Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with vision

Could pupil dilation be the cause of my inaccurate eyeglass prescription

lodurr — Thu, 16 May 2013 07:04:02 -0800

The last two times I got a new prescription the first try was way off. Could this be due to the eye drops? Or is it just communications? I am extremely myopic and have astigmatisms in both eyes. (I'm not going to pretend I know the right terminology for all this stuff.) I had an exame a few weeks ago, took the prescription to my optician and ordered two new pair of glasses to replace the ones I have: one pair of bifocals for distance & computer screen, a second pair for computer screen & reading. The new distance glasses were fitted yesterday, and they were a disaster: I couldn't read three inch lettering from 15 feet.

I had a similar issue the last time -- same doctor. It cost me less that time because I was only getting one pair of bifocals. That time, the ophthalmologist basically presented it as a communications problem -- I didn't explain what I really wanted the lenses for. I get really agitated with issues relating to my eyesight, so I don't remember clearly why I didn't challenge this.

It's occurred to me since yesterday that the issue could be due to dilation. I remembered that my vision is extremely poor after I've been dilated. I can't focus on anything -- can't read road signs at all (meaning, even very large print ones), and dark glasses are very little help. I basically have to plan on not seeing anything much for several hours.

Is it possible this is the reason for the bad prescriptions?

Examples of bad vision statements?

roaring beast — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:59:15 -0800

I'm looking for a list of bland, lifeless, corporate mission statements and slogans. I remember seeing a list once where you were supposed to match the statement with some major companies, but they were all so generic that it was impossible. Things like "innovation for a new economy..." See also

Why does my vision blank out when I'm relaxed?

RobotVoodooPower — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:29:36 -0800

Sometimes when I'm relaxed, for instance sitting at my computer, I start to lose vision in my left eye. It usually takes the form of a dark "C" or donut around my central vision (e.g. I can see through it to a single word but it covers up most of the web page). If I blink or even move my eye in the slightest, it goes away, returning in a few seconds if I am still relaxed. This has been happening for at least a year or more. I went to the ophthalmologist recently, he looked at my retina etc. and diagnosed it as a floater or posterior vitreous detachment. I've had floaters all my life (the squiggly stringy kind) but never one that acts quite like this.

Wondering if this is typical for someone with a PVD (I've read about Weiss ring floaters but having trouble finding an exact description of picture) or if I should be worried about something else related to blood flow issues in my eye.

Job suggestions that require acute visual identification skills.

nímwunnan — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:20:39 -0800

I have severe synesthesia, and part of it means that I hear what I see. Would this be specifically useful in any professional capacity? I'm happily employed, but this is something I've always wondered about. I'm severely synesthetic, and one of my primary mappings is sight > hearing. So that means I hear variations in images -- especially if direct (rather than reflected) light is involved. Ever since learning how troublesome air turbulence can be to large visible-light telescopes, I realized that my "issue" could actually be helpful to someone else. In a professional sense. (Air turbulence makes a unique and hard to ignore sound to me, so much that I've gone many minutes on a few occasions looking for the source of it since I can definitely hear it but can't see it until I really look for it, like most people. Most recently it was a shadow cast on the aluminum of my macbook by the output of an industrial, ceiling mounted heater in a cafe).

Defects in glass or transparent plastic, single-pixel differences, subtle differences in color, directionality, movement of fluids, reflection and refraction, and video quality are a few of the things that produce distinct sounds to me. (I mean, everything I see does, but these are the first that come to mind that established professions might care about.) I guess I think I might have an advantage at identifying them, because a grey spot on an otherwise white page is one thing, but a ringing bell in an empty room is another.

So, are any of you out there connected to professions that could benefit from someone who has two sensory inputs for each change in visual stimuli? Lens grinders? Film graders? Mirror polishers?

New glasses: progressives or single?

epersonae — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:47:35 -0800

My near-sightedness is getting worse, and now I'm getting presbyopia, so I have to take off my glasses sometimes for reading or other close work. I can go progressive now or "next time." What should I be taking into consideration when I make my decision? I've worn glasses to correct near-sightedness since I was 11. My left eye has always been better than my right eye -- when I started wearing glasses, I had plain glass on that side. I've always had great up-close vision.

