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How to reduce eye number

Author : Dr Deepak Garg
How to reduce eye number

Understanding Eye Power or Number

By 2050 half the world’s population is going to be myopic. Myopia is one type of eye power. Many are aware that post covid a huge number of children got glasses or the number increased for those who were already wearing glasses. It’s thus important to understand the types of eye power and how to take care of your eyes. 

Eyeglasses are optical aids to enable us to see clearly. The lenses have a number to them depending on our eye condition. There are 3 types of eye power:

  1. Nearsightedness (myopia) – In this eye condition, concave lenses are used to correct myopia, also known as short-sightedness.
  2. Farsightedness (hyperopia) – Convex lenses are used to address hypermetropia or farsightedness, enabling us to see objects clearly at a distance.
  3. Astigmatism or Cylindrical eye power – Cylindrical lenses are prescribed for treating astigmatism, a condition where the cornea or lens has an irregular shape. These lenses help in restoring visual clarity.

How is eye number treated by doctors?

 Usually, refractive errors or eye powers are managed through the following approaches:

  1. Eyeglasses: Eyeglasses are the most common solution. They focus what we look at on the retina and we can then see clearly.
  2. Contact Lenses: These are placed directly on the eye and do the same thing as glasses. Just that they are thin and obviously one cant see them unless they are coloured.
  3. LASIK Eye Surgery: This advanced refractive laser surgery involves reshaping the cornea, effectively altering its focusing power. Post lasik objects are focussed on the retina and we see clearly.

How to reduce eye power naturally?

Everyone wants to remove their eye number naturally and thus this is a very common question. There are a few things one can do to try and remove their eye numbers, however, before we list out natural ways of reducing eye numbers one must understand that the veracity of these statements has never held up to scientific scrutiny. At the same time, however, the medical fraternity also agrees that these exercises do not harm your eyes. It is therefore up to you to give these exercises a try, with a healthy dose of skepticism, to see if they work.

These exercises are not part of the specific ocularist-supervised programs to correct particular eyesight issues (like convergence insufficiency) and other binocular visual skills. These exercises claim to be able to correct refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatisms, which are errors stemming from altered eye anatomy or structure.

Eye Exercises to Reduce Spherical or Cylindrical Eye Number

There are several commercially available exercise programs online, which are said to be devised by experts in this field. Most of them are similar and come with a disclaimer that the results may vary from person to person, and the duration of exercise for optimal results is also not specified. None of them offer any guaranteed results. Following are some exercises or practices that have been followed for ages and are known to help in eyecare.

1. Palming

The technique of covering both eyes gently with your palms is called palming. Eye yoga also talks about palming. It helps by relaxing the eyes and also resulting in the redistribution of tears on the eye surface. Experts recommend that you must take a deep breath and relax your neck muscles, closing your eyes. Make sure your forearms and elbows are well supported, and then close your eyes. Gently cup your eyes in the hollow of your palms for about a minute, breathing normally. Experts recommend repeating this exercise, several times a day for best results.

2. Blinking

Blinking is a reflex function but there is no conclusive evidence that it helps improve your eyesight. However, with our current use of gadgets, conscious blinking is a good idea since our blink rate reduces significantly when sitting in front of computers, televisions or smartphones. This happens because we tend to stare at the screens when looking at them. Blinking redistributes the tear film and makes the eyes lubricated, it also provides the eyes with some much-needed rest, therefore decreasing fatigue and strain.

It is claimed that it’s important to repeat the exercise many times throughout the day to achieve the best results.

  • Slow Blink- For 2 minutes, you must blink your eyes every 30 seconds, definitively closing them.
  • Quick Blink- For 2 minutes, you must blink your eyes every 4 seconds, rapidly, for optimal benefit.

3. The Figure of Eight or circular eye movements

Imagine a large “8” figure in front of you, about six feet away, and you must revolve your eyes to trace its shape slowly in a clockwise direction. This process must be repeated for three to five minutes. After this, you must trace the shape of “8” in the anti-clockwise direction for the same duration.

This must be done several times during the day for the best results.

4. Convergence eye exercises

Convergence exercises are to strengthen your near vision muscles, also known as ciliary muscles, and also to help delay presbyopia by exercising the muscles responsible for focusing or accommodation. Presbyopia is needed to wear reading glasses after the age of 42 years of age. Usually, these exercises are done for a condition called convergence insufficiency.

