Does short-sightedness get worse if you do not wear your glasses?

No — and conversely, glasses do not make short-sightedness worse either. The eye does not go on growing because a correction sits in front of it; the glasses merely bring the light to a focus where the retina is. Someone who goes through the day without glasses sees worse, screws up their eyes and is more likely to get headaches, but the dioptre number does not follow from that. In children, glasses deliberately prescribed too weak are expressly not advisable: studies of so-called under-correction have shown no braking effect. The right correction is the full correction, unless something speaks against it in an individual case.

Can children 'grow out of' their short-sightedness?

As a rule, no. A short-sightedness that begins during the school years arises because the eyeball becomes too long in relation to its refractive power — and an eye that has grown does not become shorter again. What changes is the pace: the increase is greatest in childhood and adolescence and usually slows in young adulthood, though in some people only considerably later. This is occasionally confused with the long-sightedness of small children, which does indeed often resolve on its own. That is why measuring the progression matters so much in children: it shows whether we are dealing with a quiet development or a rapidly advancing one.

What does playing outdoors really achieve?

It is the simplest measure with the best rationale — and still not a shield. In observational studies and in several investigations in schoolchildren, more time outdoors was associated with short-sightedness beginning later; the order of magnitude given is around two hours of daylight a day. What seems to matter is the brightness outdoors, not the sport. For children who are already short-sighted the data are weaker: that daylight slows an existing myopia just as clearly is not established in the same way. We recommend it anyway — it is free, it does no harm, and it is good for children in any case.

At what point is myopia 'high'?

One usually speaks of high short-sightedness from about minus six dioptres; in part an axial length of around 26 millimetres is also given as a boundary. These figures are conventions and not thresholds at which something happens from one day to the next — the risk rises gradually with the length of the eye. What matters is the difference in everyday life: a high myopia is no longer purely a matter of glasses but a reason for regular retinal checks. Anyone in this range should know the warning signs of a retinal detachment and not wait when they appear.

Can short-sightedness be lasered?

In principle many kinds of short-sightedness can be corrected surgically — with procedures on the cornea or with lenses inside the eye. Refractive laser surgery we do not carry out ourselves at Sehklinik; what we do take on is the complete preliminary examination and a judgement with no commercial interest behind it. Whether a procedure makes sense in your case and is technically possible depends on several things: on the degree of the refractive error, on corneal thickness and corneal shape, on the quality of the tear film, on age, and on whether the readings have been stable for some time. There are constellations in which we advise against it, and we say so. And there is one point we do not want to leave out: a procedure corrects the refractive power, not the length of the eye — the retinal checks in high myopia remain just as necessary afterwards as before.

How often do you need a follow-up with short-sightedness?

In children and adolescents whose readings are still changing, an interval of about six months is usual; where myopia management is running, it can be shorter. Adults with stable, mild short-sightedness need no fixed rhythm, but an appointment when their vision changes. In high short-sightedness, by contrast, we recommend a regular retinal check, as a rule annually, because the retina is thinner and the vitreous is altered earlier. Whatever the rhythm: flashes, a sudden swarm of black dots or a shadow at the edge of the visual field belong in an examination the same day.

Is short-sightedness hereditary?

It is the predisposition. If both parents are short-sighted, the probability for the child is considerably higher than with two parents who are not short-sighted; if one parent is affected, it lies in between. What is inherited, though, is not a fixed dioptre number but a tendency — how strongly it shows depends also on how the child lives, reads and how much time they spend outdoors. In practice that means children from short-sighted families should be examined earlier and more regularly, not treated more anxiously. If you are short-sighted yourself, it is best to bring your child in once for a check at pre-school or early school age.

Refractive errors

Short-sightedness — why distance vision blurs, and what can be influenced in a child

The board at the front blurs, the road sign only becomes legible late, at the cinema you move two rows forward — while reading, by contrast, everything is razor-sharp. That is short-sightedness. In adults the question is usually what to correct it with. In children the more important question is a different one: how fast is it increasing — and can the pace be slowed?

