Day 114 of 365 - Visual Quandary
This week I have been having conversations with friends about meeting our needs for adequate vision in different circumstances. In some ways, it seems something that I should not feel so frustrated about, but I do. However, it seems I am not alone. My situation is more of a first world type of problem than that of someone who truly cannot see well enough to function in their daily activities.
My dilemma of trying to decide what glasses to keep where, for what purpose, is relatively recent. Until a couple of years ago, I wore glasses all the time, since first grade of elementary school. Over the years my prescription changed from single vision to bifocal. But, the one constant was, that I put my glasses on first thing in the morning and took them off before I went to bed. Having permanent dents in the bridge of my nose was a given.
Then, a couple of years ago I had cataract surgery, first one eye, then six months later the other. I received the gift of perfect long distance vision with my new lens implants! But, I still needed glasses for reading. Since I do a lot of book reading, I asked my optometrist for a prescription pair for that purpose. Aside from those, he told me what strength of over the counter reading glasses to buy for using on the computer or just having in various places for momentary reading.
Now I have discount store readers all around my apartment. After wearing glasses full time for over 50 years, I was relishing not having that weight on my nose bridge all day or arms of glasses pressing into my ears. So, it seemed worth it to just purchase several cheap pairs for interim use.
What I did not take into account was the amount of time I spend on the computer. It is actually more than I thought, and has increased in the past couple years. Most of the health and wellness reading and video watching that I do is on the computer. Lately I have been finding that wearing the inexpensive readers for extended periods of time can be rather uncomfortable.
A friend, who is a retired optician, told me early on after my cataract surgery that most people eventually opt for a new pair of prescription bifocals which they wear all day to address various reading situations and to avoid looking for a pair of glasses to put on. I'm stubborn. So far, I'm still wanting to troubleshoot the issue without going back to wearing glasses all day.
I asked his advice for what to get for the computer reading. He suggested looking for lightweight frames with small lenses for more wearing comfort. So, when I was at the drugstore today, I looked at the more expensive, hopefully better made options and chose a pair of lightweight aluminum frame reading glasses. They cost me ten times as much as my discount store readers.
Other friends, who still wear prescription lenses throughout the day, were also talking about the challenges they have with going from one task to another, looking through the right part of their eyeglass lens, or switching glasses for the computer.
Apparently this has become a widespread enough issue even for people who do not necessarily require prescription lenses, that the store bought glasses now offer a trifocal option. I saw some today. The upper part of the lens has no correction and is for 'interacting'. The middle part is for computer reading. The lower part is for book or paper reading. I tried a pair on but they are a fairly big lens to accommodate three fields and thus not all that lightweight. Still, it's good to know that for $40 you could get a reasonable pair of glasses to address all your needs.
It's a mundane issue, but one that most people have to deal with as we approach or live in our senior years. I am grateful to have so many options for problem solving. Perhaps someday I will splurge on buying a very lightweight frame with prescription lightweight lenses, which also cost quite a bit more. Maybe my 'no glasses phase' is just a phase, and I eventually won't care about wearing glasses all day again. :)
My dilemma of trying to decide what glasses to keep where, for what purpose, is relatively recent. Until a couple of years ago, I wore glasses all the time, since first grade of elementary school. Over the years my prescription changed from single vision to bifocal. But, the one constant was, that I put my glasses on first thing in the morning and took them off before I went to bed. Having permanent dents in the bridge of my nose was a given.
Then, a couple of years ago I had cataract surgery, first one eye, then six months later the other. I received the gift of perfect long distance vision with my new lens implants! But, I still needed glasses for reading. Since I do a lot of book reading, I asked my optometrist for a prescription pair for that purpose. Aside from those, he told me what strength of over the counter reading glasses to buy for using on the computer or just having in various places for momentary reading.
Now I have discount store readers all around my apartment. After wearing glasses full time for over 50 years, I was relishing not having that weight on my nose bridge all day or arms of glasses pressing into my ears. So, it seemed worth it to just purchase several cheap pairs for interim use.
What I did not take into account was the amount of time I spend on the computer. It is actually more than I thought, and has increased in the past couple years. Most of the health and wellness reading and video watching that I do is on the computer. Lately I have been finding that wearing the inexpensive readers for extended periods of time can be rather uncomfortable.
A friend, who is a retired optician, told me early on after my cataract surgery that most people eventually opt for a new pair of prescription bifocals which they wear all day to address various reading situations and to avoid looking for a pair of glasses to put on. I'm stubborn. So far, I'm still wanting to troubleshoot the issue without going back to wearing glasses all day.
I asked his advice for what to get for the computer reading. He suggested looking for lightweight frames with small lenses for more wearing comfort. So, when I was at the drugstore today, I looked at the more expensive, hopefully better made options and chose a pair of lightweight aluminum frame reading glasses. They cost me ten times as much as my discount store readers.
Other friends, who still wear prescription lenses throughout the day, were also talking about the challenges they have with going from one task to another, looking through the right part of their eyeglass lens, or switching glasses for the computer.
Apparently this has become a widespread enough issue even for people who do not necessarily require prescription lenses, that the store bought glasses now offer a trifocal option. I saw some today. The upper part of the lens has no correction and is for 'interacting'. The middle part is for computer reading. The lower part is for book or paper reading. I tried a pair on but they are a fairly big lens to accommodate three fields and thus not all that lightweight. Still, it's good to know that for $40 you could get a reasonable pair of glasses to address all your needs.
It's a mundane issue, but one that most people have to deal with as we approach or live in our senior years. I am grateful to have so many options for problem solving. Perhaps someday I will splurge on buying a very lightweight frame with prescription lightweight lenses, which also cost quite a bit more. Maybe my 'no glasses phase' is just a phase, and I eventually won't care about wearing glasses all day again. :)
I use cheater glasses for reading, computer and making jewelry usually 1.75 or 2.0 and have found great ones at winners ...a box of 5 pairs of lightweight glasses for like $20.00 so i have them in 4 different rooms of the home...and never leave home without a pair in my purse!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tip Jody! I'll have to check there to get some of those.
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