Focus on a pencil tip held an arm’s length away. Focus on something far away to relax your eyes. Repeat this cycle for two minutes. Slowly bring the pencil tip closer until it is about 3 inches away from your face or the tip becomes blurred. Don’t take your eyes off the pencil tip. As we bring the pencil tip closer the tip will get blurred. Try to focus on it till it becomes clear again. You may also start seeing two tips. Again, focus on the tip and try to make it one. Move the pencil back to its original position with your arm stretched out as much as possible. Repeat this for at least ten minutes, and several times a day. It is possible that you feel a slight eye strain while doing these exercises.

5. Side-to-side movement

Moving the eyes from side to side also is said to relax the eyes and improve vision. For this, after sitting in a relaxed position, you must shift your eyes to the right, looking at something at least six feet away. After holding your gaze for a few seconds, move your eyes to the other extreme. You must do this for three to five minutes, and then reverse the order of your gaze, starting first from a left-extreme gaze and moving to the right, for another three to five minutes. This also must be performed repeatedly.

LASIK Surgery with EMI
LASIK Surgery with EMI

Home remedies for reducing eye number

Eye power is present because of the anatomical shape of the eye. It is highly unlikely that home remedies (apart from exercises) will change or reverse the anatomical shape of the eye. It is however proven that there are various vitamins and minerals that will help different aspects of eye health. In fact, not only for the eye, these vitamins and minerals help with general well-being and also help in various body functions thus improving the overall quality of life. 

  1. In most cases, experts seem to at least propose it is better to get one’s nutrients from the diet. As a result, it is better to prioritize your overall diet than supplement intake.

Vitamins A, C, and E, as well as the mineral zinc, contain antioxidants that can help prevent Age-related macular degeneration. It’s a condition in which the macula — the part of the eye that controls central vision — deteriorates.

Food sources for these important nutrients include a variety of colourful vegetables and fruits, such as:

  • Vitamin A (carrots, sweet potatoes, and cantaloupes) – If there is VIT A deficiency then one may experience night vision problems.
  • Vitamin C (oranges, peaches, and tomatoes)
  • Vitamin E (avocadoes, almonds, and sunflower seeds)

2. A few other nutrients are also keys to improving eyesight. Among them are lutein and zeaxanthin, which are carotenoids found in the retina. You can also find them in leafy green vegetables, broccoli, zucchini, and eggs.

3. Lutein and zeaxanthin can also be taken in supplement form. These carotenoids help protect the macula by improving pigment density in that part of the eye and absorbing ultraviolet and blue light.

4. If you are feeling that your eye muscles are weakening, you should try out this home remedy – Make green leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach, etc., a part of your daily diet. These vegetables are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin – the healthy antioxidants that prevent free radicals in the eyes.

5. There is an age-old Ayurvedic remedy that is instrumental in improving eyesight. All you need is a mixture of 7 almonds, 5-gram fennel seeds, and 5-gram mishri that are crushed into a powder. You should have one teaspoon of this powder every day with cold milk at night. Regular consumption of this powder helps in improving eyesight, thereby reducing the power of your spectacles.6. Omega 3 fatty acids are another group of nutrients which help with the lubrication of the front surface of the eye and thus prevent dry eyes.

Eye drops to get rid of reading glasses

Presbyopia, reading glasses

Very recently, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved the first eye drop designed to enhance age-related near vision. Vuity is a solution that can be applied to improve vision throughout the day, potentially eliminating the need for reading glasses wherever you go. The drops are most effective for people aged 40 to 55, who often experience difficulty in seeing clearly while performing daily tasks, such as reading from your phone or computer screen.

How does Vuity Eye Drop work?

It is recommended to use one drop to each eye daily. The drops begin working 15 minutes after application, and their effects last for approximately six hours. Vuity is formulated using a well-known drug called pilocarpine, which is also used in glaucoma treatment. Researchers utilized technology to enable the eye drop to quickly adapt to the pH of the tear film. Vuity reduces pupil size, leading to an improvement in near- and intermediate vision, while distance vision remains unaffected. 

This development is quite recent. Because this drug has been previously used for other eye conditions, we are familiar with its side effects. It might cause some eye strain or a sensation of heaviness, but nothing serious or long-lasting.

Can yoga improve eyesight?

Eye yoga is also practiced claiming to reduce eye number. Most of the eye exercises described above are also practiced in yoga. As explained earlier there is no scientific evidence to suggest that these exercises are successful. On a practical note when we see patients who are undergoing eye yoga exercises to reduce their eye number, we do not see any reduction. 

