Customer Reviews

The Myopia Myth: The Truth About Nearsightedness and How to Prevent It

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This book isn't bad at all like other reviewers have tried to suggest. But to show you this is so, I'll have to describe to you what the book is actually trying to tell us and how it is valuable to our understanding of myopia.

From the outset, The Myopia Myth takes us on an exposition of what myopia actually is. And to sum it up, it's a condition whereby the eyeball focuses light such that it comes into focus in front of the retina rather than directly on the retina, resulting in a blurred image. Few people dispute that fact. But in the second chapter, Rehm endeavours to explain that the cause of myopia is excessive close up work. Now, to back this up, he employs some simple physics, which tells us that light rays coming from a near object take more lens power to focus than rays coming from a far object (i.e. farther than 2 metres). Our eyes need to accomodate, or put pressure on the lens in our eye, in order to focus on light rays from close objects. The eyes also need to point inward. Both of these aspects of accomodation put pressure on the outer coat of the eye, and over time, many individuals experience the stretching of the coat of their eye; and a longer eye means that rays of light from distant objects, which used to be focused directly onto the retina now come into focus before reaching the retina, and we have a case of myopia on our hands.

So much is the main point of his book. Rehm does acknowledge, however, that many factors, including diet, genetics, personality and lifestyle do play a role in putting someone at risk for myopia, but the true proximate cause of myopia, Rehm maintians, is excessive close work. Corrective lenses used to treat myopia, i.e. glasses and contacts only worsen myopia further because they effectively bring all light rays closer to the eyes, thereby exacerbating the circumstances that caused myopia to develop in the first place. Rehm then goes on to describe ways in which parents of young children can prevent their children from developing myopia. And here's where the Myopter viewing device comes in. The myopter eliminates the stresses of near work using lenses, that focus light rays from near objects so that the lens of the eye doesn't need to change shape when accomodating, and by employing mirrors that split the incoming light such that both eyes see the same image when reading, eliminating the need for them to turn inwards.

Incidentally the Myopter is also Rehm's own invention, and being an engineer, it's no wonder he should have set to work on a myopia-prevention device. But accusations that Rehm is peddling the myopia by making a sales pitch in his book are missing the point entirely, because from Rehm's viewpoint, myopia (of the everyday variety, barring congenital birth defects) is solely caused by excessive near work. It's only logical that a device like the Myopter be harnessed to prevent it. And such a preventative device isn't offered elsewhere. Why shouldn't Rehm introduce it to anyone concerned that they, or their loved ones, will develop/has rapidly worsening myopia (which probably describes many of the people who read this book)?

In the later chapters of the book Rehm accosts the eye care industry, namely ophthalmologists and optometrists, of deceiving the public of the true causes of myopia and knowlingly destroying the vision of their patients by prescribing eyeglasses that will have to be changed year after year due to myopia progression that inevitably results from using such glasses. Here, it becomes clear that Rehm is a better scientist and engineer than he is an advocate for the cause of myopia prevention. While Rehm offers some valuable insights into why the eye care industry takes so little interest in the area of myopia prevention, his rhetoric in doing so belies his intelligence, and he sometimes comes across as a desperate lunatic trying to paint a negative picture of the eye care industry with little hard evidence to back himself up.

The reviewer who wrote about the Myopia Myth back in 2000 also seems to have missed Rehm's point. As Rehm explains, eye exercises are beneficial to the eye insofar as they relax the strain caused by near work. But the evidence suggests that while exercises can improve someone's visual accuity, and indeed reduce someone's eyeglass prescription due to the relaxation of the ciliary muscle and subsequent flattening of the intraocular lens, the stretching of the coat of the eye is irreversible (just as the modifications some aboriginal peoples in the world do to certain body parts by hanging weights off them is irreversible). Improvements due to eye exercises can be quite dramatic in some people, but even the reviewer from 2000 cannot claim to have entirely reversed his myopia.

While those with Myopia should remain hopeful about their ability to improve their eyesight (every improvement is worth it!), they should also be realistic; this book is an excellent read for someone who wants to learn some pure facts about myopia that few people even in the eye care industry actually dispute with real hard data/evidence, and despite its fringe (indeed nearly non-existent) presence on their eye care scene, I highly recommended.

This book should be read by every parent so that no child ever becomes nearsighted. The people who wrote the negative reviews below are forgetting that eye doctors also sell products, and most of the eyeglasses that they sell only lead to more eye exams and thicker glasses - which is more money for the doctors. Take a look at the author's website by typing in "myopia" on any search engine and going to The Myopia Myth. READ THIS BOOK!

