My vision was perfect when I was younger, and then I went to the eye doctor and he said I needed glasses to wear while reading. I didn't wear the glasses because I hated them and my vision eventually got worse to the point where I needed to wear glasses all the time. I chose contacts and I wear them as directed but it seems like every time I go in for my eye exams my vision has gotten worse. Why does my vision just keep getting worse? Without my contacts I'm pretty much blind. I'm scared that by the time I'm 20 I'll be totally blind!

Without your glasses, do you have a distance at which you can still see well? For instance, can you see far away clearly ("farsighted")?
You said you initially needed the glasses for reading. Does that mean you cannot now see anything up close?
If you can't see near or far, you might have astigmatism.
You're under 20, so it's not very likely you have cataracts.
How old are you now? If you're in your early teens, your eyes could continue to change a lot for a few years. If you're in your late teens, the change should slow down.

I went through much the same experience and feelings when I was a teen.
It was scary.
But there are many options today to correct vision.
And a lot of vision takes place in the brain, not the eyes.
When you go through changes, it takes a while for the brain to learn to interpret the data sent from the eyes.

Without my contacts in I can see close up clearly if it's like right in front of my face but everything far away is so blurry sometimes I have trouble making objects out. I'm 16 and I figured my eyes were probably changing a lot because I'm still growing and everything but I just wanted to make sure. It can be very scary so I'm glad there's people here to help me out!

Hi Ashley!

This sounds normal to me. When I was 12 I got my first pair of glasses because I was having trouble seeing the blackboard in school. A few years later, I was wearing them full time like you and tried contacts. I had an eye exam probably atleast once a year once I got glasses, and EVERY SINGLE exam I had, my eyes had gotten worse and I needed a new prescription. This went on until I was about 22 and then things just leveled off. It really hasn't changed much since then and I'm 27 now. So, I think what you are going through is normal..dont' worry, you wont' go blind! If you ask around I bet many of your friends are going through the same thing!

-Michelle

Hi Ashley,
Sounds pretty normal to me too. When I was back in Jr And Sr HIgh school, I swear my glasses prescription changed every time I went. That slowed down a LOT once I was in my twenties. All part of the growing process I suppose. My last pair of glasses and contacts haven't changed at all in the past 20 years! Just had to get new ones cause they were worn out!
Hellas

Sounds "normal" to me too. Do you know your current prescription?