Well, my left eye is catching up with my right eye, so my overall distance vision is worsening, and apparently the presbyopia is catching up with me as well. Over the last 6-12 months I've started taking off my glasses when I need to read something up close. (Glasses work fine for middle distance, ie computer work, which is what I do all day. I sometimes take them off for reading, particularly on my phone, or for particularly fussy knitting.)

I had an eye appointment yesterday to talk about all that, and as I suspected, the doc brought up the idea of progressives. He thought I could maybe skip that this time, if I'm okay with removing my glasses when I need to. The close-up part of the lenses would be no correction at all.

Current prescription is -2.25/-1.75, with the lower number having jumped from -1.25 the last time I got glasses a couple of years ago. Doc thought that the jump might cause me to have to take off my glasses more often for up close work.

Other vision/activity details: my worse eye turns in slightly; I love cycling; I work on the 4th floor and take the stairs a lot. The change in my distance vision is bugging me enough that I'll probably get glasses within the next month, and my benefits are such that the next time I get glasses will probably be at least two years from now. I have prescription sunglasses with an older prescription, and I'm likely to replace those as well. I have NO plans to get contacts.

So:

Should I make the jump to progressives now, assuming that it's likely that I'll want to sometime in the next five years?

If you've been in a similar situation, what did you do, and how did it work out?

Is there something else I'm missing?

wish I could call this a superpower

wutangclan — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 14:11:19 -0800

I can see my pulse. Literally. Do I have anything to worry about? When I say "see", I don't mean by looking at any part of my body or at some sort of medical instrument.

I mean that there is a small spot in my vision that fluctuates rhythmically in concert with my heart rate. It is a spot in the 4 o'clock position in the field of view of my left eye, about 10 degrees off from the straight ahead. It cycles subtly from light to dark with each heartbeat. It's only noticeable if I'm looking at a dark background.

I would mention this to my doctor, but he has often been the kind to be dismissive of issues that I bring up. I had to argue with him to get the asthma medication that I need. Yes, I am trying to switch doctors, but everyone with a good reputation around here isn't accepting new patients.

In my family, there has been a history of stroke and macular degeneration, but no significant heart disease.

I thought glasses would help me see more clearly not put everything into soft focus.

wwax — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 21:11:34 -0800

Why are my new glasses scratching so quickly? I have recently graduated from cheapo magnifying readers to having to wear glasses full time. I ended up needing bifocals and as these where my first full time glasses we splurged on progressive lenses and also had transitions film, or whatever it is added, so that they darken in UV light. All is good, I love my frames, love the glasses got used to wearing them within a day. Then two weeks in the lenses are covered in lots of tiny scratches, luckily, as I'm a klutz, we splurged on the insurance for them and they replaced the lenses for free. I've had this second lot of lenses for just over 3 weeks now and they are as covered in scratches as the last lot and it's going to cost us a $25 fitting fee to have new lenses put in again.

I cleaned my old dollar store readers with windex and the corner of my shirt, they've stolen by my dog and hidden under the couch and they have nary a scratch on them. These expensive glasses have been treated with kid gloves, cleaned only with the supplied cleaning cloths and sprays and live in their case at night when I take them off. I had the woman in the store watch me clean the glasses to make sure I was doing it properly when we replaced the lenses and even they seemed confused as to why they were scratching so badly as I was doing everything right according to them. They do sometimes get greasy and I clean them as instructed under running water with mild soap and like to clean them well every morning before I put them on.

The only difference I can think of is the cheap readers were glass and these lenses are made out of a type of plastic. Having said that everyone else I've asked with these sorts of lenses does not appear to have this problem.

So Metafites what the heck is scratching my glasses, am I cleaning too vigorously, too often, not often enough? Is the glasses fairy coming in the night and cleaning them with steel wool? Do plastic lenses suck and I am going to need heavier glass ones? Any ideas or suggestions appreciated.

Oh in case it makes a difference bought the glasses through Target Optical.

