OK, so I can’t go around quoting that[1] just yet, but I’ll be able to soon: I just got back from my first eye exam in 10? 12? more? years. My eyes are “very healthy.” That’s a relief. Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of validation that my lifestyle, habits, and/or genes are generally healthy. After a minimum of ten years of having any kind of health, dental, or eye exams, it’s good to know, and quite interesting.
Anyway, back to the eye exam. My eyes are 20/30. I’m slightly nearsighted. The numbers on my prescription are -1.00/-0.75; “sph” cylinder. I have no idea what that means. I’m looking at some hip-but-not-overstated, black, rectangular-ish frames that work well with hats and bike helmets. Anti-reflective, polycarbonate lenses are recommended. That’s gonna run me about fo’ hunny[2]. Damn! Is that a reasonable price for glasses? I don’t have a clue.
In my last post about this, I thought glasses might help my eyestrain and headaches while sitting at the computer. The doctor mostly disagreed. She said the anti-reflective coating might help, but mainly I need to take more breaks and make sure my workstation ergonomics are all good. Tension in the back and neck can cause headaches and what feels like eyestrain. Who knew?
Here’s the general style I’m looking at:
Pinched from here.
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[1] Perfection by Run-D.M.C. from the album Raising Hell
[2] $400
I’m finally sure I need glasses. I’ve probably needed them for a while, but I definitely do now. I’ve been finding lately that when I work at the computer for any length of time, I start to get a low level headache, my eyes hurt, I have a hard time concentrating, my productivity drops, and I sometimes get irritable. Sometimes when I leave the computer, my vision is a bit blurry. In the morning, I can barely read the clock from about eight feet away.
This has been going on for a while now, but it hasn’t been so pronounced, and I hadn’t realized exactly what the problem was. Lately, things that were once clear aren’t so clear any more.
I guess one solution would be to stop staring at computer screens as much, but so much of my work (all really) requires me to. The realistic solution is a combination of getting glasses, taking more breaks, and maybe doing some eye exercises. Getting out into nature should help too, as there the eye isn’t focussed at a fixed distance for long periods of time.
Before it became so obvious that I need glasses, I would sometimes wonder what my problem was. It’s interesting how low intensity health issues can have such an effect on our general feeling of wellbeing. That’s one reason it’s important to stay healthy. It’s also a reason to keep an eye on things and get things checked out early–before they turn into major issues.
The one thing that really worries me about all this is picking out the frames. That could take forever.
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