Health & Fitness

Dr. William Horatio Bates was an ophthalmologist from New Jersey who was dissatisfied with conventional methods of the practice. He was a professor and doctor, but was constantly studying alternatives to traditional methods of treating refractive errors. His interests perked when he noticed some patients with spontaneously improved vision. He began to explore the possibility of teaching patients to improve their own sight naturally. His beginning studies led him to believe that teaching exercise techniques to improve eye sight were beneficial and had positive results.

This led him to develop what has come to be known as the Bates Method. He first introduced his techniques in 1903 at a school in North Dakota. He would test the eyes of the children, and then retest the children who failed the eye chart tests. Nearsighted children would sometimes be able to pass the retest. This led to an experiment of placing eye charts in the classrooms to provide a familiar object for the children to practice their distant vision on. After a time period had passed, with the eye charts in place, he would retest the children and some would have improved eyesight.

After several evaluations of these tests, Dr. Bates published his methods in respected medical journals. Today, there are several natural eyesight improvement methods based on those of Dr. Bates. The main concept of the Bates Method is that visual problems can be static, and the eyes muscles need to be worked on to improve sight. He maintained that the key factor of some visual problems was called central fixation. This is the idea that our eyes see best what they are focusing on. Some people, however, will strain their eyes to look at objects, and the eye muscles must be relaxed in order to help create proper focus.

Bates Exercises
There are a series of eye movement exercises Dr. Bates wrote about to help the eyes to relax and avoid eye strain. They are basically meant to help train the eyes to look at objects without distraction from the periphery. A couple of techniques taught by Dr. Bates include palming and color days.

Almost 50 percent of the world experiences blurred or unclear vision at one time or another. While only half of this figure is a result of ongoing vision problems, the other half who experience sporadic cases of distorted vision are seeing an increase in the frequency of occurrences. Why is that? Well, many of us suffer from eyestrain. We have become a society of computer users who stare at the monitors all day long and do not stop to take enough breaks, eat proper lunches or relax our eyes.

Further, there are other contributors to eye stress relating to computer or other close up work. Poor lighting is a large contributor. Bad light sources can encourage computer screen glares, which only contribute to our eyestrain problems. Also, we let our eye muscles grow tired, but we will continue to work through the hours by squinting and jerking our eyes around. This only helps the problem increase.

Eye stress or strain can lead to blurred vision, headaches, fatigue, poor productivity and much more. How do we clear our vision problems from eye strain? Well, is really common sense! Stop and take frequent breaks, at least a five minute break every couple of hours. Ideally a 15 minute break would be beneficial. Also, you can clear up blurred vision by closing your eyes and blocking out all light for a few minutes. You can also do some head rolls or other types of eye exercises to build up the strength of the eye and reverse some vision problems.

More Serious Cases of Blurred Vision
Besides from eye stress caused by your computer, you may have blurry eyesight as a result of myopia or hyperopia. If this is the case, eye exercises can still be helpful. Other options for correction include prescription lenses and eye surgery. For some people who have blurred vision because of glaucoma or cataracts, eye surgery may be the only option for improvement.

There are numerous theories floating around about Myopia, and some theorists come right out and say that an opposing theory is a complete myth. Others believe that eye health problems are still under continuous study, and even the most concrete evidence on the causes of them does not always apply to everyone. There are always unique cases, and there have been reports of successful myopia corrections from both traditional cure practices and alternative ones.

The most common traditional practice of optometrists is to prescribe correctional lenses for myopic patients. A refraction test is performed to determine the correct prescription for the patient. The optometrist or ophthalmologist can use either computerized equipment or manual equipment to perform the test. In most cases, an instrument is placed in front of the patients eyes, and the instrument will have corrective lenses for the patients to look through. The patients look through the lenses at an eye chart. The doctor will then make adjustments on the instrument until the characters on the eye chart are clear to the patients.

Some theorists believe contacts and eyeglasses can worsen myopia. Those who commit to this theory believe the patients become too dependent on the corrective lenses and use them as a crutch. When this happens, the eye muscles stay weak and do not try to heal themselves. The same theory goes further to suggest that children who are given strong corrective lens prescriptions early on may suffer from permanent damage, actually encouraged by the corrective lenses.

Alternative Myopia Cures
There are also alternative practices to help cure myopia. Eye surgery, such as refractive, Lasik, and radial keratotomy are some alternatives. There have been many successful results from some of these surgeries, but unsuccessful ones can lead to very serious problems. Another alternative is natural eye healing. One theory is that eye exercises and a well-planned nutritional diet can cure myopia and other eye health problems. Examples of this include those treatments that have modernized and improved on the classic Bates Method.

While natural vision correction programs offered on the Internet provide home eye therapy techniques and exercises for vision improvement, some optometrists also practice a form of physical therapy for the eyes. This type of vision therapy is a little different because it is carefully guided, monitored and evaluated by the doctors. Eye therapy programs that are monitored by optometrists can focus on improving vision by training the eyes and brain to work together again.

Licensed eye doctors, who do vision therapy with their patients, often use various stereo images and medical devices to diagnose and choose the proper treatments for the patients. Some in office vision therapy practices are covered by medical insurance. This type of vision therapy is not the same as home-based programs where the patients practice eye exercises on their own. In-office therapy is often done for children who need careful guidance and monitoring for their eye training.

Other therapy practices for vision improvement include eye programs similar to the Bates Method. These programs offer a series of eye exercises you can do on your own. The eye exercises are meant to strengthen your weakened eye muscles, relieve eyestrain and stress and train your eyes to function properly. The promoters of these practices believe they can lead to improved vision.

Eye Therapy Packages
Besides the eye exercises, it is also recommended to adopt a well balanced and nutritional diet. There are several vitamins and minerals that can promote healthy eyes. It is also necessary to remain as stress free as possible. Some eye therapy programs come with complete outlines and booklets of suggested nutritional plans, vitamin and nutrient capsules, and lists and instructions for the relaxation techniques.

Astigmatisms, or refractive errors, occur when the cornea has an irregular curvature, which causes the entering light to refract abnormally. This results in the eyes inability to focus on an object all at once. Instead, the eyes may be able to only see specific parts of an object, while the parts in the peripheral area are blurry. Some people can experience astigmatism along with farsightedness or nearsightedness. To some, vision may be blurry in all proximities.

There are several causes of astigmatism. Some people are born with this condition and it can also be hereditary. Continued eyestrain can also lead to astigmatism. Pressure on the eyelids and corneas can also cause weakness in the corneas, which can lead to a poor ability to focus. Some people with this condition experience headaches, eye soreness, fatigue and, of course, blurred vision.

There are numerous treatment options for these refractive errors. The most common correction practices are prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses. Toric lenses are usually prescribed to treat this eye condition. Toric lenses work by bending the light more in one direction than another, which helps to correct the refractive error. Surgery options include refractive surgery, Lasik surgery and astigmatic keratotomy.

Natural Eye Care Options
There are also natural eye improvement practices to help correct vision problems, such as astigmatism. Eye exercises are believed to help reduce eyestrain and to encourage stronger eye muscles. Some believe exercising your eyes also helps to train the mind to focus and release some of the emotional stresses we experience in our everyday lives. Along with teaching your eyes to relax naturally, some doctors also recommend a healthy nutritional diet to improve eyesight. Some recommended vitamins for healthy vision include vitamins A, C, E and selenium.