Vision Check
Vision Check
Building on Carol’s post from Monday –
As someone who has had to wear glasses since the 4th grade I can speak to the reasons why having regular vision checkups is important. For me it all started when I began having problems seeing the blackboard in class. Most of the instructions for doing assignments were posted on the blackboard. If you can’t see the blackboard, that presents a problem. My parents took me to have my eyes examined which resulted in my first pair of glasses. Every year thereafter I had an eye exam and new glasses.
After a number of years my prescription reached the stage where regular glass lenses were just not an option. Plastic lenses were now the only option, and they were more expensive. Now as my eyes continued on their downhill spiral there were problems that began cropping up. I would go to the swimming pool and leave my things, including my glasses, in a nice safe place until I came back from swimming. The problem was that my eyes were so bad that I could not swim safely without running in to people, and I had trouble finding my way back to where I left my things once I had exited the pool. So not cool…
As an adult my eyes still needed new prescriptions every year. When contact lenses first entered the scene I was not able to wear them. My eyes were shaped like footballs with the pointy end sticking straight ahead. The lenses would not stay on properly. I even ended up with scratches from my attempts to wear them. In later years they came out with flexible lenses with weights for people like me with severe astigmatism. I was in heaven!
My eyes finally reached the point where I was not producing enough moisture to be able to continue wearing contacts. Bifocals entered my life. Glasses on a full time basis again.
5 years ago I had lasik done. It was the best thing I ever did. For 5 years all I needed was reading glasses. Unfortunately, lasik does not prevent natural aging. I am back to bifocals again. However, I am still able to see well enough without them that I can safely go swimming without concerns.
So the point of this story is simply that eye care is so important, especially in the childhood years. Education can be compromised if your child cannot see properly, not to mention social activities like swimming. There are so many options these days for vision correction that there is simply no reason not to address vision needs. Glasses frames are fashionable. Contact lenses can be worn for extended periods of time. Lasik is much more affordable. There are options for everyone.
Have you had your eyes checked lately? What about your children or grandchildren?
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Filed in: Health
Good advice! I wore Coke bottle glasses for thirty years until I got Lasik and experienced 20/20 vision for the first time in my life! Of course my stupid eyes insisted on deteriorating after three or four years and I was back in glasses. I found Corneal Refractive Therapy, which are contacts you wear while you sleep. They mold your eyes so you see well during the day with no glasses or contacts. Makes swimming a LOT easier. Thanks for the reminder to get regular exams!
I have not heard of that. I will have to check on that option.
I have to go in every year so I can get new contacts. It took me nearly a year to convince my parents that I needed to go in when I was a kid. When teachers started to notice, I finally got glasses. Then at the end of fifth grade, I word gas permeable contacts. That was a nightmare. They always got stuck in my eyes when I tried to take them out. Vision is so precious. I have a cousin who has had both of her corneas replaced, so I feel lucky with only being extremely near-sighted.
Wow… we are so lucky to have eyesight. We really need to take care of it and be thankful.
What a great post. My journey was a little different, but close. A regular eye exam at school in fifth grade revealed that I had problems. They sent a note home that said I needed to see an eye doctor. I thought I was in big trouble and cried when I handed the note to my parents. But, when I got glasses, suddenly, I could see leaves! I was told if you got lasik surgery after the age of 50, your eyes were less likely to change. But, this is a good reminder for checkups! I thought I couldn't drive at night anymore until my husband noticed that the lenses on my headlights needed to be polished:)
That may be true about lasik. But for me it was 5 years and I needed glasses again.
I sympathize on the aging part. I've always had 20/20 vision. Now I can't read anything close up. Most annoying. My son-in-law has always had very bad vision; my daughter is currently in the process of setting him up to get the lasik surgery. Even if they can only correct his vision to the level it is with his glasses (he has a "lazy eye" that probably won't be correctable to 20/20), he will be ecstatic to get up in the morning and not have to dig out his glasses in order to see the world around him, the woman next to him, or his newborn son!
That is exactly how I felt and why I got lasik. I knew it wasn't permanent, but it would make life much better!
Boy, do I understand this. I have warn glass sense I was 9 months old, had eye surgery at 4 and have had regular checks on a yearly basis. It makes all the difference in identify and correcting any issues. Unfortunately I can't have Lasik surgery because of my current eye condition… Sigh!
Well that's a bit of a bummer… but at least you have glasses so you can see. That really is the main point. 🙂
I had lasik too. Love it! I HATED wearing glasses and contacts always bothered my eyes. I wonder if age will get the best of my lasik surgery, though, like it did for you. Fingers crossed and eating lots of carrots.
Yeah, if carrots would have worked, my skin would probably be red/orange. LOL