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Easing Eye Strain with the Right Lenses (2012)

nytimes.com

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Re: Easing Eye Strain with the Right Lenses (2012)

#61

Post by lucaspiller »

jasode wrote: post #51
CalChris wrote: post #2

I got a little pushback (not a lot) from my optometrist when I first requested an FD set at laptop distance. However it has made a huge quality of life difference for me. I also gave up on progressives and now have two pairs: readers and drivers. My current correction is insanely good for reading and for driving. In fact, my opto said it was quite a bit better than 20/20 with no eye strain. Well, there was some eye s…

>I also gave up on progressives and now have two pairs: readers and drivers. Yes, both progressives and high-index lenses suffer from the same problems: smaller field-of-vision and higher distortion of peripheral vision If I sit with my eyes 36 inches away from a 30-inch screen... With a single-vision lens, without my head moving at all, my eyes can move within their sockets to see the bottom corner of screen showing…

There’s some good advice on this thread, and I’m definitely going to do some reading before I go to the optician next. I’ve been wearing glasses for 15 years and I don’t think I’ve ever had a pair that are really comfortable for computer work. The best I had was contact lenses, but now I have a weak astigmatism which they can’t correct properly.

Anyway I wanted to ask about your test lens set. Do you just go to the optician with the glasses? I get the impression they’d give a reaction as if you are self diagnosing from something you’ve read online...

Re: Easing Eye Strain with the Right Lenses (2012)

#62

Post by gxs »

PSA:

Grew up pretty poor. One of those people that just got lucky and was never seriously injured since I didn't have health insurance until I went to university.

Again, I was one of those people that always struggled to read for extended periods of time. It never occurred to me that I might need glasses and I didn't have a single eye exam as a kid.

Fast forward to one of my last semesters. I finally go in for an eye exam and sure enough, I needed glasses.

After I got the glasses, studying for long periods was effortless (at least by comparison) and needless to say, my grades improved drastically. For at least a short period, I felt what it was like to do well in at a really competitive school.

I really wish that period had been longer, so please, if you're reading this and you've been putting off an eye exam, go do it today.

Re: Easing Eye Strain with the Right Lenses (2012)

#63

Post by bigjimslade »

jasode wrote: post #51
CalChris wrote: post #2

I got a little pushback (not a lot) from my optometrist when I first requested an FD set at laptop distance. However it has made a huge quality of life difference for me. I also gave up on progressives and now have two pairs: readers and drivers. My current correction is insanely good for reading and for driving. In fact, my opto said it was quite a bit better than 20/20 with no eye strain. Well, there was some eye s…

>I also gave up on progressives and now have two pairs: readers and drivers. Yes, both progressives and high-index lenses suffer from the same problems: smaller field-of-vision and higher distortion of peripheral vision If I sit with my eyes 36 inches away from a 30-inch screen... With a single-vision lens, without my head moving at all, my eyes can move within their sockets to see the bottom corner of screen showing…

But how do you see your dash while driving? Do you just see through the blurry?

Re: Easing Eye Strain with the Right Lenses (2012)

#64

Post by abalashov »

ruricolist wrote: post #60
abalashov wrote: post #57

I have a fairly large power difference between my eyes; my right eye is nearly perfect (maybe -0.5 or so) but my left eye is -2.75. This has been the case since 7th grade or so. At the time, I was prescribed glasses and advised to wear them all the time. But, of course, since I didn't need them in order to function (because I had a good right eye), I didn't. Moreover, I grew up programming and spent much of my adoles…

I have anisometropia even more extreme than yours. I wonder, have you ever tried contacts? For anisometropia, the closer the prescription is to the eyes, the better. I choose to wear glasses now, but I still have to go out of my way to find small enough frames (unfortunately out of fashion) that the lenses sit close enough to my eyes that the images converge.

I didn't know that, but I have considered contacts for cosmetic reasons. However, they seem like an awful lot of hassle compared to glasses.

Another question: wouldn't the contacts have to be complex/progressive lenses of some kind? Clearly, I need two different prescriptions—one for computer work, one for everything else. Does staring out a bottom or top portion of a contact lens pose any difficulty beyond what one finds with progressive lenses in normal glasses?