Yoga in general focuses on relaxation techniques and breathing. These rituals are proven beyond doubt to benefit the individual’s well-being. In fact, one may argue that in today’s world yoga, breathing and meditation is the need of the hour. So yes, there is surely a feel-good factor when people practice yoga or meditation.

Eye Solutions sees a significant number of pediatric patients. Some of our parents are not happy that their children have glasses and start eye yoga with the hope that eye numbers will reduce. Out of all these parents, come visit us again to confirm if the eye number has reduced. We have not seen a single child whose eye number has reduced because of eye yoga. However, we also have not seen a single child who has been harmed by eye yoga in any way.

Eye number and diabetes

High blood sugar in diabetics is known to change eye power. Because the eye power can change again because of varying blood sugar levels it becomes impractical to keep making glasses of the latest eye power. 

Diabetes also causes diabetic retinopathy in the eye which is an irreversible blinding disease of the eye. It thus becomes important to keep your blood sugar levels under strict control.

How to reduce or decrease eye number with LASIK?

LASIK eye surgery is a procedure in which a laser reshapes the front surface of the cornea. This reshaping helps the person to see clearly without glasses. There are a few types of LASIK eye surgery. 

LASIK uses cutting-edge technology and this makes the procedure very safe. The procedure is very quick and the most popular type of LASIK in which a flap is created hardly causes any discomfort to the patient.

Steps of Lasik

Steps of Lasik Surgery

Consult Eye Solutions – If you are planning to reduce your eye number

Contact top eye specialists At Eye Solutions, we recommend patients to do some eye exercises for eye conditions related to binocular vision. We have not found enough evidence to suggest to patients exercises to reduce their eye number. For those who are very keen to get rid of glasses, we suggest LASIK eye surgery. This procedure gets rid of glasses very quickly.

Frequently asked questions

1. Is it possible to reduce eye number fast?

While we all wish for that, there is really no way to reduce your eye number naturally or by performing eye exercises. LASIK eye surgery would help you get rid of your number completely very fast and that is something that you can consider if you are keen to be glass-free.

2. How can I get a 20/20 vision?

You can get 20/20 vision by wearing glasses or contact lenses or by getting LASIK done if you want 20/20 vision and not wear glasses. The chances of your number completely going away only by performing exercises is very slim.

3. How to reduce eyeglasses number?

There is no evidence in the scientific world that eye specs number can be reduced. Exercises or eye yoga have not been shown to really reduce eye power. At the same time, ophthalmologists agree that they don’t harm the eyes in any way. One is most welcome to try these exercises and hope for the best.

4. Can we remove the specs permanently?

Yes, you can.  Unfortunately, this may not be possible with eye exercises alone. You may have to undergo a procedure called LASIK eye surgery which would get rid of your specs.

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93 comments on “How to reduce eye number”

  1. My wife after almost 17years’ of Conventional Surgery for NA Glaucoma & Cataracts,as her RE having Over filtration remained with IOP 6/8mmhg-no eye drops.
    Recently she posed difficulty in Reading/Focusing.Her Eye power is R:+0.50 +2.00 170 degree L:- -1.00 75 degree Add:2.50 in both Specs power.
    She had first time eye power changed is noticed.She is now comfortable with Near-Vision Specs.
    Kindly let me know,whether Cyl.power will increase further as We would like to go for Progrssive lenses-with above correction.
    Please advise.

    1. usually cylindrical power does not change with age. However, because she has undergone glaucoma surgery there is always a small chance that the cylindrical power may change after a year or two.

    1. Lasik has now been there for quite a few years. We have also performed cataract surgeries for patients who have undergone lasik many years ago. So no specific long term side effects.

  2. My age is 15 and my eye power is -2 in both side. Can I reduce eye power naturally or by using any eye drop .

  3. Hi sir I’m 43 I hav my both distant and near power
    Can it be possible for surgery to reduce any one power

    1. Yes lasik will get rid of your distance power and you will only have reading glasses. However, you will not need distance glasses for maybe 8-10 years and after that you will need distance glasses again.

  4. hi.. I’m 20 year old and my eye sight number is -15 both eye.. what should i do for reducing this number.. and some doctors said i have Keratokones disease. is i go for lasik surgery?