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What happens in the eye in short-sightedness

An eye sees sharply when the incoming rays of light are brought to a focus exactly on the retina — on the light-sensitive layer lining the inside of the back wall. Short-sightedness is one of the forms of refractive error. In short-sightedness they meet before that, in the vitreous cavity, and reach the retina diverging again. What arrives there is no longer a point but a patch. And that is exactly how the world in the distance then looks.

The medical name for it is Myopia. Short-sightedness and myopia mean the same thing; one term appears on the glasses prescription and in the medical report, the other comes up in conversation. It is given in dioptres with a minus sign — minus 2.0 is a mild short-sightedness, minus 8.0 a high one.

In the great majority of cases the reason is not that the cornea and lens refract too strongly, but that the eyeball is too long in relation to its refractive power. This is called axial myopia. The difference between an eye with normal sight and a markedly short-sighted eye is often only a few millimetres of axial length — and roughly a third of a millimetre already corresponds to about one dioptre. That explains two things: why the readings can rise so quickly during the growth phase, and why a length once reached does not disappear again.

Because at close range the rays enter the eye diverging anyway, the focal length fits exactly there: short-sighted people often read without glasses effortlessly, some holding the book very close to do so. 'Short-sighted' therefore does not mean seeing badly, but seeing well at a certain distance and badly beyond it. The opposite build — an eye that is too short in relation to its refractive power — is long-sightedness, which first announces itself as effort when reading and is therefore often confused with something else.

A footnote that becomes important in adulthood: if a previously stable short-sightedness increases markedly within a few months, or appears for the first time after the age of 50, what is behind it is sometimes not growth of the eye but a change in the lens — such as an early Cataract or, where the shift happens within days to weeks, blood sugar that has gone out of control. That too is a reason not simply to have new readings turned into glasses at the optician's, but to have them looked at once by an ophthalmologist.

How short-sightedness develops — and what is established about it

The honest answer has a well-evidenced part and a less well-evidenced part. Well evidenced is the predisposition: children of short-sighted parents become short-sighted more often, and the more so the more parents are affected. The timing is equally well established. The commonest form begins at school age — hence the old term school myopia — increases through the growth and adolescent years, and settles down in most people in young adulthood.

Less clear-cut is everything that has to do with lifestyle. Two observations recur in many studies worldwide: children who spend a lot of time on close work and children who get little daylight outdoors more often become short-sighted. The evidence goes furthest for time outdoors — several studies in schools have shown that more time spent outside can delay the onset of short-sightedness. For close work the association is consistently observed, but not proven as a cause in the same way.

And screens? Restraint is worth having here. That tablets and phones in themselves make people short-sighted is not established. What can be established is the setting: screen time happens indoors, usually at very short distance and for long stretches without looking into the distance. Taking your child off a screen and sitting them in front of the television gains little — sending them outdoors gains a lot.

Not every blur in the distance is short-sightedness, incidentally. An astigmatism can feel very similar, as can an ill-fitting old pair of glasses, a dry tear film or — much less often, but importantly — a disease of the retina. Which of the possibilities it is, is decided by the measurement, not by the feeling. An overview of the different forms can be found under Refractive errors.

Myopia management in children

For a long time the same applied to children as to adults: measure, prescribe glasses, measure again in a year. Today we know that the pace of the increase can be influenced in many children — and that it is worth doing. The reason is not the glasses themselves but what axial length means over a whole lifetime: The longer an eye ends up being, the higher the risk of retinal detachment, of changes at the point of sharpest vision, of glaucoma and of a cataract appearing earlier. This risk rises gradually, not in jumps. That is why every dioptre a child ends up not having counts.

The second sentence has to be just as clear: None of these measures cures. A short-sighted eye does not become normal-sighted again, and no method stops the growth completely. What this is about is a slowing — on average and over years. How much an individual child benefits cannot be predicted in advance; it only becomes visible in the measured progression. Everything that follows therefore belongs in specialist care with regular follow-up, not in self-treatment.