Re: Easing Eye Strain with the Right Lenses (2012)

#65

Post by firethief »

ScottBurson wrote: post #19

There's a more subtle issue with high-index plastic lenses and the new RGB LED monitors: the high dispersion of the plastic interacts badly with the red and green wavelengths of the RGB LED backlight, to produce a much more severe color separation effect when you're looking through a part of the lens not near the optical center. I wrote a blog post about this [0]. For the last couple of years I have been using lenses…

Oh wow, I've been trying to figure out what was wrong with my subpixel hinting forever. It was right in front of my nose!

Re: Easing Eye Strain with the Right Lenses (2012)

#66

Post by CalChris »

boptom wrote: post #58
CalChris wrote: post #2

I got a little pushback (not a lot) from my optometrist when I first requested an FD set at laptop distance. However it has made a huge quality of life difference for me. I also gave up on progressives and now have two pairs: readers and drivers. My current correction is insanely good for reading and for driving. In fact, my opto said it was quite a bit better than 20/20 with no eye strain. Well, there was some eye s…

Single vision lenses are always going to be better at that one thing than anything else which tries to cater for all (or multiple) distances, at the expense of everything else. I also agree with educating yourself to protect yourself. However, there will be many holes in your research which a good optometrist should be able to fill in. Together you can make the best choice. One area I never see discussed, especially…

Yes, I have a great optometrist who provides a ton of value but I only get a certain window with them which at Berkeley is about an hour which is a lot. And I got an awesome prescription from them.

But optician (!= optometrist) generally want to talk to you about frames and not about lenses. This is understandable since they have to make a buck.

So the gap filler here is educating myself. I still let them do what they are in fact very good at but I educate myself on the choices.

This has worked out very well for me. My sister in law has terrible vision and I wonder whether my approach (self-education) would work for her. Maybe, maybe not. But I do think she should get personalized free-form lenses and her optician hasn't suggested that. Dunno why.

I've talked to a ton of people about their phones and apps. I've never talked to someone about lenses. That's strange.

Re: Easing Eye Strain with the Right Lenses (2012)

#67

Post by phumbe »

melling wrote: post #24
phumbe wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is key. Switching brands can make a huge difference. In one, my eyes feel dry and itchy after just a few hours. In another (more expensive, of course), I can go 12 hours without discomfort.

Which brand works best for you? I gave up on contacts a few years ago.

Sorry for not seeing this earlier!

I'm in dailies, so I'm kind of a weird case. Makes sense though because I use them predominately for social events and athletics.

The ones that get itchy for me are Acuvue Moist.

A step better is Dailies AquaComfort Plus by Alcon/Novartis.

The really nice ones (comfortable for 12+ hours) are Dailies Total 1 by Alcon/Novartis. My optometrist described them as "the Cadillac of contacts," so I'm guessing they're expensive (I'm still working through my stock of Acuvue contacts).

Re: Easing Eye Strain with the Right Lenses (2012)

#68

Post by vonnik »

Fwiw, I got readers a few years ago, when I was working 12 hour days in front of a screen. They're weak lenses. When other eyeglass wearers put them on, they think they're fake. But they make a huge difference for me, just by diminishing the effort of focusing on a screen to near zero. I don't feel anywhere near the same eye fatigue.

Re: Easing Eye Strain with the Right Lenses (2012)

#69

Post by [deleted] »

flachsechs wrote: post #23
CalChris wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First thing is that you need to know your prescription. Seiko Trivex has a range from Sphere Power: +1.00 to -4.00 Cylinder Power: +2.00 to -2.00 Extended Range Available If you're ADDing for a laptop distance that needs to be added in. Look at the online sites and look at the lens choices: http://www.eyeglasslensdirect.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=282 So I really like Trivex over standard polycarbonate or plastic. http…

> All that said, I went to Berkeley and I use their School of Optometry wait, can you expand on that? i went to ucsd, is there some uc program where alumni get some kind of benefits from the medical programs? or is it just cal?

[deleted]

Re: Easing Eye Strain with the Right Lenses (2012)

#70

Post by disillusioned1 »

CalChris wrote: post #11
eej71 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What sources would you recommend reading through?

First thing is that you need to know your prescription. Seiko Trivex has a range from Sphere Power: +1.00 to -4.00 Cylinder Power: +2.00 to -2.00 Extended Range Available If you're ADDing for a laptop distance that needs to be added in. Look at the online sites and look at the lens choices: http://www.eyeglasslensdirect.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=282 So I really like Trivex over standard polycarbonate or plastic. http…

UC Berkeley Optometry is a wonderful resource for the community. I've used them for years for both exams and glasses. Their website has info on their services and prices: http://www.caleyecare.org/general-info/
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