(no subject)

[pebblerocker]

Today I passed a woman going down the road using crutches, and she was wearing a badge saying "I have low vision". Interesting -- not something I've seen before -- is it useful to her to carry a label telling people something about her they might not notice? -- what sort of changes does the badge make to the way she gets around in the world? I wonder.

I was also sent off along a different thought train because of the irony that it was my partner who saw the badge and told me what it said; my vision isn't good enough to have read it myself, without my glasses on. Boyfriend's vision is similarly poor (we can borrow each other's glasses for brief sign-reading etc) but he wears his glasses most of the time and thinks I should do the same. I find my glasses uncomfortable and fatiguing and they make it hard for me to see things close up (arm too short to read my watch with them on!) so I put them on when they're useful to me (when I'll be looking at exclusively far-off things which I need to see in detail) and the rest of the time I have strategies for working with the eyes I've got. To me boyfriend's attitude to glasses tastes of doctor-knows-best medical compliancism, but he says wearing glasses doesn't hurt his eyes like it does mine.

Comments

[vjezkova.livejournal.com]

*Nods*
A difference between my eyes is four dioptries and wearing my glasses on for a long time makes me dizzy. I have to wear them when driving though.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Have you considered contact lenses? My eyes are very different and I can't wear glasses for that reason, but lenses do a good job.

[vjezkova.livejournal.com]

Well, this was my first thought. But I have chronical problems that prevent me from using the lenses. I tried. Thank you!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I have to wear hard ones because of my right eye's condition, but a lot of people can get away with soft ones which are a lot more comfortable.

I'd have a laser operation, but my eyes are too crap for that too.