I have 20 / 25 vision.... but how is that possible?

[Big Cuddly Bear]

For about 3 months now, I have noticed that it is getting harder and harder for me to read stuff that is close up or small. I also have diabetes. So, yesterday I went to an opthamologist to get checked. He told me that my eyes have no diabetic damage - which is certainly great news. And he told me that between both eyes, when I took the eye test, I only missed one letter.

After the testing was over he said that I don't need glasses, but 1.5 magnifying readers would be good for me - the kind you can buy in drug stores.

I don't get it. I have to hold books like 20" from my face to read, and I have 20 / 25 vision?

 

[Meriweather]

I am the same way.......need readers. Been that way for about 15 years.
But still have better than 20/20 vision. Distances are fine for me.

 

[Imzadi]

Oops. Double post.

 

[Imzadi]

You're farsighted. You have a problem seeing things close up. Glasses aren't only to see things far away. That's why they are called reading glasses. You only wear them while reading, not to see things in the distance.

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

You're farsighted. You have a problem seeing things close up. Glasses aren't only to see things far away. That's why they are called reading glasses. You only wear them while reading, not to see things in the distance.

So you become farsighted at age 48? Because I never had this until about 3 months ago. It came on so fast that I was really worried it was diabetic damage.

 

[HeatherH]

So you become farsighted at age 48? Because I never had this until about 3 months ago. It came on so fast that I was really worried it was diabetic damage.

Welcome to middle age!

Seriously, pretty much EVERYone starts needing reading glasses at some point, lots of people start younger than you. And yes, it comes on quickly.

And, sorry to say...it will most likely get worse. Don't expect to stay at the 1.50 lens for too long.

 

[Robinrs]

So you become farsighted at age 48? Because I never had this until about 3 months ago. It came on so fast that I was really worried it was diabetic damage.

I started using the "drugstore" readers when I was your age. My sister, who is 11months older, laughed at me... until a year LATER when she needed them!

 

[Imzadi]

Welcome to middle age!

Seriously, pretty much EVERYone starts needing reading glasses at some point, lots of people start younger than you. And yes, it comes on quickly.

And, sorry to say...it will most likely get worse. Don't expect to stay at the 1.50 lens for too long.

I went and got the dollar store reading glasses. MUCH cheaper and work exactly the same. I have about 5 pairs all around the house, plus one in my coat, and one in my purse.

I refuse to be one of those ladies who wears the glasses around her neck on a string.

I can't just slip them into the collar of my shirt as I tend to wear low V-necks. So, I just leave them around the house for when I pick up something to read & need them.

 

[HM]

I'm 48 as well. I've always have great eyesight, super great compared to my family. About four yrs ago, I realized I wasn't seeing road signs as well. And then realized it was difficult to read words/numbers on the bottom of the tv (like during basketball and news). Got some glasses I wear for driving and for movies, and sometimes for TV. Then two years ago, it was apparent that I was having trouble reading my computer screen at work and my eyes were fatigued at the end of the day and getting headachy. I now wear prescription 'reading' glasses for work and sometimes for reading. I can still read books fine without them most of the time.

It's just age.

 

[MichelleVW]

Welcome to middle age!

Seriously, pretty much EVERYone starts needing reading glasses at some point, lots of people start younger than you. And yes, it comes on quickly.

And, sorry to say...it will most likely get worse. Don't expect to stay at the 1.50 lens for too long.

Lol... Agreed!! OP, you're lucky you didn't need readers until 48!!

 

[Missy1961]

I went and got the dollar store reading glasses. MUCH cheaper and work exactly the same. I have about 5 pairs all around the house, plus one in my coat, and one in my purse.

I refuse to be one of those ladies who wears the glasses around her neck on a string.

I can't just slip them into the collar of my shirt as I tend to wear low V-necks. So, I just leave them around the house for when I pick up something to read & need them.

Me too! I don't like the fit or look of the dollar store glasses, but I've found great ones in Borders, Michaels, etc. And the cost is covered by Flex Spending, so I must own about 10 pairs. I have a pair I leave on my desk, a pair in my backpack (for reading on the train), a pair by my bed, almost anywhere I need to read.

I usually push them up on my head when I don't need them at the moment. then I can find them!

 

[wishwash01]

I work for an ophthalmologist and your lucky that you didn't notice change in reading till about 48. That medical term is called Presbyopia. It's usually around the age of 40 that people start to notice the reading isn't as clear as it used to be. You don't have anything to worry about. I like to joke with patients and call it The Birthday Syndrome.

 

[Pooh67_68]

BCB 48 and only need reading glasses congrats, I got trifocals this past spring and I am a few years younger then you. Of course I have genetics against me, as almost everyone in my family wears glasses.

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

maybe I am missing the point, or maybe I didn't make mine well enough...

I don't mind that I need readers or even regular glasses if that was what the doctor called for. I don't understand how I can need ANY TYPE of glasses and still be told that I have 20 / 25 vision. It would seem that 20 / 25 vision is nearly perfect, and would mean I shouldn't have issues at all..... BTW, last time I was tested I had 20 / 40 vision, IIRC.

