Aging.... blurry vision when tooling

[kgg]

Chriscraft go get your eyes and blood tested the over the counter lenses my be good for awhile but. Like Northmount going to have to wait for 60 to come around again. I always had to where glasses for long distance and take them off to read or do close work. Then in the my late 40's became a type 2 diabetic and closer work started to be not as clear. Could never get use to those transition lenses, got sea sick bobbin up and down like a seal trying to find the sweet spot.

So now I use a prescription distance glasses for normal daily activities, prescription reading glasses for detail / sewing / cutting that type of stuff and for computer / reading / writing / repair no glasses. Like an old guy once told me the only thing golden about getting older is the colour of your. Now I am that old guy.

kgg

[Ard Righ Art]

10 hours ago, Northmount said:

Use lighting that comes from both sides to minimize shadows caused by your hands and tools.  Hard to follow a line when it is masked by a shadow!

Tom

I find shining a reasonably bright light on the subject really helps with focus, and was going to suggest that to the OP, but you already covered it more adequately than I would have.  A lot of what my optometrist calls second order problems can be alleviated by fixing other ones instead.

I finally got my shop set up with bright light from both sides, prior to that I would use a single lamp with a goose neck that I could move from my left side when drawing/tracing/cutting to the right for beveling/tooling.  On the road, I just move a lamp from side to side as needed to avoid those pesky shadows.

[immiketoo]

Like you, I had amazing vision my whole life.  I could see things that others thought were impossible.  Then I turned 40 and just like that the warranty expired.  Went to the doc and he said because my far vision was still perfect, just wear the readers.  I have all the focal lengths from 1.00 to 3.75 for super close detail work.  I hate it, but there's no other way  around it, except getting a lens replacement.  Since its an elective surgery, its very expensive, so readers it is.  One tip.  Leave the stickers on the lens telling you what magnification on, or buy different styles for each magnification.  Otherwise you'll spend a lot of time trying on the wrong pair!

[Northmount]

16 minutes ago, immiketoo said:

there's no other way  around it, except getting a lens replacement

And you will still need reading glasses.  There are specialized lens implants that supposedly allow both close and distant vision.  The lenses have circular rings and you have to retrain your eye movements to seek the image you want to see.  From what I understand, you have 2 images projected on your retina and have to learn how to select the one you want.  The images may not be as clear as glasses designed for specific uses.  I know a fellow that was tired of wearing glasses all the time and had implants like this.  He seems happy with them, but does have trouble at times with the image not being really clear.  Seems to do okay with night driving too.  I also know a lady that just had implants due to high level of astigmatism that could no longer be corrected with glasses.  It's been a couple months and she is still having trouble adapting to them.  Apparently her astigmatism is due to shape of her eye rather than being due to her natural lens.

You need to ask lots of questions of your surgeon and get references from other users to see what type of implant will work for you.  I wasn't given that type of information and have the standard low cost implants.  And not too excited about having them replaced either, so will cope with wearing different glasses for different applications.

Tom

[chriscraft]

Thanks Tom for the explanation. Now I’ll be armed with questions when I visit the Dr.

Mike, hopefully I’ll receive news like you did as my distant vision is still good. 

I will add more lights to my work station. 

   

[immiketoo]

3 hours ago, chriscraft said:

Thanks Tom for the explanation. Now I’ll be armed with questions when I visit the Dr.

Mike, hopefully I’ll receive news like you did as my distant vision is still good. 

I will add more lights to my work station. 

   

Good luck.  After that, I suffered a severe allergic reaction that caused my eyes to swell.  I now have what is called a retinoschisis, or a tearing of the retinal layers.  Nothing can be done to fix it, and so it could never change or I could be blind tomorrow.  Fortunately, its been stable since the diagnosis, but I find that using glasses reduces the strain on my eyes and helps my vision overall.  It's not getting better, but not getting worse either.

More lights changed my life in the shop.  Sucks getting old!

[bermudahwin]

35 minutes ago, immiketoo said:

 Sucks getting old!

Amen to that.

Rest of its a right bastard tho.

Thoughts are with you on it.

H

 

[Sheilajeanne]

If you are seeing halos around lights, get your opthalmologist to check you out. Could be the beginning of cataracts!

[Northmount]

On 12/12/2018 at 3:42 PM, Sheilajeanne said:

If you are seeing halos around lights, get your ophthalmologist to check you out. Could be the beginning of cataracts!

Also check your eyes' behavior individually.  Cataracts may occur in one eye long before the other.  Your brain selects the best eye automatically, so you often don't realize that one eye has a problem.

Another symptom that may occur is when looking towards a brightness, like a bright window, everything in the foreground turns to dark shadows.  Again, check each eye separately. The Dr had an eye chart on an bright outside window and had me stand in a shadow.  With my right eye, the eye chart was just a dark shadow.  With my left eye, I could see and read the eye chart.  I was very surprised!  He scheduled me for cataract surgery within 2 weeks.  Had both eyes done at the same time so wouldn't have to have glasses for one, but not for the other.

