Is it ok to take my glasses on and off or best to leave them on?

I've noticed in the past few weeks that things have started getting
just slightly blurry. It started with computer screens and then menus
(at a distance), etc. So today I saw the eye doctor and got some
glasses. The prescription is for:

(+0.25) 50
(-0.25) 50

Two years ago I saw a different eye doctor but I didn't have insurance
at the time so I didn't get the glasses. The prescription from two
years ago was:

+0.25 (+0.25 10 degrees)
+0.25 (+0.25 170 degrees)

Can anyone tell me if these are similar? I have tried the transposing
algorithms but can't figure it out. I definitely see better with my
glasses so I'm quite happy. Well text is clearer and not blurry, but
it will take some getting used to.

My next question is about taking them on and off during the day. The
doctor told me not to do this, that if I put them on that I should
leave them on. Unless I am going to be away from the computer for an
hour or more I should leave them on. The doctor I saw two years ago
told me the prescription she gave me was for glasses for reading and
using the computer. I'm hoping I can use my glasses while using the
computer and reading at my desk (the majority of the day, probably 6-7
hours) and take them off the rest of the time (meetings, lunch, etc.).
Would this be OK? Any general rules here?

Thanks,
Michael

 

I just saw on the paperwork for my glasses that the company that made
the glasses converted the prescription to the following:

+0.00 (+0.25) 50
-0.25 (+0.25) 140

So now I'm really curious. The axis are similar to my old prescription
from two years ago (50 compared to 10 and 140 compared to 170), but the
first number is completely different. Could my eyes have changed in
two years? I hate the thought of the possibility of having glasses
that might not be the right correction.

Thanks,
Michael

 

I don't know about prescriptions and I think you need a professional to
answer your questions about the correction. But I can give my opinion
on your other questions. First, yes, it's possible that your eyes have
changed in the last two years. Eyes are constantly changing as we age.
This will happen whether or not you wear glasses. I don't believe that
wearing glasses makes the eyes worse. As for wearing the glasses
constantly, I think you should wear them when you need them. If you are
comfortable taking them off at certain times, such as when you are not
in front of the PC, then take them off. This will not hurt your eyes.
The only thing that could happen is that you may forget where you left
them and you could lose them. If you put them into a sturdy case, and
keep the case with you or in a particular spot, then you won't have a
problem.

If you are not feeling that the prescription you were given is correct
for you, then ask the doctor. They should be willing to answer your
questions. If not, find someone else.

 

You're talking about a very mild spectacle rx and it's not that much
different than the original- to be honest I rarely even give an
rx for that mild a refractive error. It's very common to have
changes in two yrs. I'd just wear them part-time if it helps on the
computer.

frank

 

Thank you for your reply. I know my glasses are very mild, and two
years ago I didn't even get the prescription filled because I felt I
saw well. But then when you try the glasses at the dr's office and can
see perfectly it's strange to then go back to seeing things fuzzy. A
follow-up question: If, in your opinion, I may not really need
glasses, then will it hurt my eyes or make my vision worse to wear
them? I've heard that if one wears glasses that the eyes stop working
to compensate and become lazy. I'm not sure if that's true.

If it's not bad for my eyes to take them on and off, I would like to
leave them by my computer and wear them while using the computer and
take them off when leaving my office (meetings, lunch, etc.). This way
they'll always be by my computer and I won't lose them. I was just
worried that might not be good for my eyes after the doctor said not to
do that.

Thanks again, it's great to get opinions from this group.
Michael

 

BEST IS DESTROY THEM ALTOGETHER AND FAST

AND LEARN THE CURE WITHOUT GLASSES.

http://TheCentralFixation.com

 

Dear Michael,
Subject: Wearing glasses.
You will get two "opinions" about wearing a minus lens.
(As you said -- to make your distant vision sharper.)

Some MDs and ODs will attempt to avoid using a strong minus
on a young child. If the child's vision passes the 20/40 line,
they simply will not give the child a minus lens.

Other ODs have called the minus lens "poision glasses for children".

Other ODs will post "blasts" against the "second opinion" on this
subject. For the record, one OD in posts a statement to that
effect. Read,

www.chinamyopia.org

Medicine is the business of opinions. I would suggest use of
that mild lens --- only when necessary. Dr. Dave Guyton
(Johns Hopkins) says the same thing. Just be careful.

I am an engineer -- to make your judgment accordingly.

Best,

Otis

 

Ahem, Otis

This patient was prescribed plus lenses, not minus lenses

Dr Judy

 

There is no harm in taking glasses on and off, you will adapt faster if you
wear them alot for the first week, after that it doesn't matter

There is no truth to the idea that wearing glasses will make your eyes
worse. The few people that think it does are referring to minus lenses for
distance, not plus lenses for near which you have.

Dr Judy

 

No Otis, Medicine is a field where scientific reasoning is applied to the
treatment of the human body. Medical therapies are proven in scientific
studies, and then used to treat illness. If they are unsuccessful they are
abandoned. If better therapies are demonstrated through scientific
evaluation, they are adopted.

You keep trying to twist definitions and quotes around to support your
arguments. Is this what "engineering science" is all about?

Your unproven approaches would be at best be termed "alternative medicine".
Some might term them quackery.

 

Dear Michael,
Subject: Slight prescription.
As some ODs say -- they would not even bother giving you
a "prescription", when you have variously
a -0.25 and a +0.25. 1/4 diopter is the smallest
"prescription" that and be given.

