My bifocals are fine when I am working straight ahead or downward, but they make “upwards” work very difficult. Having to toenail overhead or finish a ceiling drywall seam are turned into horrible tasks. Sometimes I take my glasses off, but there must be a better solution. Any suggestions?
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You can get a trifocal where the close up lens is at the top and the bottom. You'll need a prescription for that from your eye doctor.
Have you considered wearing them upside down for high work?
There is a style with close-up at the top. I think it was originally designed for use by machinists. One of the old FHB or FWW articles on glasses mentioned it, along with the correct style name.
Best known as "astronaut, plumbers, or double D bifocals"
have you tried varifocus...they're great.. no lines..
basically whatever you point your nose at is the focal point ( yeah i know, tough going around with your nose in the air )
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Double D's are exactly what you're looking for. The other option, if your distance prescription is minimal, is to get a pair of reading glasses for for overhead work. They should be set to less than your bifocal- about the same as a trifocal scrip would be. Measure your standard overhead working distance and bring that with you to your next doctor's appointment, if you have any doubts. They'll adjust the scrip as needed.
Progressives (no-line bifocals) won't work for overhead situations, any more than a standard bifocal will.
As a side note, you won't be able to get safeties in a reading-only scrip, at least not if your optician knows what s/he is doing. Make sure you ask for polycarb lenses to safeguard your only set of eyes.
...get an up-north attitude...
Any surefire cure for fogging? ........ I've tried solutions, wipes, raw potato ...........
On a related note -
I'm afraid I'm getting old enough that I probably need bifocals. But I rarely come across anything that's so small that I can't manage to read it.
But the other day I had to look at a map, and I couldn't read some of the tiny street names. (I pulled off onto a side street, and it was dark, so I'm sure no one saw me - A "real man' - look at the map)
SO I was wondering - Will some of those cheap reading glasses help? Like the ones you see in drug stores, that say 2x or 4X. Or should I just bite the bullet and get bifocals?
I don't generally wear glasses, and I hate to start wearing them all the time. Just curious what some of you "old folks" out there have done to deal with this problem.........
Remember men, you are fighting for the lady's honor, which is probably more than she ever did.
I wear bifocals (or did), mostly for reading. I have some correction for distance. Bag with my glasses, Construction Master, and a few other goodies blew out of the back of the truck.......... many pieces is the result. Been reading with the drugstore glasses ........ they work ok. Not a substitute for a real eye exam and a prescrip but they'll get you by. A good eye exam will include checks for glaucoma and can uncover evidence of damage from high blood pressure. My prescrip glasses work better, too.
Yep, you probably can get by with the drugstore readers. Your friendly optometrist will even let you know what power to look for at the drugstore, if you have simple presbyopia.
Like jc said, an eye exam does much more than just get you a prescription. It's inexpensive(you don't need to see an opthamologist), painless, and there's no turning your head to cough. Just go.... :^)
...get an up-north attitude...
Thanks for the input. It's only been a year or 2 since I last saw an optometrist. I was tested for glaucoma and all that stuff back then. I believe they recommend a checkup every 3 years?
He said I was borderline then for needing bifocals last time. I hate to go to wearing glasses all the time, as they get in the way and I just don't like them. And I hate to drop a couple hundred bucks on something I don't want.
But then - Maybe I'm just hard headed? Surely not................
.
BTW - Been saving this tag line for a reply to a female type:
I wish you'd keep my hands to yourself.
Ron, if it's only been a short while since your last visit, then sneak into a drugstore where no one knows you and try on a few readers. Start with about +1.50D, and don't go any stronger than you need to. Buy three pairs while you're there- one for home, one for work, and one for the car. That way, when you leave them behind somewhere (and you will...) you're not out a lot of money and you've already got a spare.
Eventually, you'll need ones from the eye doc, but by then you'll be used to wearing them..... :^)
...get an up-north attitude...
"....when you leave them behind somewhere (and you will...)"
You been talkin' to my wife ???
I could dance with you till the cows come home On second thought I'll dance with the cows till you come home.
Nope- just a "lucky" guess...8^)
...get an up-north attitude...
Boss
Get 4 pairs, you'll need a pair for the bathroom!
I go to the dollar store and buy them by the half dozen pairs. Cheap.
Doug
Boss, like Cami said Cheater readers are handy to have especially for quick reads ie maps, menus etc. but if you are going to read for long periods, you should have properly made glasses. Cheaters dont correct astigmatism as you found out . In the U.S. right now there is a big campaign by the Vision Council... Check Yearly....See Clearly. If you have a history of eye disease in the family, you should see a doc yearly.
