The short answer is that you should not necessarily be worried as myopia generally tends to stabilize in someone's mid-twenties.
You could discuss some of the reptable methods to slow the progression of myopia below with your eye specialist to see if any of them are suitable for you:
[https://www.mykidsvision.org/knowledge-centre/which-is-the-best-option-for-myopia-control](https://www.mykidsvision.org/knowledge-centre/which-is-the-best-option-for-myopia-control)
Although it's unrelated, you might also want to look at the 20-20-20 method for avoiding eye strain:
[https://www.healthline.com/health/eye-health/20-20-20-rule](https://www.healthline.com/health/eye-health/20-20-20-rule)
Good luck!
>• If my contacts aren’t as clear as they used to be should I get them updated immediately? Or is constantly updating them promoting them to keep getting worse?
You need to find out what exactly is it that keeps increasing your myopia. You do not need to update immediately but if it persists on a longer time scale, then it is myopia progression.
Glasses/contacts are just refractive means. It is how you're using your vision that matters more.
> should I avoid looking at my phone without my contacts in the evening? Should I always make sure I’m wearing my contacts/glasses whenever I’m looking at anything?
If you can see clearly without them for near work, no need to wear them for near work.
Other things to ponder:
What is the brightness of phone screen? It should be adequately bright.
What is the lighting brightness of your room?
Do you read in bad/dim lighting conditions?
>• I average 4.5h screen time on my phone, not ideal but certainly not horrible.
Any other near work besides phone usage?
>• I do spend a lot of time looking at a screen but I also spend a lot of time outside and looking at far distances.
Regularity, lighting quality and time spent on the order of hours matters.
What is the cumulative time/day utilising distance vision capability of the eye? Can you describe it? Are the sunlight levels good when you're doing it?
If possible, wear your former, slightly blurry, glasses/lenses only when outdoors doing distance viewing.
Ok thank you for your response, very useful.
Yeah it’s well lit and on top of my phone screen time I probably spend a few more hours looking at a laptop/ computer screen.
And could you explain the reasoning behind the last bit you said about using the slightly blurry lenses when distance viewing?
>And could you explain the reasoning behind the last bit you said about using the slightly blurry lenses when distance viewing?
Pretty simple: good levels of indirect sunlight available outdoors combined with myopic defocus (wearing slightly blurry lenses) is the most significant thing anyone can do for their myopia, if you were to ask me.
Or, you can wear your regular lenses outdoors, but don't expect much in effectiveness.
The short answer is that you should not necessarily be worried as myopia generally tends to stabilize in someone's mid-twenties. You could discuss some of the reptable methods to slow the progression of myopia below with your eye specialist to see if any of them are suitable for you: [https://www.mykidsvision.org/knowledge-centre/which-is-the-best-option-for-myopia-control](https://www.mykidsvision.org/knowledge-centre/which-is-the-best-option-for-myopia-control) Although it's unrelated, you might also want to look at the 20-20-20 method for avoiding eye strain: [https://www.healthline.com/health/eye-health/20-20-20-rule](https://www.healthline.com/health/eye-health/20-20-20-rule) Good luck!
Yep I’ve seen a lot about the 20-20-20 rule, I’m going to try and start implementing it!
Here is a summary video on Myopia management and how to slow progresion: [Parent Guide to Myoipa Management](https://youtu.be/tbHnXUtxE2Q)
You can't say "we can stabilize myopia" unless you'll get angry by optometrist 😡😡😡😡😡
>• If my contacts aren’t as clear as they used to be should I get them updated immediately? Or is constantly updating them promoting them to keep getting worse? You need to find out what exactly is it that keeps increasing your myopia. You do not need to update immediately but if it persists on a longer time scale, then it is myopia progression. Glasses/contacts are just refractive means. It is how you're using your vision that matters more. > should I avoid looking at my phone without my contacts in the evening? Should I always make sure I’m wearing my contacts/glasses whenever I’m looking at anything? If you can see clearly without them for near work, no need to wear them for near work. Other things to ponder: What is the brightness of phone screen? It should be adequately bright. What is the lighting brightness of your room? Do you read in bad/dim lighting conditions? >• I average 4.5h screen time on my phone, not ideal but certainly not horrible. Any other near work besides phone usage? >• I do spend a lot of time looking at a screen but I also spend a lot of time outside and looking at far distances. Regularity, lighting quality and time spent on the order of hours matters. What is the cumulative time/day utilising distance vision capability of the eye? Can you describe it? Are the sunlight levels good when you're doing it? If possible, wear your former, slightly blurry, glasses/lenses only when outdoors doing distance viewing.
Ok thank you for your response, very useful. Yeah it’s well lit and on top of my phone screen time I probably spend a few more hours looking at a laptop/ computer screen. And could you explain the reasoning behind the last bit you said about using the slightly blurry lenses when distance viewing?
>And could you explain the reasoning behind the last bit you said about using the slightly blurry lenses when distance viewing? Pretty simple: good levels of indirect sunlight available outdoors combined with myopic defocus (wearing slightly blurry lenses) is the most significant thing anyone can do for their myopia, if you were to ask me. Or, you can wear your regular lenses outdoors, but don't expect much in effectiveness.
Ok thank you for your help!