People with 20/20 vision, can use a mild -1/4 to -1/2 diopter lens
to "clear" to 20/15, and even 20/10. Most ODs will not do
this because of the "risks" (i.e., eyes "adapt" to the minus lens).

Again, you should be aware of these "contradictory" opinions,
and decide these issues for yourself.

If you complain of "eye strain" there are some ODs who
will give you a "plus lens" for working at the computer.

So, indeed, it is good to be aware of these opinions -- in
the final anlysis, you decide this issue for yourself.

Best,

Otis
Engineer

 

Hi Otis,

When you say "a plus lens for working at the computer" are you
referring to the first number or the second? When I look at my
prescription, as transposed by the glasses company:

+0.00 (+0.25) 50
-0.25 (+0.25) 140

I wonder if these are plus or negative?

I used my glasses an entire day today and kept taking them off for a
few seconds to compare. For text up close, there is barely a
difference, it's just barely sharper with the glasses. But for objects
farther away (for today I was in a training class and was reading text
on a computer screen projected on the wall) I can definitely tell the
difference, it is much sharper. And it also seems there is better
depth perception but that could just be me. I think the glasses are
more to correct the astigmatism than for near or farsightedness. Am I
correct?

I'm very intrigued by this and I'm trying to learn as much as I can.
I'm very grateful for the help I've received in this group.

Regards,
Michael

 

Ok I've done a lot of Googling and I've read a lot. I'm learning a lot
about optics and glasses. There is still a major point I do not
understand. When I look at my original prescription, the spherical is
zero:

(+0.25) 50
(-0.25) 50

I got it filled and on the paperwork is printed:

+0.00 (+0.25) 50
-0.25 (+0.25) 140

I'm concerned about having the negative 0.25 as I've read negative lens
can be bad. Also I'm not really concerned about seeing far away, it's
more reading and computer work. When I read the way the prescription
was written, the spherical is 0 and it's the cylinders that are +0.25
and -0.25. But after transposing it looks like I have a minus lens.
This is really confusing. Can you explain this?

I don't really want the minus 0.25, I just want the astigmatism
corrected. From the tranposing algorithms I understand that these two
prescriptions are equal. So is it safe to have a "minus lens"?

-Michael

 

Gosh, I find Dave Guyton weighing in on this topic *only* on that
ChinaMyopia site (1995), and *even there*, he's not agreeing with you,
Otis.

(http://www.chinamyopia.org/healthnewsguyton.htm)

The closest he comes is to suggest that myopes should remove their
minus glasses for reading or near work, or to slightly undercorrect
the high myope.

He only recommends plus (reading glasses) for myopes wearing *contact
lenses* because the use of readers is easier than removing contacts to
read. He also suggests that this may help reduce potential axial
lengthening. But . . . in this case, you've neutralized the myopia
via the contact lenses. You're just giving a plus lens to a virtual
emmetrope at this point--not to a myope the way you advocate.

David Guyton is a near-legend in strabismus ophthalmologist--and one
whom I've met on several occasions. Where is it that you think he
agrees with you??? I don't see it in what you're citing.

 

Michael,

Basically, your srx is very, very mild. Transposed to minus cylinder,
the right eye
is +25-25x 140 (a smidgeon amount of hyperopia and astig) and the left
eye
is pl-25x050 (means a smidgeon amt of astigmatism only). Don't waste
any
time being concerned or about the remarks of a couple of dim witted
posters
who have only their own agendas. You don't have ANY myopia or have a
"minus lens",
and, even if you did, it would do no harm .

frank

 

It doesn't matter for the first one, since a minus zero and a plus zero
are exactly the same. For your second, that is a minus. There is mainly
only one person on this group who thinks that a minus lens is bad. Most
everybody else says you should wear what you need (which is whatever makes
your vision sharpest).

Is a size 10 shoe good? It is if you have a size 10 foot. If you don't,
then you shouldn't wear it. If the shoe fits, wear it.

 

Dear Michael,
Subject: Very weak prescription
If it were me -- I would not wear this
"prescription". It is so weak that
it is not worth it -- even though it
SLIGHTLY sharpens your vision.

Your prescription:

+0.00 (+0.25) 50

The 0.0 indicates "plano", or
"plate glass. The second number
is "astigmatism" -- which is very slight,
not worth "correcting" in my opinion.

-0.25 (+0.25) 140

This is a minus lens of -1/4 diopters -- the
smallest "prescription" possible.
The second is 1/4 diopter astigmatism
at 140 degrees (cylender). If you
had another measurement -- this
could change -- or "go away".
Some ODs simply would not bother
"prescribing" for this "astigmatism".

The "standard practice" is to provide
a lens that makes your vision as
"sharp" as possible. This is what
you have been offered, and what
you paid for -- of course.

If you wish to check some of this
you might "download" and eye
chart from

www.i-see.org

and determine if you can read
the 20/20 line. I suspect
that you could read at least
the 20/25 line.

An alternative approach is to
use a "reading" lens -- which
you will find on a rack in a drug
store. Some pilots have found
that by using this plus lens to
"relax" their "near vision", they
can clear their "far" vision.
But that issue does depend
on your age and motivation.

But again, if I were reading 20/25 or
20/20 -- I simply would not wear
the "slight" prescription.

Just my opinion.

Best,

Otis
Engineer