And so to bed

[commodorified]

But first, a question:

I've always had trouble switching the focus of my eyes from "near" to "far"; when I'm tired, or have been reading of knitting over my glasses or with them off for a long time (dreadful habit, I know), or using the computer (glasses on),

1) it takes awhile for my to get my eyes to refocus for distance. When I'm writing or editing or working with vids I find I have to go outside and stare at a building across the river for a bit every hour or so, to fend off eyestrain.

2) When I get overly tired these days, my eyes start tracking more and more slowly; I'll turn my head sharply and my eyes will register this change in their own sweet time. This gives me some interesting afterimages, and also sometimes a mild case of seasickness, as it comes with a definite swoopy sensation.

3) I have progressives, but instead of the cliche of holding the menu or whatever far from my face, I still end up taking my glasses off and putting the text or small item I am working on right in front of my eyes; I may be myopic as Hell but my near vision is AMAZING; I get most of the fiddly jobs in this household for a reason.

Does anyone else get these three things? I don't think any of them is an actual problem, beyond the usual "Oh, yeah, eye-test time", I'm just curious.

Comments

[leecetheartist]

An hour is probably too long...what most ohs people say is when you're computer working is to set a 20 minute timer, and when it goes off, take 20 steps, and then focus on something 20 feet away, for 20 seconds. You may find it helps - I do, I have to do it when working on the magnum opus, as it's so detail intensive, and it's good practise generally with this sort of thing.

[azurelunatic]

I've also been given that advice, and the workplace ergonomist recommended http://workrave.com to me, which has been instrumental in me finishing the workday not feeling freshly beaten.

[twistedchick]

If I start out in the morning reading smaller print, it is very hard to get my eyes to focus properly at a distance. On days when I know that I'm going to be driving, or otherwise needing distance vision more than just for walking, I will increase the type size on the computer or avoid the small-print books.

[indywind]

#3 describes my spouse perfectly; she is so myopic as to be nearly blind without correction (and her worse eye is nearly at the limit of contact lense correctability), but near vision so good she can read the maker's mark printed around the outside edge of her contacts as she puts them in. She prefers to do close work without correction, but needs contacts to drive (glasses at her prescription produce too much distortion outside the narrow focal field), and for archery. She and her optometrist are still trying to figure out how to balance conflicting needs of strong congenital myopia and age-related presbyopia.

I get 1 and 2. Also when I'm tired, I get "lazy eye"; I had strabismus as an infant, surgically corrected, but it left a slight imbalance in the small muscles that orient the eye which shows up with fatigue. Plus photosensitivity. Eye strain, motion sickness, headaches. I didn't even need to be Aspergerish to get in trouble for keeping my eyes down, squinting, not holding my face right.

[resolute]

My eyedoctor told me that this is because the fluids in our eyeballs congeal as we age. The eye focuses and re-focuses more slowly, in an inevitable entropic progression towards not-working-at-all and then death.

I said geez, thank you.

Ewwwwwwwwww!

[crowjudith]

I have ALWAYS taken off my glasses to read (have been wearing them since before kindergarten) and do fiddley jobs.

I've been having more trouble changing focus in the past year-ish, but have put it down to needing a different prescription rather than congealing eye-jell....... And I'm sticking with that.

Re: Ewwwwwwwwww!

[resolute]

I was *not keen* on this whole information set, let me assure you.

[giglet]

3) I have progressives, but instead of the cliche of holding the menu or whatever far from my face, I still end up taking my glasses off and putting the text or small item I am working on right in front of my eyes; I may be myopic as Hell but my near vision is AMAZING.

Yeah, I and everyone in my birth family do this.

[trolleypup]

#3. Yep. Even when I am wearing my close vision glasses.

[con_girl]

I've had problem number 1 since I was twenty - it's why I have glasses.

My eye doctor says more like every five minutes to just look away from the close work (and an actual break every 20).

I've had number 2 only rarely, and not since my sleep apnea has improved.

My eye doctor also has me not wear my glasses in the house anymore.

[lexin]

I get all three of these, so have been reading the suggestions people have made with interest.

I think I spend too long staring at a computers screen for one thing. Today has been particularly bad for some reason.

[lenora_rose]

1 and 3 yes, though like everyone else, the sensible thing is to take breaks even more often. (I don't mind composition too much, as I tend to look up & around automatically as I think about the next sentence, but image work, especially on a computer inevitably means focusing close for a long stretch and giving myself eyestrain. Ditto extended online reading.

I always take off my glasses to do close detail work on pottery; if anything, this seems to help ease/ prevent eyestrain.

[susan8020]

What about 'palming' and some 'eye exercises'? I don't have your specific problem but those practices really do help with the problems I have.

And what else helps wonderfully is good 'therapeutic massage' and shiatsu around the face, ears, etc, and some 'cranial sacral' work.

[cleverthylacine]

My progressives are also basically useless.

But I'm not myopic, I've always been able to see things nobody should be able to see at great distances (albeit with shitty depth perception). It's stuff near me that is getting fuzzier and fuzzier.

[amberfox]

#3 is why I'm the official unknotter of things in my household. I have the most amazing visual detail from about 4" in.

[malka]

Your #2 sounds related to a thing I definitely get: LED tail lights on cars stick and smear and jolt when I'm overtired. It's a distinct and ghastly sensation.