Tips for a first-time spectacle-wearer?

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

Hello all.

As part of my inexorable descent into middle-age, I am now in need of reading glasses (they arrive next week).

The thing is, I have a terrible record with sunglasses; I own each pair for around and about 2 days before they got lost/trodden on/dropped into a volcano. The cost of glasses being as exhorbitant as it is, this would be an economically burdensome way to carry on with my new spectacles. Bearing in mind I only need these to read (which is not all the time), I anticipate taking them off and putting them on again quite a lot throughout the day. This - as far as I am concerned - is a recipe for disaster. What strategies can I employ to ensure that my glasses live a long, healthy life?

I suppose one idea is to simply wear them all the time - at least then I won’t be tempted to put them down somewhere and not remember where I left them. That seems a little overkill, though - I would be essentially lugging round this apparatus on my face unnecessarily for a large chunk of the day (might this also be bad for my eyes in some way? Don’t know about that…). Another possibility is to get straps and wear them round my neck all day - but I can see that getting tiresome, and there is also the potential for them to bash/get caught in things.

This leads me to suspect that those who successfully keep their reading glasses for long periods have time-honoured techniques for ensuring their survival… What works for you?

Thanks in advance :slight_smile:

#2

What is your prescription? I am surprised they are exhorbitant and that you can’t get throwaway readers you wouldn’t have to worry about for not very much at the drugstore.

#3

I don’t have the paperwork in front of me, but I am amblyopic and the right/left eyes apparently have quite different degrees of need (maybe that’s the case for everyone, though? Y’see - I know nothing about this stuff…). Continually buying cheap replacement glases is a potential strategy, although it seems a little defeatist. Having a nice-ish pair of glasses which I didn’t lose is what I’m shooting for…

#4

Generic reading glasses are usually fairly cheap ($10-$20) and can be had over the counter in many strengths. Just get yourself a bunch and leave them there you need them. That way you can put them down and pick them up as needed and not to carry them around.

If you need prescription readers I suggest www.eyebuydirect.com. I get all my glasses there, quality is very good and they are fraction of the cost of glasses through an optician. You do need a copy of your prescription. I have extra pairs in my house, car and office. I am never without a pair even if I misplace my current pair.

#5

Make it a definite point to have the glasses either on your head, in your hand, or in a case. Don’t put the case (or the glasses, of course) any place where it’s possible to sit on them.

Before spending half an hour trying to find where you misplaced them, pat your head to see if you parked them there. :o

#6

When I wore contacts (I’m nearsighted) I had to have reading glasses to work close. I had a fancy pair and sat on them. Then I went to the dollar store, bought a pair with horrible ugly multicolored frames. I couldn’t throw the damn things away let alone loose them, they’d just come right back. Works the same with sunglasses too.

#7

I’d had cataract surgery and still needed glasses to clearly see anything closer than about 3’. As I’d been wearing glasses for over 50 years anyway I just went with progressive lenses with my reading prescription. No correction in the top part at all. I just wear them most of the day.

#8

There’s many places on the web where you can order prescription glasses for not much more than drugstore readers cost. Have a few around the house.

Get out of the habit of setting the glasses down in random places. Pick a few spots around the house and only set your glasses down there. Either they’re on your head or in those spots.

There’s something called Readerest(?) which has magnets and a hook so you can hang your glasses from your shirt. The magnets go inside your shirt and the hook on the outside. If you get that, also only set it down in certain places or else you’ll lose that too.

At the drugstore, you can find foldable glasses which can fit in your pocket. Those are convenient for times when you don’t have your regular glasses with you.

#9

I lose sunglasses all the time, because I only wear them outside, and frequently misplace them when I go inside. I have never lost my glasses, and only once did I actually break them and had to tape them together for a week before new ones came in.

Don’t take your glasses off. I take them off to clean them, shower, and to sleep. That’s it. And my glasses are always on a table, headboard or, if I’m sleeping at a friends house or camping, maybe in my shoe or on the floor next to the bed. My glasses are always within inches of my face, so I never lose them.

Also, get new ones before they are so loose they fall off your head while you’re putting shingles on your roof and they fall to the ground and break.

#10

That’s what I do, but it might not work for the OP, who is using reading glasses. He or she might not be able to see at distance through those lenses. Won’t work.

It works perfectly for my trifocals, but not for readers. Unless they’re half-frames.

#11

Glasses can be very expensive if you go for rimless frames.

#12

I wear reading glasses that have a semi-rigid, semi-flexy back strap between the temples. There’s a magnetic latch at the bridge of the nose. You pull the magnets apart to drop the glasses to your upper chest, where they click back together. The backstrap moves from the back of your head down to the back of the neck.

The brand name is clic, and I got 'em at Amazon, where you can see an illustration showing how it works.

#13

Order them by the dozen from an online dispenser like Zenni, at five bucks a pair. The frames may be a bit flimsy, but the optics are right on.

#14

As with those of us who have been wearing glasses for over 50 years, the number one strategy is to always put them in the same place. Always.

In your case, since you only need them for part of the day, that is likely to be putting them in a case, and putting the case in a pocket. When you’re home put the case on the same table every day. When you use them, put them back in the case, and put the case in the same pocket or on the same table. (Possibly the pocket or table where your car and/or house keys live.) Develop this habit as a ritual.

Until you have developed this habit as a ritual, you will continue to lose, misplace, or sit on your glasses. (Or lose them while asleep in a car that gave you a ride while hitch-hiking in California and have to hitch-hike half blind to Toronto in 1975. That may not apply to you.)

#15

That’s what I was gonna say. Designate a place to put them, and religiously follow that pattern. Never deviate from it; don’t trust your memory or your unconscious mind. Make it a rule.

(This is much more important for those of us who need glasses to see anything at all. Searching without being able to see is a lot worse than searching by sight.)

Also… Periodically set your book aside and look around the room. Vary your focus. “Flex” your eye muscles, and avoid spending huge amounts of time at only one distance. It comforts your eyes to change focus now and then. (Same for sitting in front of the computer.)

#16

Straight Dope: “What’s happened to us, man? We used to be cool!”

#17

My cousin needed glasses when she was very young. Her dad taught her the rhyme, “On your face or in the case!” It worked because she needed to wear them all the time. In your case, it might be prudent to invest in a necklace and just wear them all day, then put them in a bedside case at night.