Ps, thanks for the advice on Trusses, my cottage roof is on and strong as an ox
My DH had been using drugstore glasses for the past, gosh, 10 years. He looked like an old man in the process and still had problems (he had a radial keratotomy, before it became lasik-long story). Then his doctor said he might have a cataract starting and he should see his opthamologist. Well, that got it to the top of the to-do list. He gets his butt over there and it turns out that all he has is an astigmatism, which is correctable with glasses. He's had them for two weeks and never takes them off now because he can SEE and READ again. Something to think about...Theresa Cowtown information junkie...
But the other day I had to look at a map, and I couldn't read some of the tiny street names. (I pulled off onto a side street, and it was dark, so I'm sure no one saw me - A "real man' - look at the map)
'hate to tell you, but that's how is starts. In dim light, your iris opens up more, and you notice defficiencies in the lens alot more; just like a camera.
Reading glasses help alot. in the shop, I've taken to wearing a set of Opti-visors all the time, and flipping them down when needed.
> In dim light, your iris opens up more, and you notice defficiencies in the lens alot more; just like a camera.
That's part of it, but the human eye iris doesn't have a lot of range, only about 2 or 3 f/stops. (Perhaps Marc can tell us more exactly). The bigger part of it is the ability of the retina to use different cells for different sensitivity, which is what gives us our huge dynamic range. Note that under very low light levels, less than moonlight, our vision gets a grainy appearance, kind of like very fast film. And of course before that, color perception goes away, and we see b&w only below about 4 footcandles.
-- J.S.
My father just had eye surgery (cataract, lens replacement, and a procedure to reduce glaucoma) on his left eye, next year they'll do the right. He said the first thing he noticed was how much colour he had been missing..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Hi John, Actually, the human eyes ability to accomodate ( or focus) decreases from the moment we are born. at childhood it is thought to be about 30 diopters but by the time we are about 40 it decreases to 3 or 4 diopters for 2 primary reasons ( although your reasons are valid also) as we age the lens develops rings ( much like a tree) and it hardens, hence less flexible, the other reason is the muscle that allows for accomodation, the cilary muscle, like every other as we age, doesnt work as well ( this is the simplified version)
Thanks, Marc --
What do you think of those eye exercises that Mariette Hartley advertises on the radio? It's called the "See Clearly Method".
-- J.S.
Im not sure of the exercises of which you speak but if they are anything like the ones from the past, they do work, to a point, buy I know of nobody who kept it up
No surefire cure- the little bottles of "no-fog" stuff they sell at the drugstore help, but don't eliminate, the fogging.
...get an up-north attitude...
Ventilation is the only thing I know of. If a fan doesn't work, one of those dust masks with the remote fan/filter unit on your belt probably will.
Do you have a "dive shop" anywhere near you ? First choice is the stuff they use on underwater camera housings (sorry, the one I've been using has gone under, so I don't have a brand-name to give you)..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
You wrote: "As a side note, you won't be able to get safeties in a reading-only scrip, at least not if your optician knows what s/he is doing"
If your optician won't make any prescription your ophthalmologist has given you in a safety version, then dump him/her..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Please read that again, Philll. Safety glasses shouldn't be made in a reading only glasses, at least according to OSHA rules from a few years back. A pair of safety glasses made in reading-only scrip would limit your vision to a range of apprx. 24 inches. Of course, things may be different on your side of the border.....
...get an up-north attitude...
Finally, a subject I can contribute on. ( Im an optician in Ontario.) 1st, generally we dont make safety glasses in readers. Why? because reading glasses are meant for 16 - 20 inches away, meaning you must take them off if you want to walk or do anything else. ( if the reading rx is old then you may be able to walk around a little, but it is still dangerous to remove them if you are in an enviroment that requires safety glasses) 2nd, to make your glasses anti fog, go to an office supply store and buy a china marker ( also called a grease pencil) rinse your glasses off under fast running warm water and dry with a tissue( if you have an anti reflection coating, make sure there is no lotion in the tissue. ie puffs) after they are clean, draw on both sides of the lens with the china marker and then rub it off with a tissue, this will leave a thin film of wax on the lens making them antifog. DONT do this on antireflection coated lenses. you will have to repeat this procedure daily but the china marker will last forever( we use them for marking "R" and "L" on the lenses when we are making them and I have the same one 15 yrs now) 3rd, double D bifocals ( also called vocationals) work butcan be a PITA ( depends on the individual) One option I have tried with some success is the new computer lenses. nikon makes one called Online, Rodenstock makes one called Cosmolit office, Sola makes one called Access. They give you an intermediate distance in the top ( about 2 to 6 ft) and normal reading in the bottom You still must be carefull and you still cant see distance ( defined as over 20 ft, but actually over about 10) but for hammering, measuring, etc it can work out well. ALSO..... THIS IS A BIGGIE make sure you have lotsssssss of LIGHT.