 

[Imzadi]

I got Lasik eye surgery. I was at the very cusp for getting it at 46. Probably shouldn't have as I have had vision problems since. But, I have realized, it is also an aging problem. That is WHY they don't recommend Lasik after a certain age. I went from legally blind nearsighted, where I couldn't see the palm of my hand clearly to where I am now extremely bionic farsighted. (The quack of a doctor over-corrected me.) If I was a sharpshooter marksman, I wouldn't need a targeting scope.

HOWEVER, my close vision is blurry. I literally have to hold a book arms length away in order to read with out glasses. If my arms were 2" longer, I wouldn't need reading glasses at all. I was told, as happens with all Lasik patients and most everyone over 40, that farsightedness would get worse.

The reason is because the eye is a muscle. It looses flexibility over time. It's that Presbyopia a PP said. The muscles have to shift and refocus from seeing far away to seeing something near, and they've lost that flexibility to refocus.

It's like looking through an auto focus camera. You can actually see the lens moving back & forth going from blurry to over-corrected and back until it finds the right focus. If the batteries are weak, it takes longer to focus. Or it just doesn't get it right, like if the light conditions are off.

Your eyes are doing the same thing. You might be able to see Bambi in the forest. That part of your vision is perfect. Better now than a couple years ago, as you become more farsighted. But your muscle ability to shift within that distance, from focusing on Bambi to reading a book in front of you is gone.

That is what bi-focal & tri-focal glasses are for. The eye muscles have lost the flexibility to shift within the near, mid & far visions.

I usually push them up on my head when I don't need them at the moment. then I can find them!

Me too! The few times I put the glasses on my head, like if I'm in a store and have a few things in my hand, then I want to read a label, I have forgotten where I put the glasses. I'm searching around in my pocket, and they are on my head, from reading the last label.

I always thing the security guards watching the monitors are thinking I'm going to steal something. First I take an object out of my pocket while in the store. Okay, that was glasses. . . Now she's putting the case back in her pocket. . . Now she's holding some items. . . she's reaching into her pockets again. . . for something that's not there. . .The glasses are already on her head . . . Hmmm, is she going to put something IN the pocket instead . . .?

 

[mrsxsparrow]

I believe that the 20/25 means that what most people can read at 20 feet away, you can read at 25 feet. But like the PP stated, things in your eye shift when going from seeing distances to seeing close up. So usually, if you're above average when seeing at a distance, you're not as great seeing close up. Your eyesight as a whole isn't better than 20/20, just different.

 

[abdmom]

maybe I am missing the point, or maybe I didn't make mine well enough...

I don't mind that I need readers or even regular glasses if that was what the doctor called for. I don't understand how I can need ANY TYPE of glasses and still be told that I have 20 / 25 vision. It would seem that 20 / 25 vision is nearly perfect, and would mean I shouldn't have issues at all..... BTW, last time I was tested I had 20 / 40 vision, IIRC.

20/25 means that you can see at 20 feet what most people can see at 25 feet (not the other way around). This has nothing to do with the ability to read things like a book or computer. As someone else mentioned, as you get older, the lens in your eye loses its elasticity - this is presbyopia. You may see distance fine, but your lens can't adjust to reading things close up.

 

[mrsxsparrow]

20/25 means that you can see at 20 feet what most people can see at 25 feet (not the other way around). This has nothing to do with the ability to read things like a book or computer. As someone else mentioned, as you get older, the lens in your eye loses its elasticity - this is presbyopia. You may see distance fine, but your lens can't adjust to reading things close up.

Whoops! Guess I got that one mixed up

 

[Meriweather]

I have the dollar store glasses too.....Target dollar spot used to have a lot.
It is fun to get lots of colors and styles.
I also have them all around the house and refuse to wear them on a chain around my neck.

3 desks, nightstand, living room table, purse...and then spares ...about 5 of those in a drawer.
I have used the same strength for about the last 15 years.

 

[surfgirl]

There are two factors with your eyes:

nearsighted - seeing far distances - reading the board at school, road signs, tv, etc. - this is measured in 20/x as described above.

farsighted - this is seeing close up - 14" is the standard, I believe. This is reading a book in your lap. If you are required to hold it farther away to focus (you see people moving their arm away from themselves sometimes), this is what you are talking about.

Nearsighted doesn't usually have a significant change at a certain point in age. Many of us were diagnosed with glasses to see far away in school, but it can happen at any point in life.

Farsighted problems usually occur in the mid-40's. It starts slow, but those drugstore glasses (sometimes called 'cheaters') usually help. You will find over time that it does get worse and while you started a 1.0 (or even 0.5), it will worsen.

btw, most people think farsighted problems occur because the muscles are getting lazy. not so fast, my friend... What actually happens is that the lining of the eye thickens over time (can't remember the technical term) and the eye muscle actually has to work harder to squeeze it to make it focus.

Why do I know all this? I had a checkup today! I'm a KC patient, so I go every 6 months to pay attention to what is going on, so we discuss this everytime I go.

My eye dr. told me that while I'm starting to see signs of the aging process, at this point, to use good light and force the eye to focus - I'm not bad enough yet for reading glasses. He also believes that once he prescribes 0.5, the patient soon wants 1.0 and the spiral starts.

tmi, I know, but I thought it might help : )