That's really interesting! I wish I had tried orthoK as a child. I always hated when I would go to the doctor and find out my vision had gotten worse. I actually think that wearing stronger lenses may make your vision progressively worse.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone seen the research about contacts slowing the onset of nearsightedness? I didn't start them until 8the grade, and I'm still wary of trying this with younger kids, but might be worth it if it helps. Playing sports in glasses is miserable especially with helmets/goggles.

[Anonymous]

I think it’s a toss up.

I have ok vision (I’m nearsighted) in my early 40s. I’ve had the same scrip for over 10 years. My spouse (late 40s) has 20/20 vision and is just starting to hold stuff out to read small print. My dad is nearly 80 and still does not wear glasses. My mom had such bad vision that she couldn’t go to the bathroom 10 feet away without her glasses (she got LASIK).

My oldest started wearing glasses in 3rd grade. After getting them, he said he’d never seen clearly before then. My youngest has a mild prescription for one eye. The optometrist said years ago, they didn’t even bother with scripts like his.

My moms entire family wears glasses. No one in my dad’s family does. My spouse’s family is 50/50 on each side.

To the PP re: sports, we waffled and then decided to do contacts. The kids play baseball so we would have needed regular glasses, prescription sunglasses, AND goggles for basketball.

[Anonymous]

My DH and I are both nearsighted and wear glasses. So far, our kids have no vision issues (11yo twins and a 9yo) which surprises me.

My DH is the only person in his family who wears glasses (parents and 6 kids total- he is the one one who wears glasses)). In family: my mom and I wear glasses, my dad and 2 sisters do not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone seen the research about contacts slowing the onset of nearsightedness? I didn't start them until 8the grade, and I'm still wary of trying this with younger kids, but might be worth it if it helps. Playing sports in glasses is miserable especially with helmets/goggles.

Yes, you mean rigid gas permeable contact lenses, not soft contact lenses, correct? I've seen some research on this, and PP posted about orthokeratology.

[Anonymous]

My mother has had pretty terrible vision since childhood. My dad's isn't that bad but he's needed glasses since his teens. Neither my brother nor I have ever needed glasses and are both in our 30s now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, how did you improve from -10 to -8.5?

OP here; I’m not sure how I improved- I think it was just aging. From what I gather, getting older also “corrects” nearsightedness a little but in ways I don’t understand (per my uncle the eye doctor). I should add that I think my total prescription is still over -10 once you include my astigmatism. I ended up getting phakic intraocular lenses implanted in my eyes (basically like cataract surgery but they left my natural lenses in) and it is AMAZING to not need glasses or external lenses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, how did you improve from -10 to -8.5?

OP here; I’m not sure how I improved- I think it was just aging. From what I gather, getting older also “corrects” nearsightedness a little but in ways I don’t understand (per my uncle the eye doctor). I should add that I think my total prescription is still over -10 once you include my astigmatism. I ended up getting phakic intraocular lenses implanted in my eyes (basically like cataract surgery but they left my natural lenses in) and it is AMAZING to not need glasses or external lenses.

Wow! Instead of LASIK, or did you actually have cataracts and this is why you had the lenses implanted? I would love not to need glasses or contacts but have always been a little afraid of the surgery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, how did you improve from -10 to -8.5?

OP here; I’m not sure how I improved- I think it was just aging. From what I gather, getting older also “corrects” nearsightedness a little but in ways I don’t understand (per my uncle the eye doctor). I should add that I think my total prescription is still over -10 once you include my astigmatism. I ended up getting phakic intraocular lenses implanted in my eyes (basically like cataract surgery but they left my natural lenses in) and it is AMAZING to not need glasses or external lenses.

Yep, I was -10 and now in my 40s, am -9 in my "bad eye" LOL (other eye is -8.5). Eye dr. says as we age some of the nearsightedness is corrected.

Just curious why this is even a concern if you had a successful option to correct your vision? Assuming your kids do you have bad myopia, surely in 10 or 20 years they will have even more safe options for correction.

I'm not willing to do surgery unless I have to, so I'm looking forward to cataracts when I'm older! My mom just got hers and loves not having to have even reading glasses even more.

[Anonymous]

Three children, two who are adults. The adult children needed glasses at age 11 and age 6, respectively. My youngest, a high school senior, has 20/20 vision and is the one indoors looking at devices the most. Go figure.

[Anonymous]

My husband's been very nearsighted since elementary school and I've been nearsighted since high school. Our kids are 24, 20, and 17 and all have 20/20 vision.

[Anonymous]

DH and I both wear glasses - in his case since elementary school and in my case since high school. DC1 had to get glasses in around 4th grade. DC2 has perfect vision and is in mid 20s.