I hate presbyopia.

[emmline]

It only really got annoying in the last couple years.
So, I'm sitting here trying to do Japanese homework. There is some mighty small print in this textbook. To make it worse, it's in hiragana.
(that looks like this: ひらがな )

I'm trying to identify words in the book in order to complete an online quiz, while occasionally glancing across the room at Mr. Emm, who likes to stare.
My prescription glasses allow me to see Mr. Emm (distance,) and the computer screen (less distance,) but not the book. (although I can perform these 2 functions adequately with no glasses, at this point.) For the book I must either use a magnifying dome, or switch glasses to a 1.50 magnifying pair.
Maybe the problem is my prescription glasses aren't correct, and should allow me to read the book. I'm not sure.

This is one reason I'm leaning toward an iPhone. I can only see the tiny Palm Centro screen and keyboard adequately with the magnifiers.
I'm wondering if, once one has old eyes, there's ever a good solution that doesn't require having 3 different optical devices at hand.

[Caroluna]

Same problem here -- If I'm doing a lot of reading w/ small print, I use a magnifying glass on a flexible "arm", sold in sewing shops (for embroidery). Good lighting helps.

Normally I slide my glasses up and down my nose (way down the nose for short focus, way up for distance).

If you are nearsighted enough, look over the top of your glasses and lean in as close as you can focus. In my case the nearsightedness gives me a natural 2X magnification! About the only advantage to being nearsighted that I know of.

Yes it's a bother isn't it. Headache inducing

[dubhlinn]

I've been wearing glasses for short-sightedness since I was thirteen and I'm fifty one now. The past ten years or so I've had that looking over the top to read thing...long-sightedness. I just take them off to read books and newspapers. When on the PC, I tend to move back and forward or move the glasses up and down depending on my posture at the time.
For really small print - which I always read! - I have to get pretty close but so far no magnifying glass...
The trickiest job is setting the DVD to record. Glasses on end of nose, remote control in one hand TV guide in the other..head up, head down, head up, head down....luckily I rarely record anything so it's not a big deal really.

Emm, that staring thing..Jeez. I took my old buddy Harry into town last week to check out a new coffee shop and after ten minutes we were asked to leave. I tried to explain that he was not staring as such but he had Alzs...the Polish girl behind the counter was not impressed and out we went. It's not a problem down the local because everybody knows him but anywhere else....

Slan,
D.

[Innocent Bystander]

Those fresnel lenses they sell in bookshops are great. Since they are flat, I can keep one in my wallet.

I've been wearing glasses since I was twelve. Short-sighted. In theory, the presbyopia should cancel out the myopia. In practice, everything is blurred. I like it that way. My fuzzy logic has taken over the world.

[Doug_Tipple]

My wife is asking me about getting a new pair of glasses. The ones she is wearing now are only about a year old, but she wants a pair with multi-colored frames that she sees in the fashion magazines. Naturally, they don't have anything that she likes in the discount optical stores. I explain to her that I've been wearing my glasses for over 15 years. I remember because I made them myself when I was working in the optical lab, and I left that job in 1991. Rather than buying new glasses with more positive add for closeup work, I just buy a group of low cost readers which I wear over my prescription glasses, so I can use a +1.50, + 2.75, and even higher readers for really close work. I'm so nearsighted that for my closest work I remove my glasses altogether and look through clear safety glasses. My granddaughter has asked me why I am wearing two paris of glasses. I have to make up a far-fetched story to satisfy her curiosity.

[Charlene]

Me too. Been wearing glasses since 4th grade and have had bifocals for - what, 7 or 8 years now. Nearsighted (aka shortsighted) - Just like Innocent Bystander said, you would think one would cancel out the other but no such luck.

[gonzo914]

I use progressive lenses set for focal distances that vary from computer screen distance to reading distance. There is no distance correction, and I don't wear them except when using the computer or reading or writing.

One key factor is lens/frame shape. These are narrower top to bottom than most frames, although not so narrow as those single-prescription reading glasses that old people wear pushed down on their noses so they can look over the top. Hence, the progression is over a smaller distance, which requires less head tilt to find the right focus..

Tell the optometrist you want lenses for just computer use and reading.

If you need distance correction and have to cram near, mid and far correction into a single set of progressives, you won't tbe happy. I had a pair of progressives with very minor distance correction in addition to mid and near correction, and it put the mid and near ranges so far down the lense that I had to tilt my head backward too much to get the monitor in focus. Fortunately, I can still pass a driving test without distance correction, so I don't use it.

[HDSarah]

In theory, the presbyopia should cancel out the myopia.

It has actually worked that way for me for the last 7 years. The aging process making me go farsighted has been balancing out my natural tendency to become more and more nearsighted, and my prescription has barely changed. That, after a lifetime of being very nearsighted and needing stronger glasses regularly. At my last checkup, the optometrist bet that I'd need bifocals in a year or two. I'm not looking forward to that.

On the bright side, though, I believe he referred to me as a "Super-myope." I picture that as kind of a superhero for the nerds of the world, with a red cape and very thick glasses.
(Hey, why don't any of the emoticons have glasses?)

[Caroluna]

Wonder what kind this guy was wearing? He was about 200 yrs old, right?

[dwest]

Emm, that staring thing..Jeez. I took my old buddy Harry into town last week to check out a new coffee shop and after ten minutes we were asked to leave. I tried to explain that he was not staring as such but he had Alzs...the Polish girl behind the counter was not impressed and out we went. It's not a problem down the local because everybody knows him but anywhere else....

Slan,
D.

Do you think the fact that the girl was Polish was the reason you were asked to leave?

[emmline]

If you need distance correction and have to cram near, mid and far correction into a single set of progressives, you won't be happy.

There's the rub.

[Charlene]

If you need distance correction and have to cram near, mid and far correction into a single set of progressives, you won't be happy.

There's the rub.

With a correction of over -700 in each eye, not doing distance correction isn't an option.

[gonzo914]

If you need distance correction and have to cram near, mid and far correction into a single set of progressives, you won't be happy.

There's the rub.

Then we can get you down to two optical devices -- one pair for general use (progressive lenses with distance correction plus some mid and short range) and one pair of computer glasses (which are really just progressives with no distance correction) for when you're working. You may not even need progressives for general use. You just need whatever it takes to pass a driving test, read road signs, and tell your kids apart.

Someone who doesn't do a ton of computer work could get by with just the first pair, but when I said ". . . you won't be happy . . . " I really did mean you specifically rathern than a generic you because of the amount of time you spend in front of a screen. Ask your optometrist about computer lenses. I work 10-12 hours a day in front of a monitor, and these lenses are great for that. No headaches, no neck aches, no eye strain. I leave work with a crappy attitude, but I get to work with a crappy attitude, and and at least it doesn't get any worse because of bad glasses.

[emmline]

That's kind of what I figured. That there's no single solution. Generally I wear no glasses, but I use my existing progressives to drive (correcting for distance, but allowing me to see the dashboard.) They are not good for sitting in a classroom type situation where I need to see distance and a book or notebook. In this case, depending on the type size I either use no glasses or use magnifying glasses or a small magnifier. But then I have to push the distance/mid-range progressives (needed to see the board at a distance) out of the way.
I guess, at this point, we just be grateful we can compensate in any way.

[Nanohedron]

Wow. This must explain why everyone else gets better-looking every year. I'm feeling much less insecure, now.

- "Do you think I'm sexy?"

- "Yes, in a presbyopia sort of way."