  5. hello sir,my son is 6 years old.doctor told his cylinderical power increased he has -1.75 in both eyes so suggested to wear specs.is it necessary to wear him specs?we are much worried he is little boy.is there any possibility to reduce his power?is there any foods or exercises to rectify this problem?

  6. sir, my 7 years old son has Right SPH -2. 50, CYL+1.25, AXIS 110 / Left SPH -2.00, CYL +1.50, AXIS 70 can any chances to improve his eyesight.

  7. I am 18 and my eye no. has increased this year from -4.5 to -5.5 and -5.50 to -6.0 should I be worried about losing my eyesight in upcoming years

  8. Hi Sir
    I am Gajendra Yadav From Alwar Rajasthan.
    My eye number is -5 of both eye. I am 20 year old. I am using spectacle last 7 year but number increases per year.
    What is the solution for save my eye.
    I am able to surgery or not.

  9. Hello Dr. Garg, my 6 year old son has myopia. he has been using -4 and 5 since last year. This year the power has increased to -5.75 and -6.00. What can we do to help him improve his eyesight and get rid of glasses or at least that his eyesight will not worsen? Kindly give us your suggestion.

    1. hi, apologies for the late reply. You can only do 4 things
      1. reduce screen time
      2. increase outdoor activity
      3. Use certain eye drops once at night every night till he is 15-16 years old
      4. Use myopia control lenses in his spectacles instead of the regular lenses.

  10. My right eye is -1.25 spherical and left eye is-1.00 spherical,-.75 CYL and 180 degree axis . I have amblyopia in left eye and turning outward . Now i am 22 years old .what should i do

  11. MYRIGHT EYE IS -1.25 SPHERICAL AND THE LEFT EYE IS -1.00 SPHERICAL ,-.75 CYLINDRICAL AND AXIS IS 180 DEGREE AND I HAVE AMBYLOPIA. THEN WHAT SHOULD I DO ?MY LEFT EYE BECOME MOVING OUTWARD . I AM 22 YEARS OLD

    1. Dear Satyam,

      the best treatment would be a step wise treatment
      1) First you have to do Revital therapy to improve the amblyopia
      2) Surgery for squint so that the squint is not visible anymore.

      Please call us on 9820239958 and speak to zulfikar, prathmesh or laxmi and understand more about revital therapy

  12. My son is 7 yrs old now he has eyesight of -3 for both the eyes. how can we reduce the eyesight and be normal without the usage of specs in the long run.

  13. Hi my name is wahaj Ashrafi I have a eye power of 3.75 and farsighted I was thinking of buying the Vuity eye drop will it benefit . I also do eye exercises but never get an improvement in my eyes and see blur all the time without glasses so what will help me .?

  14. Hello sir! I’m waghmare shweta.. my eye number is -3 right now… what should I do to reduce it as soon as possible… because of this I have continuous headache also!

  15. Sir, I recently had an eye checkup at Lenskart and found that I had -0.75 spherical power and -1.5 spherical power in right eye and in both eyes 33 pd. How can it can be rectified.

  16. Hi Doctor ,
    My daughter is 3years 10 months old and she has cylindrical power of 4.77. Does that increase by age and also, she has cornea thickness of 494 which is lower than the normal range. of 540. I sthat anything to be worried.

    Please advise what has to be done. Very much worried with regard to her age.

    1. sometimes children can have a high cylindrival number. All you need to do is make her wear the correct glasses and get regular check ups with topographies of the cornea to make sure everything is fine.

  17. Dear Dr. Garg, recently I have undergone combined cataract and Glaucoma surgery in my left eye which had only central vision left, about 25%.
    After 2 days of surgery IOP was 3 to 4 only, which increased to 5 after 1.5 month and not increasing. In the mean while big choroidal also developed and almost resolved after 1.5 month. But my vision is not improved much. My distant vision was perfect upto 1 week after surgery, then it deteriorated quickly with pixalation and blurred vision. My operating doctor told that the vision will improve in a month. What do you think sir? Pinhole vision of both eyes are 6/24.
    Now when I made glasses, my left eye vision is cyl +3, 80°, R-eye vision – 4.5, cyl – 1, 90°, Near add +2.25. Now wearing the glass is very difficult due to focusing problem.
    My right eye is also 50% affected by glaucoma and have cataract.
    Please advise best solution to come out of this situation. Please sir.

