Flower Moon
July 5, 2020 9:25 AM Subscribe
I'm pretty nearsighted, with some astigmatism. I looked up at the buck moon, which looked normal and beautiful. For some reason I took my glasses off and looked again...now the moon looked like a bright many-petaled flower.
I realized I was looking at a whole bunch of moons all clustered together. The more I squinted, the fewer moons I saw until I got it down to a double moon. Put my glasses back on, there's only one moon again. I'm 59. Headlights look way too bright. YANMD, but do I just need to be treated for cataracts?
I realized I was looking at a whole bunch of moons all clustered together. The more I squinted, the fewer moons I saw until I got it down to a double moon. Put my glasses back on, there's only one moon again. I'm 59. Headlights look way too bright. YANMD, but do I just need to be treated for cataracts?
What terrapin said. Cataracts tend to cause a filmy/cloudy look rather than multiple images (which implies refractive error), but the only way to know what's going on would be to see an eye specialist who can do a slit lamp exam.
FWIW, I am a quarter-century younger than you and find headlights are blinding at night.
posted by basalganglia at 10:05 AM on July 5, 2020
FWIW, I am a quarter-century younger than you and find headlights are blinding at night.
posted by basalganglia at 10:05 AM on July 5, 2020
Speaking as a long term glasses wearer, the glop on the front of your eyes moves around when you blink and can cause odd effects which are a lot more noticeable when you aren't wearing glasses. The blinking to clear it plays into this theory. It is, however, a theory based on purely anecdotal information, and a professional would no doubt give you better advice.
I have to say your comment about cataracts at the end of your question reads as a complete non sequitur. I don't see how you linked your description of what you saw to cataracts at all. But an optician will presumably tell you if you have cataracts (or tell you they can't tell you).
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 10:17 AM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I have to say your comment about cataracts at the end of your question reads as a complete non sequitur. I don't see how you linked your description of what you saw to cataracts at all. But an optician will presumably tell you if you have cataracts (or tell you they can't tell you).
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 10:17 AM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I know nothing about the actual medical stuff, but based on your description, I would have just thought it was just the same thing that the astigmatism does to lights at night, and shrugged it off. (I don't remember what it's called.) Since some are saying check with your optometrist, ruling out the possibility of other troubles is probably a good idea.
posted by stormyteal at 10:43 PM on July 5, 2020
posted by stormyteal at 10:43 PM on July 5, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by terrapin at 9:51 AM on July 5, 2020 [5 favorites]