Do you care about your child’s eyesight?
Do you think that all optometrists are going to give you good advice? Do you worry that by looking at the size and retail location of their ‘practice’, there could potentially be a profit motive, a conflict of interest (of money over vision science) even?
Before we go there, let’s cover some important facts:
First, your darling eye guru is some weirdo you found on the Internet. Don’t go trust anybody you found on the Internet. This isn’t meant to be humorous, I mean it quite seriously. You never know what people’s real motives are, and whether under a whole lot of logical sounding science they’re just raving lunatics.
Likewise, with the optometrists. There you don’t have to worry as much about the lunatic factor, but perhaps some amount of sheeple-selling-lenses-to-other-sheeple may apply.
To wit, Kam’s post from over at the Endmyopia Facebook group:
See?
Two optometrists, all licensed and proper, with completely different treatment plans. One wants to give your six year old a pile of diopters, after dilating the boy’s eyes before an eye chart test (oh, the unholy unholiness, of that practice). The other says no glasses, and plus lenses for close-up. Two optometrists, and diametrically opposed ideas on treatment.
Btw, that latter optometrist is a unicorn-pony of an optometrist. We should have him (her) on this blog, do weekly podcasts, have them moderate the Facebook group. One in a million, that person. Make them a small altar, anoint them eye guru supreme.
And see? What’d I tell you about trusting people you found online? Lunatics. (But also sometimes, decent hosts and serving you some interesting science and ideas to guide your own exploration).
One of those optometrists is taking that little boy on a path of looking like a huge nerd in school, of getting picked on, of sucking at sports, of feeling insecure around girls. And the other is catching the whole myopia problem before it even starts. Your child’s entire experience of vision, hanging in the balance there, of which of these two optometrists you encounter.
Trust no-one. Do your homework. Find things you can quantify and prove, and don’t have to take on faith.
Cheers,
-Jake
