Question
Hi,
I am 15 years old and I currently do not wear glasses/contacts. When I was about 10, I got 1 contact to put in my right eye because it was the only eye that was having problems. Now, my vision has, unbelievably, "switched eyes".
My left eye is much worse than my right now, and to make things more interesting, my left eye can only see things up close, while my right can only see things far away.
(My prescription is +2 in one eye, and -2 in the other). I honestly do not have a problem with my vision because I can still see just fine. Today, however, I went to the eye doctor because I failed my school eye exam and they told me that I should definitely be wearing glasses or contacts because my brain is getting "overloaded" from the imbalance.
I got some experimental contacts, and they gave me a huge headache and actually, in my mind, made my vision worse. I think my prescription is right, its just my brain is not used to my eyes being balanced. I really DO NOT want to wear glasses or contacts because, firstly, the doctor told me that glasses aren't good for people in my situation, and secondly, I have EXTREMELY dry eyes that can not handle contacts well and I absolutely cannot put in eye drops because of how sensitive my eyes are.
PLEASE help me! My mom told me that if I don't fix my vision that I'll go blind or my vision will get worse. Is this true? Could this happen if I don't correct my vision? And what if I do get contacts and spend a bunch of money, only for my eyes change drastically again like they did before? I would just be wasting my money.
To be honest, I probably won't wear either glasses or contacts under any circumstance unless there is a possibility that I will go blind in the future. Thank you so much for your time and consideration, as not many doctors I have talked to have ever seen a situation quite like my own.
Answer
Thanks for your Question
The thing that you have is called Anisometropia in which there is a difference in the refractive powers between both eyes.
After birth, visual pathway is immature and it keep maturing till around 10 or 11 years. Uncorrected refractive power during this period can cause lazy eye or amblyopia which is difficult to treat.
With the refractive errors that you have, it is unlikely that your vision is clear. You might feel comfortable with this vision but you should fix it either with glasses, contact lenses or other modalities.
Glasses for your situation can cause headache and eye strain because there is a big difference in the refractive powers between both eyes but not all patients complain of these symptoms. You have to try the glasses first to judge.
To decrease these complains, some optometrists can decrease the refractive power difference between both eye. For example,instead of -2.00 and +2.00, they can give you -1.00 and +1.00.
There are certain types of contact lenses that can be used in people with dry eyes but you still have to try them to judge. There are multiple artificial tears eye drops that can be used with contact lenses to decrease signs and symptoms of dry eye syndrome.
Lasik shouldn't be done for patients under 21 years old because your refractive powers can change and most likely they will stabilize at age of 21.
Phakic intraocular lens implantation is another refractive surgery but it should be done in patients with stabilized refractive powers
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