Online Forum Claims Over 50% of Laser Eye Surgery Patients Return to Glasses

A lifetime of glasses and the theory that myopia can be reversed

Can myopia be reversed without surgery? Some argue yes, claiming vision can be trained and that glasses users never see clearly again. This idea, circulating for nearly a century, blames the optics business. The key data: over 50% of refractive surgery patients need glasses again shortly after, as the underlying cause remains. This view attacks both optical shops and clinics, reopening a century-old debate.

The old war between Bates and Helmholtz

This controversy is not new. In 1855, Hermann von Helmholtz stated that eye accommodation depends solely on the ciliary muscle. In the 1920s, ophthalmologist William Bates refuted this, arguing extraocular muscles also focus. Bates was expelled from medical colleges, and his methods banned in US schools. Writer Aldous Huxley testified for Bates, claiming he recovered most of his sight after near blindness.

The modern reference is Meir Schneider, legally blind who learned Braille and now drives in California; his case started with six diopters. The method involves visual therapy, relaxation, distance adaptation, and natural light: relearning to see.

Why does myopia increase if the cause remains?

The repeated argument is that not all myopia is congenital but an adaptation to near work. Some point to a 50% increase in one generation and urban-rural differences: city dwellers focus on screens, while rural areas extend focus distance. This suggests reversible functional myopia—caused by bad visual habits—and irreversible forms.

Experiments with myopic-induced chickens support the view that visual environment shapes the eye. Conversely, testimonies of high myopia from childhood exist: at two years, 4.5 diopters; at 17, 10. One case ended in surgery, refusing future procedures.

What surgery patients say

Patient accounts vary. One says surgery changed his life; another describes growing disillusionment. A patient with high myopia had LASIK, went 20 years without glasses, then saw myopia return at age 50 with 3.5 diopters, expecting it to worsen. The recurring warning is that surgery doesn't eliminate the underlying problem: someone with seven diopters still has them after corneal reshaping.

Surgery supporters counter that for high diopters, the solution is not laser but intraocular lens implantation, which they claim is reversible.

The hidden margin of the optics business

Here, the issue becomes economic. Optical shops are accused of ensuring lifelong customers with increasingly expensive, high-prescription glasses, priced far above real cost: lenses charged at 200 euros when costs are around five. Online stores like Zenni offer lower prices, though customs fees may apply.

Another business avenue is orthokeratology. An optical shop offered a forum user rigid nightly lenses to force corneal curvature, presented with a declared 65% success rate and a price of about 400 euros. The catch: the effect lasts 24 hours and requires nightly use.

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Where the analysis stalls

Defenders argue the eye is trainable to a certain extent. The gap lies in how much. Reversal testimonies range from -2.75 to -0.25 diopters in one case and legal blindness to driving in another. Skeptics reply that presbyopia, astigmatism, and high myopia remain unanswered. As debate continues on exercises versus laser, the underlying suspicion remains: those who see keep paying. Where therapy ends and belief begins is what no one closes.