Should You Wear Myopic Glasses While Using Your Computer?

With a prescription of -1.25 in both eyes, your focusing muscles should be pretty comfortably relaxed while using the computer without your glasses. However, if your prescription is higher than -2.5, your eyes may find it more comfortable to use your glasses during computer work.

Understanding Myopia

Myopia, also known as shortsightedness, is a vision condition where the eyeball grows too optically long. It often develops over time and is considered a genetic condition. It typically develops during the growth phase and stabilizes around the age of 17 to 21. It's becoming more common, and the reasons behind this trend are still being debated. One theory, favored by many eye experts, is that myopia development is associated with growth. People are growing taller and faster than ever before, a trend most evident in Japan. Before World War I, Japanese people were generally small and less likely to need glasses. However, after dietary changes and an increase in height, myopia has become almost universal among the Japanese population.

Managing Myopia

Currently, there's no way to control the growth of the eyes, so myopia is considered untreatable. However, once growth has stopped, surgical correction such as LASIK becomes an option. As myopia begins, it's crucial to distinguish between pseudomyopia, a condition where the focusing muscles cramp and can't relax, and true myopia. Pseudomyopia can often be diagnosed by remeasuring the patient after using dilating drops, which temporarily paralyze the focusing muscles.

Complications of High Myopia

High myopia, with a prescription of -6.00D or more, carries a risk of various complications. These are considered to be a result of the stress between the size of the sclera (the outer tough layer of the eye) and the retina (the light-sensitive 'film' in the eye), which are derived from different types of tissue in the embryo. To correct the refractive error caused by myopia, you can use glasses, contact lenses, or orthokeratology. Orthokeratology involves wearing contact lenses at night to reshape the cornea temporarily, while refractive surgery, such as LASIK, alters the curvature of the cornea.

Wearing Glasses for Computer Use

Once you're wearing glasses, there's a debate about whether you should wear them all the time or not. Glasses change the optics to match normal vision, enabling the eyes to behave normally when objects come near. This has no effect on the myopia, neither making it better nor worse. Taking off your glasses is similar to putting reading glasses on if you have a moderate prescription. My advice is that if you need your glasses frequently, you are wiser to wear them constantly. Wearing glasses also makes it harder to lose or damage them.

Consider wearing your glasses whenever you're not swimming, bathing, or sleeping. Doing so reduces the risk of losing or damaging them, making it a practical choice for daily use.

Conclusion

Whether you should wear your myopic glasses while using your computer depends on your specific prescription and comfort level. If your prescription is -1.25 or moderate, you might be comfortable without them. However, for those with a higher prescription, it's often beneficial to wear them to maintain normal eye behavior and prevent potential discomfort.