  18. Hi sir
    I will be 17 years old in February 2024 and I have -5[R] and -6[L]. My number increases about 0.25 every 6-12 months. What can I do.And when I can get LASIK surgery done.
    Please reply

  19. I am having myopia of 1.75 D in the eyes. I want to reduce it to 0.5 D in one year. Is it possible. If yes then how?

  20. Sir I’m 20 year old but my eye numbers can’t under control. I have 5 nd 6 numbers. So how can i control this means i can reduce that number via operation ? Nd will you suggest me which exercises control the eye numbers

  21. I am 28 years old. My eye power is R: -9, L: -7, What should I do to reducing this number? Is it possible to reduce it naturally? Or should I go for Lasik?

  22. Sir I have glaucoma in my left eye due to trauma about 14 years ago. my right eye was 6/6 until recent years now it’s power is increasing as spherical.5 and cylinderical .5 with 40degrees. With single vision do I need to worry about it worsening or what should I do to improve or stop it.

        1. Dont worry about the vision going bad in the normal eye. Because you have one good eye and one week eye just make sure you get regular eye checks for the eye that has glaucoma and make sure you see an eye doctor atleast once a year for the normal eye.

          Regards
          Deepak

  23. i have right -5.5 and left 4.75 what should i do to stop getting worser eyesight and what are best exercises for eyes and should i stop wearing glasses when i dont have to work?

  24. hi, I’m 20 years old and i have glasses from almost 8 years. and I have a hight power of -6.5 in both eyes from the past 3 years. is LASIK surgery okay for me? does it hurt? amd will it help me get rid of my glasses?
    NOTE: I have to work on computer for most of the day.

    1. Yes lasik will be ok for you
      Not really – not much pain or no pain atall. Some irriation will be present after the procedure.
      Depending on the thickness of your cornea your number may completely go or some small number may remain.

  25. मेरे बेटे ki उम्र 11 वर्ष 3 महिने है _5.50 both eye नंबर laga है उन्हे नंबर उत्तर sakakta है glass konse le confuse hai and myopia control glass कैसा रहेगा ऑप्टिकल दुकान वाले कहते है ये ग्लास अच्छा रहे गा लेकिन 3 घंटे ke बाद साधा ग्लास पहने क्या 3 घंटे बाद नही लगा सकते please guide me

      1. Hello Sir, My daughter is 2.3 years old and she is having squint in left eye.. After check up we came to know that because of refractive error in eyes her eye is squinting.
        Left eye – +5 and right eye – +3,75
        Can these numbers reduce in future. what I can do to reduce her eye number, I am very much worried because of her Age.

        1. Dear Ayu,

          Your daughter most likely has accomodative Esotropia. Dont worry about reducing number. Her number wont increase and most likely the squint wont be visible with glasses.

          Regards
          Deepak

    1. Dear Saraswati,

      Eye power can increase due to many reasons, genetics is one of them. For eye numbers one has to wear glasses to be able to see clearly.

      what is the number of your two year old ?

      Regards
      Deepak

    1. Dear Rahul,

      The number wont go away on your own. You will have to wear glasses to see clearly. Ofcourse you can get a lasik done after 19years of age which will get rid of your number.

  26. Hello Sir,

    My son is 4.5 years old and he has a cylindrical numbers. Below are the numbers:

    Right Eye:
    SPH: –
    CYL: -0.75
    AXIS: 90
    VISION: 6/9

    Left Eye:
    SPH: +0.75
    CYL: -1.75
    AXIS: 90
    VISION: 6/9 (P)

    He has started wearing glasses now but would like to know is there any possibility of reducing the number naturally?

    By any chance, if he wear the glasses regularly, the number will reduce? Any food to be included in the diet?

    Please suggest.

    Thanks much.

    1. hi,

      the number is not too large,
      if you wear glasses the number will not reduce or go away.
      the spherical power may infact increase slowly and gradually over the next few years.
      no food would help either.

      dont worry, Keep the glasses on and thats about it
      Regards
      Deepak

  27. I had LASIK 3 months before and after surgery, I have blurry vision and feels like a curtain in front of my eyes. I have 0.50 cylindrical power after surgery now and ita very irritating. I am hopeless and feeling bad to have a LASIK.

  28. Aoa ! Sir ! My eyesight no. Is 10 and my age is 19 .I want to get rid of glasses. Because I am studying medical and it irritates me a lot. And I have been wearing it since my childhood.

    1. Dear EMan, 10 is a high number and lasik may not be a suitable option for you. You need to undergo clear lens extraction. This procuedre will get rid of your glasses and also you will not harm your eyes in any way.

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