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+--- Thread: Anyone use reading glasses? (/showthread.php?tid=75944)
Re: Anyone use reading glasses? - graylocks - 04-07-2009
when the need for reading assistance first surfaced, my doctor recommended just picking up some drug store specials.
Re: Anyone use reading glasses? - davester - 04-07-2009
guitarist wrote: The over-the-counter ones are like a 50-year-old RCA tube TV with bad reception. Professionally-made reading glasses are like a modern LCD HDTV, by comparison. Are your eyes worth it? Do you ever read anything? A cereal box? A magazine? The label on medicine bottles? Books? On a budget, places like Lenscrafters, etc., are pretty good. Once you get a prescription, and have custom-made lenses, you'll be glad you did.
I don't buy that analogy. If you have significant astigmatism, very different vision in each eye, or your interpupillary distance is unusual (very narrow or wide face) then you can get eyestrain from using drug store glasses. If you're pretty average then you won't. If it is comfortable to wear drug store glasses without getting headaches or other symptoms then there's little advantage to getting prescription glasses. I have prescription bifocals and I don't find them any better than cheapo reading glasses. My ophtalmologist told me that drugstore glasses were fine for me.
Re: Anyone use reading glasses? - OWC Jamie - 04-07-2009
guitarist wrote:
Aha, you're at that age. It's common for folks to think they can just get drug-store readers, and that's the solution. Or that some over-the-counter readers are better than others. There's not much to 'know' about them, they all use the same material. It's an inferior, temporary solution at best, there are no good ones.
.
Bull.
They can be made from the same frames Pearl Vision sells.
and their lens can be acrylic, polycarbonate and who knows how well the nylon experimentation went when I got out of da bidness.
Some are GE hardcoated, some are not.
Re: Anyone use reading glasses? - Grateful11 - 04-07-2009
I finally got a pair off the eye Doc and to be honest I can't tell a spits worth
of difference between them and a $5 pair from Dollar General.
Re: Anyone use reading glasses? - guitarist - 04-07-2009
No reference to physician recommendation in original post. In a subsequent post, I see it now.
Your eye doctor recommended it? Or just a regular family doctor? Does this physician use corrective eyewear? Just curious. A casual recommendation by a family doctor is valid. Fair enough. I'd still be open.
The Doc's suggestion is not to be regarded as a conclusive medical opinion. I imagine it's more of a casual comment. I would still consider (and feel free to dismiss) suggestions and opinions by those who depend on or benefit from corrective eyewear for optimal vision. As mentioned, the condition is permanent. You have plenty of time to reach this conclusion on your own, as most eventually do.
Do over-the-counters readers work okay? Sure, of course they're okay. If you read a lot, or look at a computer display for more than an hour a day, you might find it's not a satisfying solution in the long term.
billb writes: "Bull.They can be made from the same frames Pearl Vision sells.
I assume you mean lenses. Not frames. If you are aware of places that sell non-prescription reading glasses with this spectacularly wide variety of materials and options, from acrylic, polycarbonate, experimental nylon, etc., with lens quality similar to (or identical to, as some here claim) prescription lenses, custom-made, I'd be curious to try them. I collect OTC readers, too, as well as invest in custom wear.
davester writes: I don't buy that analogy.
The TV analogy? Oh yeah, I admit it was overdramatized, a generous dose of hyperbole. In my experience, drug-store readers and custom-made lenses, the improvement is dramatic, not minor. I need to use my eyes a lot, for close-range work, and have high expectations for comfort and quality. Some people don't.
If you're pretty average then you won't. If it is comfortable to wear drug store glasses without getting headaches or other symptoms then there's little advantage to getting prescription glasses.
Here's where I think we disagree. By your description, a pair of readers that don't cause painful symptoms are A-Okay, that's the standard that matters.
My ophtalmologist told me that drugstore glasses were fine for me.
Exactly. They won't cause you any pain, distort your vision, or harm your eyes. If that's your standard of quality, I agree.
Re: Anyone use reading glasses? - weapon - 04-07-2009
lasik...
Re: Anyone use reading glasses? - DaviDC. - 04-07-2009
I'm very thankful that these 54 year old near-sighted eyes still see fine within a zone of about 10" to 24".
I take my bifocals off when I sit down at the computer or when I read.
Re: Anyone use reading glasses? - davester - 04-07-2009
guitarist wrote: My ophtalmologist told me that drugstore glasses were fine for me.
Exactly. They won't cause you any pain, distort your vision, or harm your eyes. If that's your standard of quality, I agree.
I think you missed the part where I said that the quality was not discernible from my bifocals (whose lower half are prescription reading glasses).
weapon wrote: lasik...
Lasik is 100% useless for age-related presbyopia, which is the loss of ability to focus the eye on close up objects due to the loss of elasticity in the lens of the eye.
Presbyopia is equivalent to moving from a high quality camera with focus adjustment to a cheapo disposable camera with fixed focus. Folks like me who've had cataract surgery get an instant and total version of presbyopia since the original focusable lens is smashed and sucked out of, and a plastic fixed-focus lens installed inside of, the eyeball.
Re: Anyone use reading glasses? - guitarist - 04-07-2009
davester wrote:.
I think you missed the part where I said that the quality was not discernible from my bifocals (whose lower half are prescription reading glasses)
I didn't miss it at all. I just recognized it as a subjective statement, regarding your individual perception.
Raises some interesting questions about vision and perception, I suppose they really are subjective, not unlike tastes in food. Some find the difference in quality between Schlitz lite beer and a hand-crafted Microbrew Ale to be indiscernible, or insignificant. One tastes just as good as the other. Another might find the Microbrew to taste repellent, and the inexpensive lager to taste more pleasing. Or notice no meaningful difference, the amount of alcohol is the same in each serving.
I suspect with vision it's even more subjective than that. Even with prescription lenses, some of the types of polycarbonate materials available will work great for some people, and make other people seasick. I tried some new lens type that made me feel like I was 20 feet tall! The perception disorientation was inexplicable. For other people, they work great. I gave it a few days, to see if my eyes would adjust, but went back to a more familiar type of material. I was told this is normal. Some people don't adapt to some of the newer materials. Some adapt well to progressive lenses, some find them uncomfortable and disorienting.
In my case, the benefits of custom-ground good-quality lens material and a precise prescription is too distinct to ignore. Frankly, I wish I had the kind of eyes that would be perfectly suited to off-the-shelf lenses. I'm not so fortunate, and depend on a prescription pair, updated from time to time to reflect minor changes in my vision.
Re: Anyone use reading glasses? - h linamen - 04-08-2009
Our eye doctor in a full service eye clinic that also does surgery said reading glasses from the drugstore are perfectly fine if you get the correct strength.