The desire to get permanent freedom from your glasses is valid. If you go on the internet to look for ways to reduce eye power or specs number, you will undoubtedly find several results. Some suggest eye exercises & yoga, while others suggest drops or dietary changes.
But are these “natural remedies” really effective? The real answer may not be entirely what is expected, but it is useful nonetheless. Read along to know more.
Can Eye Power or Specs Number Be Reduced Naturally?
The short answer is no. There is no exercise, diet, or drops that can magically reverse your eye power once you have developed a refractive error. Why is that? It’s because refractive errors are a result of changes in the natural eye shape. Once the eye’s structure has changed, non-surgical strategies cannot bring it back to normal.
That being said, there is a possibility of lowering the rate at which eye power increases, especially in young children. In adults, while there is no natural method, permanent specs removal is possible through LASIK/laser surgery.
How to Control Eye Power in Children?
The speed at which the eye power or specs number progresses in children can be controlled through various strategies that fall under myopia management or myopia control. Modes of management include:
- Low dose Atropine drops: These are specialised eye drops, prescribed by an ophthalmologist, to help slow down the progression of myopia (nearsightedness) in children.
- Prescription glasses: Visit an eye doctor and get your child’s eyes checked. The doctor can prescribe corrective eyeglasses with their accurate eye power, which helps them see clearly and delay progression.
- Ortho-K lenses: These are rigid gas-permeable lenses that are worn overnight to gently reshape the cornea. These are prescribed by an ophthalmologist so that children can see clearly during the day without having to wear spectacles or daytime contact lenses.
- Vision therapy: This can help manage focusing-related issues and pseudo-myopia.
Why is It Not Possible to Reverse Eye Power Naturally?
To understand this, it’s important to first understand what “eye power” really is. To be able to see clearly, light must focus directly on the retina (light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye). Nearsightedness, or myopia, causes the light to focus in front of the retina instead of on it, making distant objects seem blurry.
This happens because the eyeball grows too long (from front to back). Once it has grown long, an eyeball cannot shrink back. Contrary to belief, no eye exercises can help shorten it, and no special foods can naturally reverse the growth.
Eye exercises are a good practice for tired or fatigued eyes. However, they cannot help alter your eye power or help you get rid of your specs.
| 👁️ IMPORTANT: Eye exercises can help with convergence insufficiency. Convergence insufficiency is when the two eyes are unable to function together for focusing on a nearby object. (via AAO) |
Why is It Important to Control or Manage Myopia?
When you think about eye power, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Maintenance hassles, cleaning stress, & everyday specs struggles, right?
But there’s a deeper downside to having high eye powers that’s seldom addressed. As the eyeball continues to grow longer in shape, the tissues at the back keep getting stretched. High myopia significantly increases your risk of developing potentially vision-threatening conditions such as glaucoma, myopic macular degeneration, and retinal detachment.
Therefore, myopia management is not encouraged for the sole purpose of cosmetic appeal. It is promoted to delay the progression and lower the risk for other eye conditions.
This clearly places the “How to control or slow down myopia progression?” question at a higher priority than “How to reduce specs number?”
Additional Tips for Myopia Control in Children
Besides the above-mentioned visual aids and medical treatment, myopia control can also be promoted at home. Here’s how:
- Well-balanced diet: A nutritious diet may not help reverse eye power, but it does help promote good general eye health, lowering the risk of any other eye conditions.
- Outdoor time: Kids need outdoor time. A minimum of 2 hours in natural daylight – away from books and screens is advisable for good eye health.
| 💭 DID YOU KNOW? It is believed that bright sunlight can have a positive impact on children’s eye health, meaning it can delay the onset of myopia or control its progression. (via NIH) |
- 20-20-20 rule: As a parent in 2026, it’s crucial for you to ensure your child knows there’s a world outside the iPad screen. Teach them young about the 20-20-20 rule, which states that you must take 20-second breaks every 20 minutes to look at something 20 feet away. This helps reduce the strain on the eyes, eye fatigue, overworked muscle-related eye/head aches, etc.
- Regular eye check-ups: Regular eye check-ups help keep track of your child’s eye health. This enables early detection and the implementation of corrective measures in a timely manner.
So, while there’s no sure-shot natural way to reverse eye power or reduce it, there are ways to help delay its progression. For adults, there are many surgical options to choose from for permanent freedom from specs.
Sohana Hospital boasts a dedicated Myopia Management Clinic with 20+ eye care professionals, ensuring your child gets the best care. Additionally, the hospital has a team of the best LASIK surgeons and a complete refractive suite:
- Wavelight Plus InnovEyes – AI+3D ray-tracing personalised LASIK
- SMILE Pro – 9-second flapless robotic+AI laser specs removal
- Contoura Vision – topography-guided customised LASIK
- LASIK – bladeless vision correction
- PRK – touchless & flapless laser specs removal
- ICL – implantable lens-based surgery (ideal for high myopia, thin corneas, or dry eyes)
- RLE – natural eye lens replacement vision correction (eliminates the risk of cataract in the future)