Low-dose atropine

Atropine is an old active substance which, in very low concentration, is put into the eye as drops in the evening. In several controlled trials it was possible to slow progression on average. What remains open is which concentration gives the best balance of effect and side effect — the results of different trials diverge here, and in Switzerland there are no ordinary ready-made preparations on the shelf for this use; the drops are made up specially and prescribed by a doctor. Legally this is use outside the approved indication — off label. With this treatment that is the normal case and not a warning sign, but we tell you before you agree to it.

What you should know: at a low dose, sensitivity to glare and slight blurring when reading are possible, but usually mild. After stopping, the increase can become faster again, which is why the end of such a treatment is planned rather than decided on the spur of the moment. And: without measuring the progression the treatment is worthless — you simply do not notice otherwise whether it is doing anything.

Ortho-K lenses — rigid night lenses

These lenses are worn overnight and change the shape of the cornea so that the child sees sharply during the day without glasses. Alongside that practical advantage, studies here too show a slowing of the growth in length on average. The effect on the cornea is reversible: if the lenses are left out, the old visual acuity returns over days to weeks; how quickly depends on the strength of the correction.

The other side of it is hygiene, and that is not negotiable. Every contact lens — night lenses included — carries a risk of a corneal inflammation, and that can permanently impair vision. A red, painful or light-sensitive eye while wearing ortho-K means: lens out, and phone the same day. Where a family's evening routine tends in practice to fall by the wayside, we honestly advise them in a different direction.

Special spectacle lenses and special soft contact lenses

There are spectacle lenses that correct normally in the centre and carry additional zones towards the edge which shift the focus in front of the peripheral retina. Soft contact lenses built along comparable lines also exist. In the studies of these lenses the increase in the treated groups was smaller than with ordinary lenses; the spread between individual children is, however, wide.

The most important practical point is often overlooked: these lenses only work if they are actually worn all day. A special pair of glasses in its case is an ordinary pair of glasses in its case — only more expensive. So before prescribing we talk openly about whether the child wears their glasses reliably.

What you can do yourself

Two hours of daylight outdoors a day is the recommendation that survives the school studies most readily — it is best evidenced for delaying the onset, less clear for slowing an existing short-sightedness. Added to that are the unspectacular things: enough reading distance rather than nose on the exercise book, good light, regular breaks looking into the distance. Whether the breaks on their own change the progression is not reliably established; they can do no harm, and they make the afternoon more pleasant.

Paediatric ophthalmology is a field of its own. We examine and follow children from kindergarten age; where a squint, amblyopia or a question in very small children is also involved, we work with specialised colleagues rather than taking it on ourselves. That too is part of honest advice.

Correction in adults

In every case it starts with an accurate measurement — objectively at the instrument, and then checked together with you. How that works and what it produces is described under Eye test. Only after that does the question of correction make sense to ask at all.

Glasses

Usually the most straightforward solution: quick to adjust and no burden on the surface of the eye. It can be changed at any time and is possible at any degree of short-sightedness. With strong prescriptions the lenses become thicker at the edge and the image slightly smaller; high-index materials and a well-chosen frame that is not too large largely absorb that. If there is an astigmatism as well, it is corrected in the same lens.

Contact lenses

They give an image at natural size, a wide visual field and do not get in the way during sport — with stronger prescriptions in particular that is a noticeable difference. The price is care: clean hands, wearing times kept to, fresh solution, no lens overnight that is not made for it, and never a lens in an irritated eye. Anyone prone to dry eyes often tolerates lenses less well in the evening than in the morning; here an honest stocktaking helps more than the next lens model. A red eye with a lens in always means: lens out, phone the same day.

Refractive procedures

Short-sightedness can also be corrected surgically, either by changing the shape of the cornea with a laser or with a lens — implanted in addition to your own lens or in its place. Which method comes into question at all, and whether any of them is to be recommended, depends on the degree of the refractive error, on the thickness and shape of the cornea, on the quality of the tear film, on age, on how stable the readings are and on the retinal findings. Some of these points rule a method out. We examine whether the prerequisites are met, and say so plainly when we advise against it.

