Vision Vs. Vanity

I love to read. But I don't read as much nowadays for the simple reason that I can't see the words clearly anymore. They have large print Bibles and Reader's Digest but I have yet to find books that have print big enough for me to read without my glasses on. I am not talking about myopia - short sighted but hyperopia - long sightedness.

Two years ago, I finally conceded defeat and went to make a pair of multi-focals. It was akin to admitting that I am now OLD! Only old people need reading glasses, no? My parents' bifocals came to mind. Lenses with a line in the middle; the top part for far vision and the bottom, for near. Multi-focals nowadays are just like your normal pair of glasses anyway.

But still, I got over my vanity and was thrilled that I didn't have to strain to read the text messages on my mobile or the fine print in the newspapers. Never mind that I couldn't wear the normal type of contact lens anymore because I would need to use a separate pair of reading glasses for, well, reading. But lately, the problem has resurfaced. According to my optician, while my short sightedness has stabilized, my long sightedness will worsen as I age! Reading is becoming such a bane and my eyes are usually so tired at the end of the day that getting out of bed the next day was sheer torture!



Last week, I had a brainwave. Actually, I had discovered by accident that I could wear my contact lens and still read reasonably well at the same time. I had put on one side of the lens and as I was searching for the other side in the disposable pack, I saw that I could read the tiny print on the top of the box! I remembered my boss telling me that she had gone for Lasik surgery to correct the vision on one eye as her ophthalmologist had advised that both her eyes would adjust eventually and she wouldn't need reading glasses after the surgery; depending on one good eye and the other still uncorrected to focus both near and far. So I cheated a little and went out with only one contact lens. It worked. And no, I didn't miss a step and fell into the drain.

I popped by my optician just to make sure that walking around with only one lens won't worsen my eyesight. Apparently, I am not the only one and it's all right to do so as long as I don't mind a less than perfect vision with only one lens. Although they do have multi-focal contact lens, I heard that they are relatively new technology and therefore, still very expensive.

The downside is, while looking better with my contact lens, I would still need to wear my reading glasses when using the computer. The distance is too far for sharp focus. So what's the point, huh? At the end of the day, my eyes still feel tired, I guess, from the strain of both eyes trying to focus with only one contact lens.

I may be vain but not entirely stupid, so I guess it's back to my multi-focals until I can afford to get those expensive contact lens I talked about earlier.

Anyone of you out there have the same problem as I do?