Concave "minus" lenses are indeed harmful to nearsighted people, especially children. The medical profession knows this but doesn't tell parents. The public, too, is at fault. Parents demand that their children have instant clear vision with glasses or contacts. But they should, at the very least, ask how they can prevent their childen's eyesight from becoming worse.

every myopic person should be given this book to read. not only does it explain (in great detail) how too much nearwork can cause myopia, but it also gives suggestions to stop the progression of myopia. although myopia may not be 100% environmentally caused, it is definitely increased by things like reading WHILE WEARING contacts --> this book can save your eyes.

Donald Rehm, who is an electrical engineer with no credentials whatsoever about optics, decided one day that he didn't like the current theories about causes of myopia and so he would make up his own. The result is this book, and a slew of products with varying degrees of ridiculousness.

He states that eye doctors are only interested in money, and therefore cause you to become more and more nearsighted by treating you with glasses, which he claims are actually harmful to the eyes.
The proof that glasses are harmful? The only proof he gives is that no study exists proving them otherwise.

He insists that the only way to really cure myopia is to use the Myopter and pinhole glasses, two obscure, ridiculous-looking products, which he conveniently controls the supply of.

He claims that the reason you have not heard of these cures before is because of a conspiracy of opticians and opthamologists trying to get your money by making you use ineffective glasses and hiding his products from the general public. Of course, in reality, all these products have been available on the mainstream market for many years. If they really were effective, surely they would be more widely used by now.

Since opticians are so evil, he insists that you don't pay attention to the results of their eye exams and suggests you do them at home. Conveniently, that requires buying special lenses that he happens to sell.

So, to wrap up, glasses are bad. Your eye doctor is not to be trusted because he will make your vision worse. You must read his book because it's the only book out there that is true. You must buy his products, which are overpriced and have no return policy, because they are the only way that you can get better.

Well, he's right about one thing - the name of the game is definitely money.

A note to all people who believed this book & Rehm's "theory" and saved money by avoiding those optometry types: I have some swampland for sale you totally should buy - I'll throw in the Brooklyn bridge and a truckload of turnips if it will sweeten the deal.
Just don't read the fine print on the contract...oh wait, I don't suppose you would be able to, any way.
As far as I am concerned, not taking a child who needs it to the optometrist goes along with not taking a child to a dentist or physician: neglect.

I would like to know if this author is a scientist or just someone who is trying to sell his device. Where is the scientific support? Warning: The author has his own agenda! He is probably also the President of this not-for-profit organization (and the only member).

i have read this book. I find it amusing, but sad that people will disregard the normal standard of care to embrace some flakey theory to enable their denial about there vision. Most eye doctors are not "pushing" glasses and contacts. They are just trying to help people see so they are safe and functional. Dr. Bates as mentioned earlier had some very interesting ideas about eyes. He was not a genius just a person with a lot of wild ideas that sounded good at the time. Thankfully we know a lot more now... Believing what Mr. Bates wrote is like believing 16th century medicine... ie if your sick we will just bleed you until you are well. As far as the individual commenting his vision improved from 20/600 to 20/40...it is possible but not the norm. Most people have myopia/astigmatism/hyperopia due to the curve of the cornea, density of the focusing lense, or lenght of the eye. All these are structures you cannot change them by exercise. That would be like me charging $1000 to take you to 24 hour fitness to teach you exercises to make you 6 inches taller. It is not possible. However, if you are part of the 1-2 % of the population that have a muscular Accomadative focusing spasm then learing to control your focusing system better would help. But to provide false hope or to play on peoples placebo reaction and deny them safe and clear vision is irresponsible and an injustice to public safety. All we need is a bunch of people who think they see well because they use some crazy contraption or did some miracle exercise running over children at a crosswalk.

In short dont waste your money. See an Optometrist or Opthalmologist that is recommended by your friends or family to have an eye exam for your health. In general all they are interested in is to help you vision health and clarity. Sure they would like to pay thier bills and put food on the table too.

Dont waste your money on books and programs without one shred of evidence that they work other than "paid" testimonials and speculation. go with hard evidence.

The vast preponderance of honest intelligent scientists do NOT support the hypothesis presented in this book.

I read this book, and it seems rather slow. It would ne nice but not important to read the books. The usual stuff is there, but skip the chapter about Bates, or read it with skepticism. Also disbelieve that eye can not be cured. Even bates has written a book better than this one. Bates book can be condensed to 10 pages, and i not very good, but a good start. In conclusion you'd be wasting your time on the book. It does not do much good, and makes you to give up hope. There are many other good books than this.