Refractive laser surgery we do not carry out ourselves at Sehklinik. What does happen here is the complete preliminary examination, the judgement of your suitability — with no commercial interest behind it — and ophthalmic support for the decision, whichever way it goes. Which methods exist and where their limits lie is set out under Refractive errors.

Three things that rarely appear in advertising: a procedure corrects the refractive power, not the length of the eye — a long, short-sighted eye stays one, and the retinal checks remain necessary. Presbyopia comes anyway: someone who is short-sighted often still reads without reading glasses in middle age, because the short-sightedness compensates for a while for the decline in near focusing. If it is corrected away, that advantage falls away. And a third point, particularly in high short-sightedness: if the eye's own clear lens is replaced, the risk of a retinal detachment in an already long eye rises further. That is not a reason to rule it out, but it is a reason not to treat this option as the most convenient one.

High myopia as a risk factor

From about minus six dioptres — or from an axial length of around 26 millimetres — one speaks of high short-sightedness. That is a convention, not a threshold with an alarm bell attached: the risk rises gradually with the length of the eye. The reason is easy to picture. A longer eye is a stretched eye, and the retina lining its inner wall becomes thinner in the process.

Several things follow from that, which make a high myopia more than a spectacle strength:

Retinal detachment — markedly more common than in eyes with normal sight, and often starting from thin areas or holes in the periphery of the retina. Warning signs are flashes of light, a sudden swarm of new black dots or a shower of floaters, and a shadow moving in from the outside into the visual field. These signs belong in an examination the same day — not the weekend after.
Changes at the point of sharpest vision — the stretched retina can take damage in the centre, which affects reading and recognising faces. The warning sign here is not a flash but a distortion: if straight lines suddenly appear bent, a letter is missing, or a grey patch sits in the middle, that belongs in an examination promptly — not in four weeks. An overview of this area can be found under Retina and vitreous.
Glaucoma — more common in high short-sightedness, and at the same time harder to assess, because the optic nerve head looks different in a long eye. All the more reason to observe the progression with the same measurements over the years.
Earlier cataract — the clouding of the lens sets in, on average, somewhat earlier in high myopia than otherwise. It is treatable in the usual way.

The practical consequence is unspectacular and important: regular retinal checks, as a rule annually and with the pupil dilated, so that the periphery can be assessed as well. No cause for alarm — but a reason not to postpone the appointment three times. Which signs cannot wait until the next check and what happens then are set out under Retinal detachment — the four warning signs and the routes to treatment.

Diagnostics and monitoring

Establishing that there is short-sightedness is easy. Assessing its progression and ruling out everything that looks similar is the actual work. That involves:

refraction — first objectively at the instrument, then checked against what you see. In children and adolescents we often also measure after giving eye drops that temporarily quieten the eye's near focusing. Without that step the reading in young eyes comes out slightly too short-sighted, because the near focusing is constantly joining in. These drops wear off over several hours and into the next day: during that time your child is sensitive to glare and sees blurred close up — reading and homework are better postponed, and sunglasses for the journey home help.
Axial length measurement in children — a non-contact measurement of the length of the eye in millimetres. It is the most informative figure in myopia management, because, independently of day-to-day variation and of near focusing, it shows whether the eye is still growing.
Examination of the anterior segment of the eye at the slit lamp — cornea, tear film and lens, particularly in contact lens wearers.
Intraocular pressure and optic nerve head — the baseline values against which a suspected glaucoma can later be assessed.
Retinal checks in high myopia — with the pupil dilated, and where needed supplemented by a cross-sectional image of the centre of the retina. After the dilating drops you are dazzled for a few hours and blurred close up; do not drive yourself on that day.

How often you are seen depends on age and on the findings: in children with rising readings usually every six months, in adults with stable mild short-sightedness as needed, in high short-sightedness as a rule annually. Which examinations that involves is described under Eye examinations . If the next measurement is due for you or your child, you can book the follow-up appointment for short-sightedness online.

