Wednesday 16 July 2008

Curiouser and curiouser

Before I put in my contact lens today, I could read the screen at either distance equally well. I've tried with one eye, the other eye and both. Isn't that splendid? My brain simply adjusts patiently and makes the best of things. And, after experimentation with a lens in (which I wear in my right eye), I find that my left eye does the reading, but the right eye helps out with focus as I get further away and gradually takes over as necessary. I still can't tell as it's happening though, it's all quite automatic.

I know that this would not work for me with glasses. Once, I took my glasses out of my bag to put them on to drive home after dinner with friends. As I put them on, my sight blurred and I thought I was getting a migraine. One of the lenses had dropped out into my bag - fortunately, I had a knife with a very small screwdriver and I was able to repair it, but I simply couldn't see normally with one lens of my glasses.

My in-laws had an elderly live-in housekeeper - she'd originally come as a general help, and nursemaid to the year-old Sprout and she stayed on for the best part of 50 years before retiring on the death of Ma. She had lost the sight in one eye, by the time I knew her, from a cataract. In those days you had to wait until it was thick and opaque before it could be operated on. By the time Hilda reached that level of sight loss, she said that she had got used to it and chose not to have an operation. She had one lens of her glasses obscured and managed with one eye. However, years later, when she was about 70, I suppose, she suffered a detached retina and lost the sight in her good eye. She took it in her stride, had the cataract removed from the other eye and simply switched useful eyes. I have no idea how she managed to do that, but she never even mentioned any problems.

9 comments:

Dave said...

Before my current eye trouble, I did have a time with one contact lens adjusted for reading, and the other eye corrected for my short-sightedness, so that I could see clearly fron 2" to infinity with one eye or the other - my brain cleverly doing the switch depending how far away the object actually was.

I did get quite a few headaches, though.

As I get now with one misfunctioning eye.

Z said...

It doesn't make my head ache, but then there's not a huge difference as I'm not that shortsighted. I do have slight astigmatism in my left eye though, which I'm aware of occasionally, so it'll have to be corrected in the long run.

It'll get better, Dave. Remember, you're going to be living just a few miles from me and Murph (albeit in different directions). Between us, we'll cheer you so much that your health will be transformed. After your eye is put right of course, I don't promise actual miracles (which are quite rare, I believe).

unpretentious said...

oh eye problems scare me to no end. i am allergic to lenses and so thankfully wear glasses:) glad i dont have to voluntarily insert foreign objects into my eye:)

Dave said...

Actually I was glad I had worn contact lenses in the past, and so was used to sticking things in my eye. It made having the surgeon do it seem slightly more tolerable.

dharmabum said...

the way people do it - i mean, the idea of having to shove something into my eye gives me the shivers. thank god i don need spectacles. even if i did, i doubt if i'l go for contacts - the framed glasses are good enough for me!

How do we know said...

Wow! Curioser and curioser as it goes..

Anonymous said...

Presumably your eyes are not very different in focus with one lens in and one out or else I should think you would not be able to adjust.
Before my cataract ops I was very shortsighted: -19 right and -15.5 left. After the first eye was done with a new implant giving me -3 the difference drove me mad! When they were both done it was a much better balance of -3 and -4 but i don't think I would be happy with just one eye corrected.

Anonymous said...

And your sister is nicknamed Wink? I much prefer the convenience of glasses but not the look. Used to wear contacts but lost a contact in my eye once and it scared me. Fortunately the lens worked its' way correct.

Z said...

Both my eyes are -2.5, so no, not a vast difference. I'm very right eyed in any case - I can't wear a lens in just my left eye.

Twinkle, Winkle, little bat, How I wonder what you're at?

I forgot to take my lenses out and went to bed in them once. The next day I could only find one and my eyes were sore, but I was playing the organ so needed to be able to see. I thought maybe one had fallen out in the bed so put in another - but later I took two lenses out of that eye! No harm done though.