From "Four Eyes" To "Gramps"

jason's_planet — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 08:16:48 -0800

I walked away from my last visit to the optometrist with a prescription for bifocals. All for the low low price of $20. The bruises on my ego were free. Since then, I have been shopping around for good prices on progressive lenses. The term "good prices" is proving relative as the best quotes I've been able to rustle up have been $300 for polycarbonates and $380 for the new-fangled high index variety. This is uncharted territory for me so I'm turning to you all for help. Here are my questions:

1. Is it worth the extra money to get the high-index lenses rather than the polycarbonates? Will this make a difference in the quality of the lenses and my vision? I have polycarbonates now and they're fairly thick but not coke-bottle thick. I also have some astigmatism in the right eye. I'm just wondering what exactly it is I'm getting for my eighty bucks.

2. The stores where I've been shopping are in Chinatown. Specifically, the Manhattan Chinatown. How much room for negotiation is there in these prices? How much bargaining power do I have?

3. I'm considering getting an extra pair of monofocal glasses with the reading prescription. Would using these impede my efforts to acquire the motor skills and habits involved in learning how to use multifocal lenses properly? The analogy that comes to mind is learning how to type. If you do 85-90% of your work on the QWERTY keyboard and a little bit of your work on a Dvorak keyboard, would that trip you up and confuse you?

4. Any other tips, anecdotes and advice concerning my transition to the wide and wonderful world of multifocals, being addressed as "sir" and the Early Bird Special at Denny's would be welcome. Many thanks in advance.

Oh, before I forget -- purchasing eyeglasses online is not an option I'm interested in pursuing. My unique set of optical issues does not lend itself to care from half a world away; I need to deal with these in person.

Sharp eyes, sharp eye exam?

zippy — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:27:03 -0800

Eyes 20/10 with correction, where to get the sharpest prescription in the US? L C F T D ... CWA Local 7019

I am nearsighted but with no astigmatism, and have 20/10 vision with correction.

How do I get a prescription in the US that gets me the absolute maximum supervision?

That is, I've seen my prescriptions over time vary by I think 0.25, but never less than that. I'm assuming this is the limit of measurement ability at an optometrist's office. Is that so?

Would a more precise measurement make a noticeable difference with glasses? Do optometrists even have the equipment to measure more precisely? And can lensmakers work with more precise measurements than standard?

(Feel free to hit me with the sordid details of the world of optometry, lens equations, etc. I'm a geek)

Leadership is defined by results, not attributes.

anderjen — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 11:21:24 -0800

I'm looking for books about reluctant leaders who went on to demonstrate outstanding leadership. Both current and historical figures accepted. For a class I'm taking this semester, I need to read a book about a current or historical leader, with emphasis on their leadership and communication style. I have a few potential ideas already but I’m especially interested in discovering people who were thrust into a leadership role against their will or who were wholly inexperienced at the time they became leaders, but who rose to the occasion brilliantly or eventually managed to figure things out along the way. Obscure or little-known figures particularly appreciated and encouraged, as long as I can track down a book about them.

These can be leaders in any field or arena, not just politics/government/world affairs, business, athletics, etc. Bonus points if it features a woman.

Thank you!

Strange whispers and tunnel vision?

zardoz — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 07:18:28 -0800

I remember a strange phenonenon that occurred a few times when I was a child. Voices accompanied with an odd "telescoping" of my vision. A few years ago I read a description of this, but my search powers are failing me. Ring a bell with anyone? This happened maybe half a dozen times, when I was about 9 to 12 (?) or so. One incident I remember quite clearly. I was in the bathroom with my mother, talking about something and my vision telescoped, as if I were looking through the wrong end of telescope and my mother was far away. At the same time, my hearing was also affected, and my mother's voice--as well as mine--sounded echo-y, as if we were talking long-distance.

It was almost like an out-of-body-experience, but not quite like I was looking at myself from a different vantage point.

The other phenomenon that happened after that (or maybe at the same time as all of this) was these voices I heard. Whispering, a lot of whispering, from lots of different voices/people. I can't remember what they were saying, and at the time maybe I couldn't understand what they were saying. I remember a different occasion, along with the tunnel vision, I was lying on my bed and distinctly heard several different voices. It freaked me out, so I got up and walked around, and all the phenomena seemed to just fade away. Sometime in early adolescence, maybe around puberty, the phenomenon stopped.