What does not help against short-sightedness

A great deal is sold around this subject. These things do not stand up to scrutiny, and we would rather say so plainly:

Eye training and vision exercises. They cannot change the length of the eye. What exercises can achieve is a better habituation to blurred perception — the measured short-sightedness stays the same.
Deliberately under-powered glasses. Under-correction was long regarded as a brake and has not proved to be one in studies.
Food supplements. No preparation has been shown to halt the progression of short-sightedness.
A screen ban on its own. It does not replace what actually matters: time in daylight and a sensible reading distance.
Waiting until the child is older. The very years in which the readings rise fastest are the years in which something can most readily be influenced.

And one worry we often hear we can take from you: there is no such thing as glasses 'too early'. A child who sees badly does not get used to the glasses — they get used to seeing badly.

Where to find us

We offer examination, measurement of progression and advice on short-sightedness at all three locations. An overview with how to get here and opening hours can be found under Locations.

Sehklinik Zürich

Hallenstrasse 8, 8008 Zürich
Phone: +41 44 422 25 55
Mon–Fri 08:00–12:00 / 13:00–17:30
Tram 11/15 to 'Zürich, Kreuzplatz', three minutes on foot — Getting here and details

Sehklinik Wetzikon

Bahnhofstrasse 126, 8620 Wetzikon
Phone: +41 44 930 61 00
Mon–Fri 08:00–12:00 / 13:00–17:30
Bus 850/851/852 to 'Wetzikon ZH, Schloss', one minute on foot — Getting here and details

Sehklinik Meilen

Dorfstrasse 94, 8706 Meilen
Phone: +41 44 923 03 81
Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 08:00–12:00 / 13:00–17:30; Wednesday varies, please ask by phone
S6/S7 to Meilen station, two minutes on foot — Getting here and details

Outside consulting hours the ophthalmic emergency service applies. If you would rather write than phone, you can reach us through the contact form; referring colleagues will find the details they need under Referring physicians.

Costs & health insurance

What does the insurer pay for — and what not?

With short-sightedness, basic health insurance (OKP) draws a fairly clear line between two things: the medical assessment and the follow-up of a finding are treatment of illness. The aid with which you then see sharply is, in adults, as a rule not. What applies in your case we tell you before the examination — not with the invoice.

Service	Coverage	What this means for you
Ophthalmic assessment when vision changes	Basic insurance (OKP)	Where there is a medical indication — blurred distance vision, rapidly changing readings, symptoms or a noticeable finding. Your deductible and co-payment apply as at any doctor's appointment. For children and adolescents there is as a rule no deductible; the co-payment is capped lower than for adults.
Retinal checks in high short-sightedness	Basic insurance (OKP)	Follow-up of a known at-risk finding is treatment of illness, as is any assessment for flashes, a shower of floaters or a shadow in the visual field.
Glasses: lenses and frame	Self-pay service	In adults, basic health insurance as a rule does not pay for glasses. For children and for certain medical situations there are special rules; some supplementary insurance policies make a contribution.
Contact lenses and fitting them	Self-pay service	As with glasses — with narrow exceptions for certain medical indications. If in doubt, check with your health insurer beforehand, not afterwards.
Myopia management in children: examination and measuring the progression	Basic insurance (OKP)	The ophthalmic examination and the refraction are treatment of illness where the question is a medical one. How the axial length measurement is billed in an individual case depends on the question being asked — we tell you before the appointment.
Myopia management: special spectacle lenses, ortho-K lenses, compounded atropine	Mostly self-pay	The measure itself is as a rule not covered by basic health insurance; some supplementary insurance policies contribute. We tell you openly what ongoing costs to expect before you decide.
Refractive procedure (laser or lens)	Self-pay service	A correction intended to replace glasses is not a mandatory benefit of basic health insurance. We do not carry out these procedures ourselves; we advise and examine. Depending on the question being asked, the preliminary examination can be classified differently — we clarify that beforehand.

Not sure which category your concern falls into? Call us — +41 44 500 69 00. We tell you on the phone what to expect, and with that same information you check with your health insurer. An invoice that comes as a surprise is an avoidable annoyance.

