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Nearly everyone has some degree of astigmatism - a squashed cornea. But it's only those with higher degrees that need to wear glasses for it. Usually that means people who already suffer from (myopia) - because this condition forces the eyeball to change shape, which in turn squashes the lens.
But help is at hand! Just like correcting refractive errors of myopia, hyperopia and presbyopia, you can with eye exercises too.
I completely eliminated my own astigmatism with vision training over a period of several weeks in 2008. To be honest, my main goal was curing myopia - I hadn't even considered astigmatism and the effects it had on my vision. So I was blown away when my eye doctor said "by the way, you no longer have astigmatism." After 15 years of gradually worsening vision this was an amazing result.
The knowledge within this article will explain exactly how to improve your vision naturally like I did. This will set you on a path of healthy vision for life, correcting existing problems and preventing further vision loss. I hope it helps you.
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Sometimes incorrectly called a stigmatism , it's the result of an unevenly shaped cornea. It's often caused by uneven tension of the extraocular muscles that surround the eyeball - in other words, prolonged eye strain.
The result is blurry vision. The uneven shape of the cornea causes rays of light to focus unevenly - some in front and some behind the retina.
If you suffer from astigmatism, you have three options to correct your vision:
I'll now briefly compare each option and their major benefits and drawbacks.
When your optometrist diagnoses you with astigmatism, he is essentially saying you will need to wear glasses for the rest of your life. This is not only expensive, but it hinders your quality of life and can even impact on your self esteem.
Worse, this so-called solution punishes you with deteriorating eye health. Bad vision now can lead to potentially blinding eye diseases later in life - which in turn are costly and painful to cure. I see glasses as a mere band-aid for astigmatism. They do absolutely nothing to help you improve your vision naturally.
In fact, prescription glasses and contacts
work by refracting the light differently into your eye, which helps you
see clearly artificially.
As for your natural vision,
it is scientifically documented that glasses makes your eyesight
worse:
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Dr Earl Smith of the University of Houston College of Optometry fitted various types of corrective lenses on monkeys with normal vision. He found that within weeks, monkeys fitted with nearsighted lenses adapted to the lenses and became nearsighted. Likewise, monkeys with farsighted lenses became farsighted. The same thing happened with lenses designed for astigmatism. You have probably noticed this yourself when you get a new prescription. The world appears ultra-clear and you have to adapt to the strong lenses. Then, within days or weeks, they feel normal and eventually are too weak altogether. |
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The implications of this study are huge - not least because humans and monkeys have almost identical visual systems. What's more, it highlights that wearing glasses or contacts doesn't even treat your condition. As a result, 30% of people who wear lenses end up with one or more serious eye diseases by the time they are 70 years old, simply because their natural vision is so bad.
When a muscles is not used, it tends toward atrophy. It becomes weak and loses function. So to reverse the damaging effects of corrective lenses, you must exercise your eyes on a regular basis. This begins with downgrading your current lens prescription, and wearing your glasses less. More on this in a moment.
By the way, it's not just monkeys that can
demonstrate the damaging effect of glasses and contact lenses. Here are a
couple more examples of real-life studies:
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"There are frequently ignored patterns of addiction to minus lenses. The typical prescription tends to overpower and fatigue the visual system and what is often a transitory condition becomes a lifelong situation which is likely to deteriorate with time." S. Gallop (1994) Journal of Behavioral Optometry |
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"Minus lenses are the most common approach, yet the least likely to prevent further myopic progression. Unfortunately, they increase the near point stress that is associated with progression." B. May (1984) Optometric Extension Program Foundation |
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Some people want a quick fix to their vision
problems, and I can totally understand that. If I wasn't so squeamish I
may even have turned to LASIK myself once. But having research laser
eye surgery properly for this website I can now say: NO WAY! Not even
if it was free and everyone was doing it. There are just too many
potential side effects that will ruin your vision for life. And for that
there is no fix.
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LASIK was approved by the US government's Food and Drug Administration in 1998. But just recently the former head of the FDA branch responsible for LASIK, Morris Waxler, made a shocking admission. He told ABC News that the side effects of laser eye surgery were not taken seriously enough during the review period. "I think we screwed up," he said. "Nobody's going to admit that." So just how bad are these side effects? We're talking starbursts, halos, glare, double vision and permanent night blindness. Some people can't even drive or perform basic functions anymore - and some even had to quit their jobs. |
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Even more disturbingly, patients who appear fine after LASIK are still at risk of vision deterioration years later. Reported long term effects on the eye include:
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Permanent weakening of the cornea
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directly leading to blurry vision some weeks, months or years after the
surgery
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Damage to the corneal nerves
- which
stimulate tear production, leading to permanent Dry Eye Syndrome
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Complications
- during routine
glaucoma screening and cataract surgery
- Persistent decrease in corneal cells - and it is simply not known how seriously this affects the long term viability of the cornea
How Does Laser Eye Surgery Work?
