One of my friends recently reported that in a survey of employees at the hospital she works at, she was found to have the absolute worst vision. I don’t know if she won a prize or not, but I think she should have. Anyway, it started me pondering about my fellow Dopers, and just exactly how bad our vision is, as a whole. (Blind Dopers feel free to check in, too. Or legally blind Dopers. You know, whoever.) I’m also curious to find out just exactly who among us has the absolute worst vision without actually being blind.
I’ll start off. At my last checkup, my vision was -5.5 diopters in the left eye and -5.0 in the right. My eye doc doesn’t give me measurements in 20/whatever anymore, just in diopters, so that’s all I can tell you.
In practical terms, what this means is that without my glasses on, I can’t even recognize my own husband from more than five feet away. In more primitive times, I would have been lion food a long time ago.
So! Share your bad vision! I’m positive I can’t be the worst among us.
Right eye (it had gotten worse): -6.50
Left eye (it got better): -4.50
I’m still pretty bad off. Basically, I have about three feet before people become a blur and no longer have faces. I wear my contacts pretty much constantly (I do not sleep in them) since my glasses are 6 years old - but I’m getting new ones in August!
MsWhatsit, I got you beat WAY bad. Try this on for size:
I’m presently operating on a prescription of -10 diopters in my left eye, -9 in the right. Without my glasses on or contacts in, I can’t even SEE the “Big E” on the eye chart anymore – actually it’s been almost a couple of decades since I was able to. I’ve made opticians gasp, their own eyes bugging out, just by handing them my prescription slips to make me new glasses.
When I take off the glasses or remove the contacts, all I really see is a blur of light and colors. And note, I said that my PRESENT prescription was -10 left eye and -9 right eye. I’m 2-3 years overdue for an eye exam. I can still see OK with these, but I know I’d see better if I found out how much of an upgrade I needed and got it.
Two words: laser surgery.
I don’t recall my prescription prior to surgery a few years ago, but I do know I couldn’t read the big E on the eye chart. In other words, blind as a bat.
Perfect vision now! Hopefully, y’all are candidates for the corrective surgery.
Once you get over about -4.00 D, most people can’t see the big “E” anymore, so it does become a bit of a theoretical exercise to figure out the “20/20” number. I did it to myself when I was in optometry school and came up with an approximation of 20/1500 for both eyes. To put that in perspective, I’m about a -7.00 (a bit worse, because I’ve got high levels of astigmatism too.)
the reason that we don’t give the prescriptions out as something like 20/100 is that it’s meaningless for making glasses or ording contacts. 20/100 just means that you have to stand at 20 feet to see what a normal person sees at 100 feet, but it tells you nothing about what powers are needed to correct that.
There’s an E on those charts? I haven’t been able to see that for years now.
I’m currently at -9.00 in both eyes. Plus reading glasses.
My opthamologist is iffy on me having the laser surgery since I’ve had so many issues with my eyes. Plus it’s not in the budget right now. Sigh. I don’t remember what it’s like to see clearly without some form of corrective lens.
I have two words for you, too, Blonde, and they are –
FLAT BROKE.
Someone I knew whose myopia was as bad as mine had laser surgery a few years back also, and it completely fixed her. But it cost her $5,000 per eye to have it done. I don’t have THAT kind of money to spend on ANYTHING.
Now I realize that prices come down after something’s been done for awhile, and maybe laser eye surgery costs less now, but even so, if it still costs any more than the price of an eye exam plus a pair of new glasses and small supply of contacts – which I seriously doubt – it’s still a no-go for me.
The contacts I wore up until March were -10.25 for my right eye and -10.5 for my left. My new set actually had less correction (-9.00 & -9.25).
My twin brother is at -14.00 for both eyes. He looked into laser correction but his corneas are too thin. There isn’t enough tissue there to be able to remove as much as they would need to correct his vision. That is pretty much why I haven’t checked it out yet although I may some day.
Good Lord, you people ARE blind as bats! My vision’s just plain weird, near perfect in my right eye and -3.00 in the left. Extremely imbalanced. But at least I can SEE! Bwahahahaha!
-3.5 in both eyes. I’m lucky that it’s the same left as right so I can use the same contact perscription in either.
It’s a bit scarey. Every time I get my eyes checked I get a higher perscription. I started out only needing glasses to drive. Now I fumble around every morning till I find my specs!
I’m about -6.5 in my left eye and -4 in my right with nasty astigmatism.
We set aside the funds in the MSA this year for my LASIK surgery (about $1400 total – the prices have come down, folks! just don’t go to the $299 specials who advertise in the funny papers!). Now all I need to develop is the COURAGE.
