My vision is terrible, although not quite as bad as some people I know. When I’m asked to read the eye chart, I say “E.” Then when asked to read the next line down, I have to tell them that I’m joking and can’t even read the E, it’s just the letter that’s always on top. When I wear my glasses, I’m essentially blind in my periphery. It makes me disoriented to have my vision angle cut by so drastic a margin. I don’t know what I’d do without my contacts.
If contacts don’t work for you for some physical reason I can understand; glasses are the best you can do. But if you just prefer them, why do you do it? Doesn’t not being able to see to either side of you drive you crazy??
There is no way for me to wear contacts. My eyes are to sensitive and the doctors have almost not gotten the lens out. I can see quit far sideways, but I don’t have some small lens pair either. There is some area at the far peripheral area that isn’t magnified, but it’s not much and way better than everything blurred. No glasses would be my preferred default, but it won’t be happening.
My uncorrected vision is such that I can not see eye charts–including the E. I don’t consider it horrible vision, because as long as I have access to my glasses, I can see just fine. Also, I’m severely near-sighted, so I can walk around without tripping, and even read without my glasses, just not drive.
I’ve never tried contact lenses–glasses work just fine and do not require messing with my eyes. Lazyness in cleaning causes only temporary grief.
I don’t like how small many lenses are today–I don’t understand the point of itty-bitty lenses. But not being able to see to the side without turning my head doesn’t bother me–it’s the way things have “always” been. Got glasses in 3rd grade, which is now about 25 years ago. My vision is worse now than it was then, but really, for the most part, the area around my glasses is a region of space where I don’t think I’d spend much time looking even if it wasn’t blurry and therefore uncomfortable to look at…
I’m pretty short-sighted - when I started school I couldn’t see the board :eek:*.
I’ve worn glasses for 50 years now and I suppose I’m just used to them.
Contacts might be better - but why not have lasert surgery instead?
*I didn’t say anything for a while, because I thought everyone saw the world as blurry. :smack:
Then one day I got moved to the front of the class, mentioned I could actually read something and was promptly whisked off to an optician.
Lets add in another problem if you don’t correct the focus. You quickly get nasty headaches. Glasses are not a bad price to pay to not have a headache.
My brain filters out the blurry stuff out to the sides, so I don’t really notice it. I only really noticed that when an eye doctor was saying “how many fingers am I holding up” out there. It was really, really hard to suppress my normal response of turning my head to see anything out there.
Contacts are way less affordable for me. I just deal with glasses. I’ve had them most of my life, so I am used to it. I do love wearing contacts when I can afford it.
I’m pretty used to it too. I’ve had glasses for years. I do wear contacts, but if I’m going to be reading a lot, it’s significantly easier for me to do so in glasses. Ditto if I’m going to be staring at a computer screen for a long period of time.
When I was 7, it came to light that suddenly I couldn’t read the board at school or the hymn numbers at church anymore, so off I went to be fitted with my first pair of glasses. I’ve been wearing them ever since, and I’m heading toward 42. I had contacts for a few years, but after a while they got to be too much hassle, so I went back to glasses. I’m another of those who knows there’s an E on the chart, but can’t prove it. (What chart?)
I dunno, you just get used to them. I don’t spend a lot of time using my peripheral vision, you know? And really, don’t we mostly use it to detect motion? I can do that. I like being able to rub my eyes or take a nap whenever I want. I really, really need sharp vision (corrected, of course) to work, so I’m loath to take the risk of laser surgery; to me, it would be fixing something that ain’t broke. I don’t participate in sports that are hindered by glasses.
You just put the glasses on when you get up in the morning, and take them off when you go to bed. I can stumble around my own house without them if need be, but that’s rare.
I’ve had contacts before, but I know they aren’t the best idea for me – I tend to leave them in too long, don’t clean them enough, don’t throw them out timely enough, etc. So I suppose I’m just being lazy sticking with glasses.
I may reconsider though. I’ve recently stepped into the world of progressive lenses – THEY AREN’T BI-FOCALS, GODDAMNIT! – and the peripheral vision with these babies are twice as bad. I only have the vision I need when I’m looking straight ahead, and not down in the least – unless I’m reading something.
It took me a good month to get used to, and even now they still drive me crazy; like just looking into my side-view mirror when I’m driving, I can’t glance – I’ve got to turn my whole head like I’m wearing a stabilization halo or something. Maddening.
