I am finally, at the age of 51, needing glasses. I only need them for reading and other close up stuff - I can see the screen of my computer on my lap just fine and my long distance vision is apparently excellent. It is getting boring having to hold books further and further away, however.
I don’t know much about glasses. How good are those really cheap reading glasses sold on amazon? They seem really appealing as I am sure to lose them easily, or sit on them. I could afford to get several pairs. I know I would be compromising on style/frame quality, but would I notice much difference in optical quality?
After my cataract surgery, my “normal” vision is now 20/20, but I need reading glasses for up close stuff. I went to amazon and bought a dozen cheap glasses. They are now seeded all over the house. I am sure I lost several already, but at $2 a pop, who cares.
Since I really use them for reading only, the “quality” is not that important. I can read with them, that’s good enough.
How cheap is cheap? I’ve got a few pairs of $7 glasses from the local supermarket that I’m completely happy with - comfortable, lenses are clear and sharp, I read for hours with them on. The $1 pair from the Dollar store though, are terrible - loose frames, sharp nosepads, and lenses are just awful.
No need for fancy glasses.
You want quantity, not quality.
Keep a half dozen pairs laying around the house wherever you are likely to need them.
Keep another pair in your shirt pocket.
And leave one pair on the couch, for the cat to curl up and sleep on.
For reading glasses (including jewelry making, embroidery, etc.), I buy them from the dollar store. No problems. For work, I need to focus on a computer screen that’s approximately 22 inches from me and use a form with small serif print. I do monovision. My left contact lens is designed to focus where my work and computer screen sit. My right contact is for normal 20/20 vision. I have another contact for my left eye that I use for driving at night or football games or anything else that needs 20/20 vision in both eyes. I’ve always been nearsighted and I have astigmatism. It does NOT affect my depth perception at all. I thought this was a silly idea for the longest time, but I absolutely love it. I know lots of people who use this method for work. Talk to your optometrist.
I get mine at the local closeout store. $2/pair. Some of the styles come with their own cases. One time I found a pack of 4 for $6 that had polka dot frames
I’ve yet to have an issue with them other than misplacing them.
The $10 ones are just fine. If your vision decline is entirely due to age loss of focusing ability, you’ll never need anything but the next quarter-power every few years. (Note that you want slightly less powerful ones for things like cooking, tinkering and reading most computer screens - I prefer large-frame ones for this purpose.)
If you have any astigmatism or it develops (rare), you’ll want at least one pair of prescription readers. I have one very expensive pair that corrects the tad of astigmatism for distance viewing (makes driving a little more comfortable) and has invisiline bifocals, also with astig correction, which makes reading the dash, nav, phone etc. easier. I also have a pair of prescription desktop glasses because I spend so much time in front of big, distant monitors - but a pair of large-lens readers does almost as well when I work remotely.
But I have regular cheap readers everywhere else… including, yes, the car.
Yep… buy 'em cheap from anywhere.
Yep… have 'em in every room of the house.
Yep… keep a spare set at the office.
Yep… stash some in the car(s).
Yep… have a pair or two a quarter power lower for cooking and cleaning, etc.
I don’t need reading glasses…yet…but my eye doctor told me at my last visit that I would most likely need a pair before I saw him again. He recommended going to the local drug store and trying on a few pairs of their basic $10 magnifying lenses and buying whichever one felt best, rather than coming back to him for a prescription.
One thing to point out for the OP, readers come in different strengths, all the way from +1 to +6. Go to a drug store first and try the different strengths out first. I never thought +1.5 was a big enough deal to worry about correcting, but I’ve got progressive lenses now and boy, it’s nice to see far and to read at the same time!
Anyway, that was a little off-topic. Unless your optometrist has already given you the reading strength you need, try some out before buying 10 pair of the wrong one.
Yes. A good eye doctor will counsel you to buy cheap reading glasses. *If they are all you need. * Other things can happen to your eyes as the years go buy.
So, go cheap on the reading glasses. But don’t go cheap & skip eye exams. If you value your vision.
I have an optometrist appointment later this week. Because my dad has glaucoma and I live in the UK, my eye tests are free on the National Health Service.
