See Clearly Method Scam

The See Clearly Method, now called the Power Vision Program, is a series of eye exercises provided by the American Vision Institute as a way of clearing up all sorts of vision problems. This program claims to return good eyesight to people who are nearsighted or farsighted, as well as improve cataracts, macular degeneration and glaucoma without drugs or surgery.

The Program

The idea behind the See Clearly Method, and later the Power Vision Program, is that performing gentle eye exercises for 30 minutes daily can cure vision disorders and other eye problems. The Method also advocates using acupressure at points around the eyeball, and sitting six inches from an 150-watt light bulb with your eyes closed. Light therapy, along with much of the rest of the program, is lifted from a previous eye exercise scam, developed by a physician named William Horatio Bates and published in 1920 as "The Cure of Imperfect Eyesight by Treatment Without Glasses."

Heredity vs. Behavior

The See Clearly Method program states that refractive disorders such as myopia (nearsightedness) and hyperopia (farsightedness) are caused not only by heredity but by activities such as reading, and thus can be alleviated with eye exercises. In 2009, the website stated, "The reason it seems to run in families is because everybody in the family does a lot of close-up focusing."

Restitution

The See Clearly Method was sold in $350 kits by an Iowa-based company called Vision Improvement Technologies. The kits consisted of manuals, charts, audio tapes and videotapes providing instructions for eye exercises. VIT advertised a 30-day risk-free trial, but when buyers tried to return the kits, they could not reach a representative. An Iowa district court stopped the kit sales in 2006, and the state court ordered VIT to pay $200,000 in restitution to compensate consumers.

Expert Insight

Published research does not support the theory that eye exercises are of much benefit. Because most vision problems are caused by eye shape, eye exercises cannot solve them. The American Academy of Ophthalmology issued a statement in 2004 saying no evidence indicates that visual training affects the progression of myopia or improves eyesight in people with hyperopia or astigmatism.

Try It Yourself

Although the See Clearly Method is no longer sold, the Power Vision Program has been offered as a free download since 2008 from the official website, if people would like to judge for themselves. Other similar eye exercise training programs also can be found on the Internet.

References

• Do eye exercises improve vision?

Resources

• Washington Post
• Eye-Related Quackery
• Power Vision Program