For the sake of argument, I'm going to explain how LASIK is done and what happens in a successful case. Even here, the outcome is not foolproof...
Laser eye surgery can be used for astigmatism treatment on an out-patient basis. It involves the use of a suction ring to hold your eyeball still, a surgical knife to cut open a flap in your outer cornea, and a computer-controlled laser to precisely reshape your inner corneal lens. The actual procedure is not painful but it can be disturbing - apparently you can smell your own eyeball burning under the laser. LASIK is certainly not for the squeamish!
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After paying $3,000 and following a stringent after-care routine, you can expect to start seeing an improvement in your vision after 24 hours. Let's say you are one of the lucky ones and experience no damaging side effects of LASIK your whole life. The downside for you is: there is absolutely nothing preventing further vision loss.
That's because you will still subject yourself to the same old vision habits: hours at a computer or close-up reading, putting your eyes under near point stress. Whatever vision habit caused your astigmatism in the first place is still there to cause it again. You have not strengthened your eyes. You have simply cut your natural lens to refract light differently - just like glasses. It's an artifical fix.
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To date, exercising your eyes and following good vision habits are the only way to improve vision naturally. Thanks to eye exercise courses like , tens of thousands of people around the world have used daily eye exercises to effectively treat astigmatism and see clearly again.
I'll explain how eye exercises work in a
moment, but first I want to address the psychological barrier that stops
people from trying eye exercises in the first place. If you can't get
your head around this now, then you will seriously hinder your own
efforts toward natural vision improvement in future.
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The authority we trust for our vision care - highly respected optometrists and eye doctors - are not formally trained in eye exercises. Even though there are huge amounts of data showing the damaging effects of lenses. And there is extensive research that's gone into vision training in the last 100 years. They still continue to blindly prescribe corrective lenses like it's the only option. Sadly, it all comes down to money. They are employed by corporations who are running a business to make profit. If they can help you see clearly then their job is done. No matter if it's simply an artificial fix. It's still a fix, right? So your optometrist is simply doing his job when he diagnoses your vision problems and sells you a pair of corrective lenses. As far as vision training goes, the majority are either ignorant or in denial about the power of eye exercises. The minority actually do undergo formal vision training and understand the benefits. These are the ones who can help you. Before you go see your regular optometrist for your next eye test, ask them outright if they support vision training. If so, they will be able to give you weaker prescriptions to support your efforts and give you specific tips to succeed based on your condition. |
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If you've read , you'll see that after I cured my astigmatism, I reviewed five popular eye exercise programs to make this website. The program that remained head and shoulders above the rest was .
This is a 30-day schedule, involving 20 minutes of daily eye exercises and five minutes of relaxation at the end. It has specific eye strengthening exercises designed to treat astigmatism, since you need to work on a specific set of focusing techniques for this condition.
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How Fast Does It Work?
This is what a lot of people get hung up on. There is no denying that eye exercises take commitment - for mild cases of astigmatism, myopia, hyperopia and presbyopia (less than 2 diopters) it can take 30 days to regain clear vision without glasses.
For moderate and extreme vision disorders (more than 3 diopters) it usually takes longer. It really depends how accurately you perform the daily routine, and how quickly you change your vision habits. Once you achieve your goal, that's it. You do not need to perform eye exercises for the rest of your life!
I enjoyed seeing small improvements in my vision almost daily, starting at around Day Three. This is what motivated me to continue. After that, the improvements got better and better, and soon I could read the bottom line of the eye chart!
Most people who perform Rebuild Your Vision properly overcome the effects of astigmatism and restore their healthy eyesight. In turn, this reduces the risk of developing macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataracts as they age. That's a huge accomplishment in spite of the damaging effects of modern day living.
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You can start eye exercises in the next few minutes by downloading the program for free. This program has one of the best success rates - some 94% of customers keep the course, which promises to deliver a dramatic improvement in your natural vision or your money back.
What's more, I reviewed several other well-known programs to make this website and Rebuild Your Vision was the easiest to follow and had the most impact on me. I highly recommend it if you are committed to rebuilding your 20/20 vision.
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