It's hard to be sure, but I think these events would only last a short time, ten to twenty minutes or so. Even at the time, I just chalked it up to sleepiness and an overactive imagination, but a few years ago I read other people's experiences that mirrored my own almost exactly. I even seem to recall a medical term for this phenomenon. Anyone have any idea?

LASIK for bad eyes?

seventyfour — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 07:52:54 -0800

I am very nearsighted, and have an astigmatism in both eyes. I checked out LASIK 10 years ago, and was told that it hadn't developed enough to make it safe/effective for a person with my conditions. Has the state of the art improved with regard to laser correction of severe nearsightedness with astigmatism? Are there new techniques that could work better than LASIK? Background: I have worn glasses since I was 4, switching to contact lens in junior high school. Without my contacts, I am nearly legally blind, and my glasses are so thick (plastic or glass lens) that they impart a funhouse-like curvature to my vision. My vision with contacts is very good, but I am constantly worried that I'll develop some side-effect of the contacts (like a corneal scratch) or conjunctivitis which will require that I wear glasses (which practically limit me to the house, as my job is almost all reading and writing).

I'm posting this to AskMF in the hopes of hearing both from persons with expert knowledge and those with personal experience of correction of severe nearsightedness and astigmatism. While I understand that it is possible to apply LASIK to persons with my conditions, it is the reliability and safety of the procedure that concerns me -- any significant chance of a degradation in my vision would be too much. With that said, even an improvement that could bring my eyesight back to the level where it could be effectively corrected by eyeglasses would be worth it.

Lightning flashes

altopower — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:48:59 -0800

"Lightning"-type flashes in my peripheral vision. What the hell? In the past week, I've started seeing these flashes in my peripheral vision. They're almost like one of those old-fashioned flashbulbs is going off behind me. I see them on both sides simultaneously. It happens maybe 2-3 times a day, and I can't find a pattern to when it happens.

I have migraines (without aura) that are not terribly well-controlled as of yet, and thus appear at some point every day, so I can't point to these flashes as being related to them for sure.

I have issues with my vision in general, but nothing has changed since I started having the flashes. I have trouble focusing my eyes on objects and often feel that I'm looking through them instead of at them. I wouldn't say my vision is blurred.

I'm on Topamax for the migraines and just started Mag 64 as a supplement to that.

YANMD, and I do have a call in to my doctor that I am waiting to have returned.

Brief double vision in the mornings

cozenedindigo — Sat, 19 May 2012 17:18:46 -0800

For a while now, I've had about 5 minutes of double vision in one eye, but only in the mornings. Is this normal? I have my routine eye exam in a couple weeks, and I plan to ask my optometrist, but I was wondering if anyone else experiences this.

It's only in the mornings, right as I wake up. I'm usually fiddling with my phone before getting out of bed, so I end up closing my right eye in order to see properly. Within a few minutes it corrects itself. I don't experience it anytime during the day.

I do wear glasses for nearsightedness and I believe I have some astigmatism as well.

Where can I get a good eyepatch?

Devonian — Mon, 07 May 2012 03:43:57 -0800

Where to get a good eyepatch for daily use in a professional environment? This has come up on the green before, but with no very good answer, so I'm trying again. I now need to wear an eyepatch, due to an internal condition in one eye that is more uncomfortable when it's exposed to light. The eye itself looks perfectly normal.

I've tried various models bought online, but none is very good. Silicone ones get too clammy and don't make a good light seal around the edges, others protrude too much to let me wear glasses (which I must do) or are irritating where they don't fit very well. Most of the eyepatches out there seem to be comedy or costume ones, which is fine if you want that, but I need something that will be part of my everyday life. I don't really have the sort of job where I could sport the Hello Kitty.

I'm quite prepared to go the custom route, if I can find it.

Double vision with an unknown cause: where do I go from here?

Anonymous — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:47:34 -0800

Double vision with an unknown cause: where do I go from here? I have had intermittent vertical double vision for the past year and a half. Episodes have been spaced months apart, though there have been days where double vision has occured more than once. The episodes last from a few seconds to a few minutes. Occasionally my eye feels sore afterwards. It seems to happen in one eye in particular.