Related conditions

Retinal detachment Glaucoma Refractive errors

Medically reviewed by PD Dr. med. Andrea von Rückmann · Last reviewed 13 August 2026

Your ophthalmologistPD Dr. med. Andrea von RückmannView profile

Frequently asked questions

: No — and conversely, glasses do not make short-sightedness worse either. The eye does not go on growing because a correction sits in front of it; the glasses merely bring the light to a focus where the retina is. Someone who goes through the day without glasses sees worse, screws up their eyes and is more likely to get headaches, but the dioptre number does not follow from that. In children, glasses deliberately prescribed too weak are expressly not advisable: studies of so-called under-correction have shown no braking effect. The right correction is the full correction, unless something speaks against it in an individual case.
: As a rule, no. A short-sightedness that begins during the school years arises because the eyeball becomes too long in relation to its refractive power — and an eye that has grown does not become shorter again. What changes is the pace: the increase is greatest in childhood and adolescence and usually slows in young adulthood, though in some people only considerably later. This is occasionally confused with the long-sightedness of small children, which does indeed often resolve on its own. That is why measuring the progression matters so much in children: it shows whether we are dealing with a quiet development or a rapidly advancing one.
: It is the simplest measure with the best rationale — and still not a shield. In observational studies and in several investigations in schoolchildren, more time outdoors was associated with short-sightedness beginning later; the order of magnitude given is around two hours of daylight a day. What seems to matter is the brightness outdoors, not the sport. For children who are already short-sighted the data are weaker: that daylight slows an existing myopia just as clearly is not established in the same way. We recommend it anyway — it is free, it does no harm, and it is good for children in any case.
: One usually speaks of high short-sightedness from about minus six dioptres; in part an axial length of around 26 millimetres is also given as a boundary. These figures are conventions and not thresholds at which something happens from one day to the next — the risk rises gradually with the length of the eye. What matters is the difference in everyday life: a high myopia is no longer purely a matter of glasses but a reason for regular retinal checks. Anyone in this range should know the warning signs of a retinal detachment and not wait when they appear.
: In principle many kinds of short-sightedness can be corrected surgically — with procedures on the cornea or with lenses inside the eye. Refractive laser surgery we do not carry out ourselves at Sehklinik; what we do take on is the complete preliminary examination and a judgement with no commercial interest behind it. Whether a procedure makes sense in your case and is technically possible depends on several things: on the degree of the refractive error, on corneal thickness and corneal shape, on the quality of the tear film, on age, and on whether the readings have been stable for some time. There are constellations in which we advise against it, and we say so. And there is one point we do not want to leave out: a procedure corrects the refractive power, not the length of the eye — the retinal checks in high myopia remain just as necessary afterwards as before.
: In children and adolescents whose readings are still changing, an interval of about six months is usual; where myopia management is running, it can be shorter. Adults with stable, mild short-sightedness need no fixed rhythm, but an appointment when their vision changes. In high short-sightedness, by contrast, we recommend a regular retinal check, as a rule annually, because the retina is thinner and the vitreous is altered earlier. Whatever the rhythm: flashes, a sudden swarm of black dots or a shadow at the edge of the visual field belong in an examination the same day.
: It is the predisposition. If both parents are short-sighted, the probability for the child is considerably higher than with two parents who are not short-sighted; if one parent is affected, it lies in between. What is inherited, though, is not a fixed dioptre number but a tendency — how strongly it shows depends also on how the child lives, reads and how much time they spend outdoors. In practice that means children from short-sighted families should be examined earlier and more regularly, not treated more anxiously. If you are short-sighted yourself, it is best to bring your child in once for a check at pre-school or early school age.

A measurement says more than a guess.

Whether your child's readings are rising faster than usual or whether your own short-sightedness needs a retinal check — both can be settled in one appointment. Call us; we will tell you what makes sense and what does not.

Call now and book an appointment

+41 44 500 69 00 — Mon–Fri 08:00–12:00 / 13:00–17:30. Or book an appointment online.