When do I have to start wearing glasses (vs when big name opticians say I do)

[bluekingfisher]

I always feel the opticians are hard selling me glasses after I go in there for a test. My eye sight has changed -0.25 since two years ago and isn’t bad enough to need glasses for driving etc. I have astigmatism that the optician has said is pretty bad. I have had most of my life and think my eyes have accommodated it naturally so I can see well, can see small text from a distance. I don’t have any symptoms around this day to day.

I believe I can see reasonably without glasses
but the opticians said I would ideally be wearing them all the time. So I don’t know if I should get glasses or not. Ideally I don’t want the faff of them unless I actually need them

Are you confident you can read a number plate from the required distance if stopped by the police. Do you notice any issues driving at night, dazzle from headlights, difficulty with contrasts. I know from my own experience that the degradation in eyesight as you get older creeps up on you without you noticing.

Did the optician tell you you don't need glasses for driving.

Yes part of the reason I get my eyes checked is for the legal driving requirements I double check that every time

I mean they told me I do not need them to drive

I don't understand why you'd pay to see a professional and then totally ignore their advice.

I've worn glasses since I was 7, they're really not a big deal.

I’d get some for driving as it’s definitely very important and helpful to be as sharp as possible for that

been wearing glasses for 30 years, it’s expensive but otherwise not an issue except when it’s pissing down with rain and I’m outside (rare!)

@tumblingdowntherabbithole i don’t pay. I would find them a faff! I don’t even carry a bag with me anywhere.

Which is why I suggested to the OP that they went and tried some on to see whether they helped or not.

@Dabberlocks , they won't.

I dunno they’re like £30 and you can just keep them in your car. Wear them if you want, don’t wear them if you don’t, but seems good to have the option to at least try occasionally if the trained professional thinks you need them all the time. I thought I could see fine until I started wearing glasses.

Sounds like a vanity issue tbh...

Why are they a faff? Just keep them in your glove box and use them while you drive.

What is your actual prescription?

Mine is only -2.25 and there's no way I should drive without glasses. I can get around, I'd cope if I had to, amd I can see how if you're used to it you might think you're OK, but I know I wouldn't be.

what do all the terms mean? I have cyl right -1.25 and left -1.5 and sph ‘plano’

also axis right 90 and left 95

I think my first glasses were for -.5. I needed them to be able to see in lectures, but in big lecture theatres. However, once I got glasses, I developed a liking for being able to see properly and quickly switched to wearing them full time.

At -1.25 you really are missing out on quite a lot. I'd been wearing glasses for years when I got to that prescription.

I wear glasses for driving (& long distance passengering) and other times when I have to focus in the distance for a prolonged period.

I can drive legally without, by a very comfortable margin, but it takes more effort to focus. It's the difference on seeing individual leaves on trees. My eyes have different prescriptions, so my natural vision means my right eye is doing a lot of the effort for distance, and my left picks up the slack for close up.

I keep my glasses in the car as that's the dominant place where I use them.

If I forgot my glasses for uni lectures, I'd sit with the left eye closed while my then long-sighted right eye did all the work.

I was short and long sighted then.

Jesus.

If you’re being “advised” to get them, get them. I’ve had them since age 11. They’re really not that bad.

when you can't read the ingredients of anything?

Just wear the glasses. Or not. Hopefully it won’t adversely affect anyone else if you don’t.

It may of course invalidate your insurance if you drive without suitable corrective lenses.

Yeah, you really should be wearing glasses.

I wouldn’t want anyone on the road with that eye sight, that was my prescription, it isn’t enough to see well enough to drive safely, it also has a big impact on your depth perception, which is a further danger when driving.

Are you at least alerting passengers when you have them so they can make an informed choice to get in your car?

You don't need your distance vision correcting but you do have astigmatism that probably needs corrected.

It’s only going to get worse. You need to suck it up and learn to accept wearing them. Best to start sooner rather than later. You will get used to them, same as everyone else.