Another thing that is a warning for vision problems is if you suddenly have problems with being able to quickly check the side rear view mirrors.  If you can't seem to focus quickly, you need to find out why.  Good chance one of your eyes has deteriorated to the point that it is almost useless, less than 40% vision.

These comments I have been making are from my experiences over the past 4 years.  Hope they are of use to others so they can get the help that they need.

Tom

[chrisash]

I had both Cataracts done about 12 months between them. the simplest test is to close one eye and see it the vision is blurry, then the same with the other eye, car lights at night appear to have star's and halo around them.

The operation takes about 20 min  and video's on youtube if you want to see the procedure

Varifocal lens take a week or two to get used to as you need to lift or lower your head to adjust the focus part of what you are looking at, but comes naturally after a while and saves having two pairs of different glasses

[Northmount]

1 hour ago, chrisash said:

car lights at night appear to have star's and halo around them

That didn't happen with mine.  It might depend on whether the cataract is on the back of the lens, or front of the lens, or on the cornea.  Of course if it is on the cornea, they do a corneal transplant.

Another thing that causes star effects around bright lights is deterioration of the coatings on your glasses lens.  My wife has special high refractive index lenses with a special coating to further improve the refractive index, plus the other non-reflective and scratch resistant coatings.  Over a period of 3 to 5 years, the coatings breakdown and craze.

With any vision problem, as soon as you see the change or a problem develops, go get your eyes checked to see what the cause is.  In some cases, the problem needs to be diagnosed and repaired immediately.  Other problems are not an emergency.  Your Dr is the one that can figure it out and help you either maintain or improve your vision.

Tom

[Handstitched]

O.K.  , so its back to this again....now I'm a  little bit older,  don't laugh .  This belongs in ' Tools' , but anyway.

I've been doing a guitar strap recently with a  ' Celtic' 5 part braid tooling pattern. I love doing those patterns , they're laboriously  time consuming, but so effective when finished. But  I find myself with cross eyes & blurry vision, like I've been staring at a TV test pattern for too long. I do take breaks, which is recommended, but when theres a deadline...? ....( its due Monday , 1st Aug)  . I did once have the ' cheapy' magnifier glasses from Red Dot ( a  discount shop in OZ ), that worked for a while, but  I ended up with script glasses. ( my eyes need testing again no doubt) 

I think I need up the ante for the future projects and get either a  desk magnifier with light which I really like,  or, as space is limited, I'm leaning towards a head band magnifier.  I could get both I guess.  Any recommendations?  My budget is $120- tops. 

HS

[chuck123wapati]

3 hours ago, Handstitched said:

O.K.  , so its back to this again....now I'm a  little bit older,  don't laugh .  This belongs in ' Tools' , but anyway.

I've been doing a guitar strap recently with a  ' Celtic' 5 part braid tooling pattern. I love doing those patterns , they're laboriously  time consuming, but so effective when finished. But  I find myself with cross eyes & blurry vision, like I've been staring at a TV test pattern for too long. I do take breaks, which is recommended, but when theres a deadline...? ....( its due Monday , 1st Aug)  . I did once have the ' cheapy' magnifier glasses from Red Dot ( a  discount shop in OZ ), that worked for a while, but  I ended up with script glasses. ( my eyes need testing again no doubt) 

I think I need up the ante for the future projects and get either a  desk magnifier with light which I really like,  or, as space is limited, I'm leaning towards a head band magnifier.  I could get both I guess.  Any recommendations?  My budget is $120- tops. 

HS

I use a set of magnified reading glasses plus a headband magnifier for my small work. I don't sit in one spot for all the many different things i do in day, do my knife making in the garage and my leather in the basement, so a desk magnifier wouldn't help much.

[Frodo]

I was having problems seeing and had it checked  out  seems i had cateracts.  i had both eyes operated on and now I can see like a old buzzard

The cost wasn't to bad,  My insurance deductible was $150.00 per eye   That includes everything 

But the eye drop meds were HIGH. I needed 3 eye drops  My co pay   was $15.00 each for 2  and $75.00 for the 3rd  OUCH !!!!!!

[Handstitched]

@chuck123wapati I think the head band type might be  better , but I will have a closer look as to how much space I have on my bench, maybe re-arrange a few things as thats where I spend most of my time. I finished the guitar strap this arvo ....phew, 2 days before the deadline , but my eyes did struggle . 

@Frodo  This may seem like I'm bragging a bit here, and off topic,  but I can go to my  local GP, then go  into a major  public hospital, get my eyes done, and walk out with no fees.  But I will have to pay full price  for  any meds .    But with private hospitals ..?? ...$$$ plus. 

I'll focus my attention ( pardon the pun)  on head band magnifiers, and go from there.

HS

 

[dikman]

I use headband magnifiers - a lot! I have 4 pairs, one in each of my sheds and one in my "computer" room. I love them.

[chuck123wapati]

51 minutes ago, dikman said:

I use headband magnifiers - a lot! I have 4 pairs, one in each of my sheds and one in my "computer" room. I love them.

lol me too not because i love them but because i get tired of forgetting where i put them.

[chuck123wapati]

3 hours ago, Handstitched said:

 

@Frodo  This may seem like I'm bragging a bit here, and off topic,  but I can go to my  local GP, then go  into a major  public hospital, get my eyes done, and walk out with no fees. 

