STI: Eye see now

Nov  21, 2004
Eye see now
by Teo Cheng Wee

THE next time you see someone enter the wrong toilet by mistake, you could blame that on his vanity - and myopia.

A recent survey reveals that vanity and the inconvenience of carrying spectacles or wearing them to play sports are among the reasons people opt out of optical aids.

There's no point seeing well if you can't look good, says almost one in five people here with low myopia.

This has resulted in mishaps such as flagging the wrong bus (20 per cent), being hit by a ball while playing racket sports (4 per cent) or entering the wrong toilet (7 per cent).

The survey was conducted by a research company on 200 people with myopia of 150 degrees or less last month. One in six says he does not wear glasses at all while the rest only put them on half the time on average.

Among the latter is Mr Jacques Servant, 28, who has worked here for four years as a credit analyst. The Frenchman, with myopia of around 125 degrees since he was 19, doesn't wear glasses unless he's driving or watching movies.

But he got increasingly annoyed over the last two years because of his inability to see clearly: 'I had to squint a lot to see signs and accidentally ignored people waving at me because I couldn't see their faces. It made me irritable.'

He wanted to go for Lasik but was told that the amount of correction for mild myopia attained through the surgery may be minimal.

Contact lenses weren't an option either, as he 'didn't like to put things in my eyes'.

But help is at hand for people like him.

In June this year, the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) launched the NeuroVision programme.

About 200 people, including Mr Servant, have undergone treatment so far.

The non-invasive therapy treats mild myopia below 150 degrees. Based on clinical trials, the success rate is 80 per cent, for people aged 18 to 55.

The most likely reason the other 20 per cent sees no improvement is the lack of motivation, as concentration and discipline are needed when training the brain, says Dr Jerry Tan, an ophthalmologist in private practice.

It works like this: Patients sit 1.5m from a 17-inch computer screen and sort out two images flashed on it by clicking a computer mouse.

The exercise becomes more difficult as the images become more alike. They are also flashed across more quickly.

NeuroVision trains the brain to see better, says Dr Chan Wing Kwong, a senior consultant and head of refractive surgery service at the SNEC.

Instead of improving the image that the eye sends to the brain with the help of glasses or surgery, the brain is taught to sharpen the blurred image the eye sends.

The physical defect that causes myopia - usually an eyeball that is too long - is not eradicated. Patients go through three sessions a week and about 30 in total. Each lasts about 30 minutes (see other story).

NeuroVision can also treat amblyopia, or 'lazy eye', with more complicated exercises.

The technology was pioneered by Israeli doctor Uri Polat 20 years ago, though NeuroVision, the company he set up in 1999, is now based in the United States.

Singapore is the first country where the technology is available to the public. The company chose Singapore due to the high myopia rate of 80 per cent.

After three months, Mr Servant can now make out smaller letters on the eye chart. That has made him less tired and irritable.

Another happy customer is fellow Frenchman Roderic Proniewski, 38, who also underwent the programme at SNEC.

The managing director of a wine company, who has been here since 1989, is most excited about seeing better underwater when he goes for his next dive trip.

To wear or not to wear

PERHAPS the most commonly debated topic for people with low myopia is: Should one wear glasses?

One camp says no because that may cause your eye to become lazy, dependent and hence increasingly short-sighted.

But the other camp says yes, because not wearing will strain your eye more, possibly worsening the short-sightedness.

So who is right?

Dr Lee Sao Bing, an associate consultant from The Eye Institute at the National University Hospital, says it won't make any difference to adults as their myopia would have stabilised: 'If they choose not to wear glasses, they just won't see distant objects clearly. Their short-sightedness won't worsen, whether they wear glasses or not.'

Dr Jerry Tan, an ophthalmologist in private practice, says the best treatment is simply wearing glasses with the right power.

'If your degree is below 75 degrees, you can choose not to wear as you should be able to see almost everything clearly,' he says.

'Above that, though, you should wear glasses. Don't go around without them and suffer blurred vision, or wear glasses that are 'overpowered'.

'Make sure your glasses are correctly powered. I don't think anyone can argue with that.'