I have seen my doctor several times about this, screwing myself over with my insurance and resulting in nasty preexisting conditions to go on my history. I have had blood work done for B12 and blood pressure and blood sugar, all being found with normal limits. I have had sinus and headache problems, so I had a CT scan of my head done. It showed mild sinus inflammation. I had a MRI which required no followup. I got both my inner ear and optic nerves checked for swelling or abnormalities. In addition, I was checked for allergies.

I think that I've pinpointed the connection between the episodes: increased blood pressure around my neck. Sometimes it comes without warning, but past instances have occurred when I've gotten hot or overexerted myself or changed positions. Other times, double vision came on without warning.

I don't know where to ask my doc to go from here. I am getting so sick of trying to figure this out. I want something to suggest to her when we meet this month--though I am afraid of messing up my precarious insurance situation even further.

Episodes seem to increase when I am having bad sinus and allergies. My thyroid is fine, but I have some hormonal imbalances.

Scientific literature on Lasik satisfaction and side effects?

Philosopher Dirtbike — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 04:32:40 -0800

I would like links to peer-reviewed literature regarding laser vision correction. I'm considering laser vision correction, and I'm looking for information. However, I have noticed that a lot of the information online is either industry content, or anecdotes. I'm a researcher, but not a vision researcher, so I don't really know the relevant literature, or even a good entry point into the literature. When I do a citation database search, I get lots of very specialized articles. Here's what I'd like: links to general research on satisfaction with and side effects of laser vision correction, preferably meta-analyses or literature reviews (that is, not dealing with a very specific technique, or a small modification of a technique). Or, if that's not possible, perhaps literature on a very common, currently used technique.

Also, due to the traveling I do, I could theoretically have the surgery done in the US, Canada, anywhere in Europe, Singapore, or Australia. I'd also like information regarding which of these countries it might be preferable to get the surgery done in.

Please, no anecdotal information regarding your experience, or a friend's experience. There's plenty of that already on the green. Thanks!

Can you tell me about lasik in Philadelphia?

two lights above the sea — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:48:31 -0800

Have you had laser eye surgery in Philadelphia? Can you tell me your overall experiences? Can anyone tell me the approximate costs for the surgery and the normal year's worth of check-ups required, and can you recommend a provider in this area? I'm thinking about finally getting the surgery. Doctor said I would be a good candidate last year. I can max my FSA to $2,500 and reserve probably $1,500-2,000 of it. My insurance also gives me 15% off, so I think my husband and I can swing the rest out of pocket, depending on how much it costs.

FWIW, I'm 27 year old, and currently my vision is stable at -5.50 and -5.75. I've been wearing glasses since preschool and cannot remember a time I could see clearly without correction. Contacts have started to irritate my eyes more (only because I wear them for too long) than they did when I was young. I'm eager to see again! Thanks in advance!

I think I'm losing my mind

bad grammar — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 12:46:54 -0800

I still have my eyesight (for now), but the diagnosis has triggered serious anger and midlife crisis issues. I posted late last year about a retinal disorder (possible detachment). I saw a retinal expert at a well respected university hospital twice and he says that my retinal condition is stable, but otherwise cannot give long-term reassurance. I am having psychological issues.

I am feeling angry at everyone and everything. I just can't take it anymore. I am angry at the 90yo writer whose novel I agreed to type up and edit in my free time (Project #1). Doing the typing makes me angry, since he doesn't have a computer, won't use a word processor, and expects me to type as if it were still the Mad Men era, even though I'm being paid to do it. The substance of the novel irritates me since I disagree with it for political reasons. It might euphemistically be called "heritage fiction." It is being self-published on Amazon. I am fantasizing about trashing it. Did I mention that he still kills off his gay characters?

I am editing a much larger project (Project #2) in my own field in which I, the editor, am at the mercy of procrastinating contributors (most of who are academics, world class procrastinators). A major deadline is approaching.

I can't stand my day job anymore either. I am a school librarian and so besides everything else that needs to be done in the 2 libraries I manage w/o assistants, I spend time picking up books and putting them back in order when the kids push the books around or put them back in the wrong place, spines inward. I am not their mom. It is, however, a job that I can't just quit. I have little confidence in finding another that pays at the same level.