 

 

oh you pay for it too just in a different way. 

[Sheilajeanne]

Last I checked, the number one reason for personal bankruptcies in the U.S. was medical bills. You guys are the only developed country in the world that does this to its citizens.

Since I'm a senior, my drug cost is only a $75.00 a year deductible. There's the odd drug not covered by the provincial plan, but that's extremely rare. In my entire cancer treatment my biggest expense has been for parking! Next biggest - snacks while in the hospital. And that stopped back in March when they closed everything down due to the virus... The parking fee is back, now, but for awhile I didn't have to pay that, either.

So far, I've only needed the magnifier reading glasses for leatherwork, but I've always had very good eyesight. Good lighting is very important, so I installed a fluorescent tube right over my work area. If that weren't ever enough, I'd go with the headband magnifier. 

[fredk]

5 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

oh you pay for it too just in a different way. 

This be true.

In my working life I paid about 10% of everything I earned into the 'National Insurance'. The more you get paid the more you pay. But it means I can go to doctor or dentist for treatment and not worry about bills, or to the chemist (pharmacy) for prescribed drugs at no cost now to me cos I've paid up front years ago.

Back on topic; I have a couple of the head-band magnifiers with lights. Whilst the magnifiers are a grand job, the lights are next to useless. They're bright enough but I can never get them to illuminate just what I'm working on. I keep reverting back to different powers of reading glasses and a big angle-poise lamp with a daylight colour 20W (= to about 150W old fashioned) LED bulb.

Another light I just got in and I've yet to try is a new invention. Its called a 'hug' light. Bright LED lamps on the ends of a flexible thingy, which you can wrap around the back of your neck or somewhere and angle the lights on your work

example; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Double-LED-Hug-Light-Adjustable-Head-Neck-Book-Reading-Night-Lamp-Torch-Handfree/264468227616?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=564149022967&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

I'm colourblind so I like a lot of good light on what I'm doing so I can actually see what I'm supposed to be doing. eg only under very bright light can I see dark brown or blue thread on dark brown or black leather.

 

[Handstitched]

In Australia, we have an annual   Medicare levy of 2%  , so we can go to a   public doc or  public hospital, get treated....and walk out again...unless you've just broken your leg   ...ahem...sorry  Meds are discounted if you're on benefits or pension etc. otherwise full price.  Private practices are the money  munchers . 

 

Yes, back on topic: I will have to get my eyes tested  again ( for free) , eventually . 

10 hours ago, fredk said:

the lights are next to useless

And how often do you have to change the batteries in those?  Perhaps the plug-in  desk type might be better after all, but I guess these days you can get rechargable lithium batteries  ,  or get a pair without the lights , decisions decisions .  The ' hug light' looks handy. My Mother is always knitting or sewing. 

HS 

[fredk]

5 hours ago, Handstitched said:

. . .

And how often do you have to change the batteries in those?  Perhaps the plug-in  desk type might be better after all, but I guess these days you can get rechargable lithium batteries  ,  or get a pair without the lights , decisions decisions .  The ' hug light' looks handy. My Mother is always knitting or sewing. 

. . .

I'm no expert on electronics, but I find that LEDs work on voltage rather than on milliamperage, thus two x 1.5V alkaline AA batteries give about 36 hours working light whereas two rechargeable batteries which are 1.2V  only give about 3 hours light. At about the 30 hour mark the alkaline batteries are at about 1.25V each.  Some head-band lights use two or three AAA batteries

On the 'Hug' Light. Each light unit has a switch. Each has two bulbs. You can have each light, on 'wide' (low), on 'spot' (medium) or high (both bulbs on together). It takes two AAA batteries so I expect only a few hours use on 'high' 

Combine the two. A hug light and a head-band magnifier. You can get head-band magnifiers for as little as £5. It depends on where you go. Go to a shop catering for plastic modellers and they'll charge you £35 for the exact same unit you can buy in a shop for knitters/sewers for £10. I got my first unit in a fishing tackle shop for £8, same unit in the local plastic modelling shop was £45

[fredk]

BTW, one problem with head-band magnifiers;  every one I've come across uses a plastic strap and plastic buckle type thing. And every one of those has broken after minimal use. I'm in a several plastic model making groups and I've discovered that everyone who has one of these has either discarded it or had to replace it with another due to the strap or buckle arrangement breaking. Even my own is set aside for a broken strap and buckle. I intend making a padded leather strap with velcro fastening.

[chuck123wapati]

2 hours ago, fredk said:

BTW, one problem with head-band magnifiers;  every one I've come across uses a plastic strap and plastic buckle type thing. And every one of those has broken after minimal use. I'm in a several plastic model making groups and I've discovered that everyone who has one of these has either discarded it or had to replace it with another due to the strap or buckle arrangement breaking. Even my own is set aside for a broken strap and buckle. I intend making a padded leather strap with velcro fastening.

if its the ratchet lock type you may be able buy those parts at the local welding shop.

[Frodo]

ratchet type  hard hat head band  $4.75

Edited August 1, 2020 by Frodo