Nuff said, go ahead hit me now
Marc
Marc, that means I can confess now, too. In my former life, not so long ago, I was an optician for a decade before I chucked the easy hours and nice bennies to do the whole restaurant thing. (What was I thinking???)
So, my real question: how on earth have you managed to keep a g-pencil for 15 years? My lab techs always took 'em home...
...get an up-north attitude...
Basically, Im a one man shop with a small finishing lab and the employees are told early in their employ that if I cant find it, it means a certain death for someone.....LOL ;)
Cami, being self employed, I dont get benefits , and the Hours are long ( just ask my wife) but.... She works for Ciba in U. s. customer service and has great benefits. ( Ciba's Customer call centre is here in Mississauga for all of north america) funny tho, before becoming an Optician ( from a very long family of optical people) I was in the restaurant biz. You can have that, I never seemed to be able to get rid of that greasy feeling from hangin around the kitchen
"Greasy feeling"...been tough on the ar coating, I tell ya...This isn't a long-term career move, thankfully. The restaurant's the family biz here(you know- long hours, no retirement plan...), so when my Mom passed away, I was the daughter that got "elected" to take over the bookwork, reservations and advertising departments. It's not so bad for now, but when DS gets into school, I'll look for a rep or manager's postion again...I actually miss it!
...get an up-north attitude...
Cami, What part of the world are you in?
The very tip of lower Michigan- about an hour from the Sault.
...get an up-north attitude...
Say Marc, reading through your post, it seems to be taken from the point of view of someone who normally doesn't wear glasses, except for reading. I'm at the other end, someone who needs glasses to see distance, but am most comfortable reading without glasses (although the range of vision has dropped to about 12", so I make look a little silly). PROBLEM: I'm not permitted to remove my glasses to read on the jobsite and while my bifocals are okay for a short read, I can't use them for an extended time. So I change glasses, from one safety rated pair to another.
So the question comes down to, are you aware of any regulations from WSIB or whomever in Ontario that exclude the use of safety rated close focus glasses ? Apparently this is a no-no in the US..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Phil, Csa sets the standards up here although they are very similar to ANSI for the most part( to the point we often quote ansi standards) Although I cant recall them saying no to readers, they seem to frown upon it ( dont quote me on this, they just brought out new updates a couple of months ago.) They also do NOT allow photochromics, the lenses that change color such as Transitions because they dont lighten fast enough( although they just brought out a version that is twice as fast lightening and three times faster darkening)It all comes back to the common sense thing, if you take the glasses off they cant protect you and you will take true readers off frequently, but, like you said, a slightly weaker reader can give you a little distance vision and still allow you to read.
Phil. p.s. I wore glasses for reasonably strong myopia up until 3 yrs ago. then had laser surgery, but being 40, it wont be long now and I will be into readers myself
Who did the laser ? I see Ibrahim Kamel up in North York for my glaucoma and he mentions it now and then. I'm at -4.75, so they were surprised that I made almost 50 before bifocals. I've actually had a version of the close focus glasses for quite a while, I used them before when I used to use a CRT terminal most of the day: at 30-35" distance, it was too far away for the bi's and causing eye-strain through the regular coke bottles..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Dr Wallerstein here in Mississauga, dont encourage people but dont discourage them either. Know too many people who have had problems albeit most of them minor. never heard of a difficulty with dr wallerstein tho
1) as I'm myopic, reading glasses for me are just a weaker prescription, I can certainly see farther than 24" through them although I couldn't read a sign at a distance. I have a pair that are roughly half-way between my regular glasses and what would be reading-only that are optomized for 3', which is just about perfect.
2) as explained to me: I'm required to wear vision correction appropriate to the task, I'm allowed/required to change to another form of vision correction when necessary, and, no matter what, I'm required to wear safety rated glasses on the job.
3) the post I replied to implied endorsement for the use of non-safety glasses on the job.
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Actually, I endorsed double-Ds first, mentioned that reading-only would work in limited situations, but are not generally available in safeties. If Javier should choose the r-o's, polycarb would be the next best option to an OSHA-approved pair of glasses.
...get an up-north attitude...