The political news makes me angry too. Two words. Rick Santorum. The thought that Rick Santorum could get elected and that I live in a Catholic neighborhood where many people might support Rick Santorum. I cannot go out and spray paint the nearby Catholic school with RICK SANTORUM SUCKS DOGS even though I would like to.

I am lesbian/bi and live in the closet. This is now making me extremely angry all by itself. I can hardly come out without fear of losing my job. I am tired of living in a straight world, where the city paper can run Ask Amy but not Dan Savage, where people on the bus look at me funny because I have a short haircut, where my right to marry a woman exists only in a few states and even there is threatened by right-wingers.

The real thing that is making me so angry is the thought that I am slowly going blind. I'm a highly visual person who enjoys reading and whose careers have depended on reading and whose pleasures depend on sight. I'm not even musical.

I feel that my productive life may have become too short to put up with all this crap. I want to ditch the day job and the writer (Project #1) and/or take my savings and move out of the Catholic neighborhood into the city (giving me an excuse to drop the writer, since the only reason I'm doing this is that I'm his neighbor). Unfortunately, in this state I don't trust my judgment. It seems foolish to squander my savings on an apartment or condo when I may need them for when I have to exist on disability payments.

Did I mention that I'm living with my parents. I feel that my anger with the writer guy is projection, displacement, what have you.

I need a diagnosis. The possibilities are (a) physical eyestrain from my slowly deteriorating vision is making me exhausted and angry; (b) it's hormones, since I am over 40; (c) life changes or therapy for this life situation.

I know I should drop one or more of these commitments, probably the writer. I have a terrible time saying no to people, even though I want to belt out the line from Amy Winehouse's "Rehab": NO NO NO!

I have not told my supervisors at work about my vision problem, since I figure they'll start searching for a new librarian. What I want is some time off to get Project #2 into shape and get my head together. My supervisors at Project #2 don't know about the vision issue either. Nor does the writer guy.

I also need social support. I don't have lesbian/bisexual friends; due to the commitments on my free time (Projects #1 and 2), going out and socializing is somewhere near the bottom.

Where can I find these glasses?

his median eminence — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:46:34 -0800

Where might I find glasses like these? I really love the glasses Walton Goggins occasionally wears in Justified as Boyd. I know I've seen them before on people (they've got a nice little hipster vibe) but can't seem to find them.

Can someone tell me what the style of these particular glasses might be classified as and where I might be able to pick them up for a decent price? All I can really deduce is that they're semi-rimless.

Here's a few links:

http://imgur.com/kpcZ0

http://imgur.com/Ucjd6

Why is my left eye better at drawing than my right?

overeducated_alligator — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:03:42 -0800

Why is my left eye better at drawing than my right? When I'm drawing, if I close or cover my right eye and look at my drawing on the paper, suddenly I can perceive "the big picture" and it becomes easier to make the drawing correct as a whole, without getting hung up too much on the details. Same thing with drawing from life-- when my right eye is covered and I look at the subject I'm drawing, it becomes dramatically easier to draw the entirety of what I'm looking at.

But if I cover my left eye, or keep both eyes open, it becomes very difficult for me to visually perceive the whole. Instead of being a whole, the drawing or subject instead appears like a jigsaw puzzle or patchwork of lots of little details and pieces.

I've had my eyes tested/dilated/checked many times, and other than needing glasses to see at a distance, have no vision problems. Also, if it matters, I'm right-handed.

What's going on here? Why would covering one eye versus the other make such a huge subjective difference? Is there some kind of brain hemisphere stuff going on?

Can I see clearly now?

yersinia — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 06:26:09 -0800

My annual eye exam is coming up. I've had a years-long string of not-quite-right corrective lenses. What can I do to get an accurate prescription this time? I'm super nearsighted (~-7.50 in contacts, coke-bottle in glasses), and I've had about five years of awful luck in contact and glasses prescriptions. Regularly, about once a year, I've gone to the doctor, given my best answers on the eye test, and received a slightly different prescription from last time's, only to find out, when I get the lenses and settle in a bit, that it's not *quite* clear-- fine for daily life, but with a little residual blurriness that makes me squint a lot without realizing it and give myself frown lines and headaches.