Agreed with this, and I also “can’t see the E” without some squinting. I used to complain about how “horrible” my vision is, then I started working in Ophthalmology. Now I know the truth - if you can get 20/20 (or close) vision with correction, your vision is great!
I don’t notice an apparent “lack” of peripheral vision. I still have vision around the sides of my glasses; it’s just not crystal-sharp. Anything that’s close enough to me to be an issue can still be seen, just blurry. If I need better clarity, I turn my head to look at it, which is a wise move anyway since if it requires that much attention it’s best to put that item in the center of your visual field.
I have astigmatism and didn’t like the options for contact lenses when I tried them out years ago, plus my eyes tend to react poorly to them after prolonged use, it seems. I’m sure there are better ones now but I don’t care to bother with getting “fit” for them, messing around with the cleaning, paying all that money and then maybe discovering that I still don’t like them. And after seeing some contact-related eye infections - including one from a hospital-acquired bacterial infection, not related to contact cleaning issues - well, it tends to disturb you.
I can’t get Lasik/PRK (yet), because my myopia is still progressing.
I am not permitted to wear contacts at my job. I had worn contacts pretty much exclusively for eight years, and being forced back into glasses drove me batty initially. I would come home each day and put my contacts in. Eventually I stopped bothering, and now I finally have a pair of glasses that I like my appearance in enough to be seen in public with them.
Okay, so I’m a little vain. But what really bothered me about glasses wasn’t the lack of peripheral vision, it was the smudges and smears, the tendency for them to slide down my nose, and the inability to lie down to watch tv without bumping them, etc. I hated having them sitting on my face. My current pair are tiny, and the lenses are super high index, which makes them thin, light and comfy compared to older pairs. I’ve got a heavy prescription.
I still wear contacts on the weekends, but for comfort more than vision.
Last Sunday I caught myself attempting to push my glasses up my nose. I wasn’t wearing glasses.
This is my experience, as well. I did have contact lenses for about a year, and found that after a day of looking at a computer screen at work, I had trouble focusing on things in the distance. My optometrist recommended using reading glasses at work. I said, if I’m going to wear glasses, I’ll just wear my regular damn glasses. Besides which, I’m used to them, and I like the protection from the elements.
I’ve worn glasses for 10 years. Had a brief stint with contacts but they just don’t work for my eyes.
I never even thought about not being able to see sideways. I mean, I can see sideways, past my glasses. Obviously I can’t read an eye chart past my glasses but … all I need to do is turn my head. I still see stuff moving and existing past my glasses.
I’ve worn glasses for 50 years and have learned to incorporate them into my life. I have two pair of glasses I use all the time – a pair of bifocals for everyday use and a pair for the computer. My only regret is that I can never wear any really cool sunglasses, since they’d have to be prescription.
Same here. My peripheral vision isn’t clear, but I can still see–it’s not like I’m wearing those goggle frames that block it. The smudges are a far greater concern, since they affect how well I can see what I’m actually looking at. Trying to keep the lenses clear is a pain. As is trying to find them when I’m not wearing them. Thin frames do have that downside…
(As for why I don’t have contacts–I’m just plain squeamish. Plus I nearly passed out when they were testing to see if my eyes were too dry or not)
Do that all the time. Often when I’m not wearing my glasses I forget if I have them on or not. I can function fine without them, aside from not being able to read anything more than a foot away. After a decade, having them on is part of my definition of ‘normal’.
Chart? What chart?
Over there on the wall…
What wall?
I’m just used to the nonfocused peripheral vision and the funny “exchange area” between edge of glasses and periph area beyond them.
I don’t need peripheral-vision areas to be in focus and I assume most other folks don’t either.
Glasses much better IMO. I probably think so because I have been wearing them since 2nd grade.
I tried contacts for a year but then gave them up.
I can see a little better through my glasses, especially late in the day. I have not noticed not being able to see out the ‘sides’. You can take them off easily and ‘rest’. Soon I’ll have to have bifocals and even if you can have those in contacts I think that would be a pain. Glasses are easy to take care of.
Weird…because I am opposite you. I see all these people with contacts and wonder how they do it without going nuts!
My eyes are really sensitive. You know that machine that puffs in your eye? I can barely do that. The idea of regularly putting something inside my eye is unthinkable. So, glasses.