Since I have no money and no time, I've just lived with whatever slightly-off eye apparatus I just bought, but the result is that I've been cycling daily between two pairs of glasses and a set of contact lenses that are all slightly different, slightly wrong prescriptions. Which means I don't at present have a really good conscious sense of what perfectly clear vision would even look like. Meaning I can't honestly tell whether A or B is clearer in the next eye exam... and cue vicious cycle.

I'm wondering whether there are best practices for receiving eye examinations that might help me find my way out of this blurry existence. I thought maybe That Machine (name escapes me) that automatically measures vision might help, but my last Pearle Vision exam incorporated the Machine, and the resulting prescription was just as bad as the rest of them. Would it help, possibly, to go to an actual doctor's office instead of a mall place? Anything else I can do?

Why is my vision blurry after using my laptop? (and I see light beams coming off of bright lights)

crawltopslow — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 06:13:55 -0800

Why is my vision blurry after using my laptop? (and I see light beams coming off of bright lights) AFAIKYANMD

Lately, it's been getting worse; I use the computer all day long for work, maybe 10 hours a day 6 days a week, for almost 10 years now.

Now the words on the computer screen are slightly blurry/doubled, and at night time outside, street lights and car lights, have light rays beaming off of them making everything super blurry.

Why does this happen?
What can I do to fix/prevent this?

I had my vision checked twice in the past 3 months (for driver's test, and for a physical) and both times I passed ok.

Whats up with my vision?

Hither — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:36:47 -0800

Whats up with my vision? I sporadically have a condition I have trouble describing. Sometimes, when looking at something with lots of complicated 3d details, for example a large crowd strolling through dappled sunlight, or closely watching water come to a boil in a glass pot, my vision shifts oddly. Yesterday it happened while looking at a huge mass of fine ice crystals I found on freezer-burned food.

Its hard to describe objectively... I can look around normally, see all the usual colors and details, everything still in focus, same brightness, nothing concrete missing. But somehow it what I see seems less cohesive, no solidity, just a bunch of details that no longer form a whole. Then a minute or two later, its all back to normal.

Is this some obscure medical condition? I have difficulty even coming up with a proper description or search keywords. It doesn't cause me any problems other than being distracting. Its occurred sporadically since childhood - maybe once per month at most. My right eye is strongly dominant, if thats important.

Eliminating my dream job based on vision concerns?

iadacanavon — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:45:29 -0800

I'm worried about pursuing my dream job as a graphic novelist because of worsening vision. Can any severely nearsighted artists or others in vision-intensive careers speak to this? Since I was in second grade, I've needed glasses. Two myopic parents ensured this. I read and drew a lot as a kid. Now, at 27, I'm at -7.75 and -8.00 diopters, and my eyes are worse than my parents'. I'm between jobs, but for my previous job, it was 8 hours a day of computers, and then I'd come home and do another couple hours of reading, writing, drawing, TV watching, etc.

I've begun to train myself in graphic novels by drawing and practicing daily, reading a lot of different art books, and just going for it in general. But there's one thing holding me back... I'm afraid that I'm going to go beyond correctable vision/go blind or otherwise damage my eyes. When I immersed myself in reading and art a few months ago (along with a lot of computer usage), I was experiencing extreme eye fatigue and having blurry vision up close, and my eyes were hurting a lot. Quite scary, and I backed off. For this reason, I'm wondering if I need to choose a career that is not so hard on them.

I've taken as many steps as I can think of to help: I've now installed AntiRSI and take 5 minute breaks to shift focus every 20 minutes, with 20 second pauses every 10, using good light, doing some eye exercises. I've also installed Flux to change the color contrast on my monitor. I turn down the brightness at night. I try to get out every day and use my eyes. For my next job, I'm looking at one that won't be as vision-intensive so I can "save" my eyes a bit for after hours. But if I want to get really serious with comics, there's no avoiding a lot of very detailed work, drawing, reading and writing (also with some of it on paper, rather than computer).

I haven't seen a lot on choosing a career based on vision usage. When I've looked up artists and eyesight, I found things about Monet going blind which were freaky, but didn't explain the exact cause. Also a few on comic artists losing vision (eek), again no specifics. I'd be crushed if I couldn't do this seriously, but better to decide now if I need to shift directions. Anyone have experience with this, thoughts, suggestions? Thanks, MeFites!