OT: glasses over contacts for computer work?

[keziak]

I'm seeing my optomotrist tomorrow to talk about my poor vision using the PC. I've limped along with reading glasses but it's gotten to be too difficult to see the screen clearly. I've moved the monitor closer and increased the font. Do any of you have glasses to wear over contacts for computer work? I have special computer glasses to wear when I do not have contacts in, and they work great, but I only use them when I remove my contacts in the evening.

[thallidguy]

I'm in kind of a reverse situation: I had cataract surgery on both eyes last year, and I asked my surgeon to optimize my multi-focal implants for working at the computer. I can see so much better overall than before the surgeries, but I still have a little trouble reading freeway signs at a distance. So I should probably get glasses for seeing at a distance, and I will be wearing them over what are essentialy implanted corrective lenses.

[lacemaker3]

I only wear glasses because I have never been able to tolerate contacts, so don't know if this will be of help to you. But here are some suggestions

Computer glasses usually have anti-glare coating, and the lenses should be set up so that you are looking through the center of the prescription area when you look at your computer screen. You should be sitting in your usual posture when they mark the lenses for the setup.

I have multi-focal glasses, and I use the distance (top) part of my lenses to view the screen. My screen is about 24 - 30 inches away from me, depending on which desk I'm at.

Reading glasses are designed so that you use the bottom part of the lenses to view a book that you are holding in your lap or or close to your chest, so they don't really work that well with a computer screen. It's not in the right place. Especially not if they are over-the-counter reading glasses instead of prescription ones.

I would think that if you are having trouble seeing the screen with your contacts, then you may need a different prescription on the contacts. If they are the correct prescription for distance, then they should work for the computer, unless you are using something like a tablet and holding it like a book, rather than a computer on a desk.

You might be able to get your optometrist to work out a prescription for a pair of glasses that you can wear with the contacts if you need a different prescription for the computer versus your everyday contacts.

Aside from the physical irritation from the contacts, it was the fact that I need several prescriptions that kept contacts from ever working for me. There was one set that were supposed to be bifocal contacts ... they lasted less than half a mile, I had to pull over on the road and take them out because my eyes got stuck in the close up mode, and I couldn't see the traffic.

[*eponymous*]

Along with a blue light blocker over my widescreen desktop monitor, I wear computer lenses with anti-glare coating over contacts.  All of those accommodations together are the best solution for me, while a combination of only some were of no real help. The pixellation, along with the flickering of the digital monitor, also caused cluster headaches.

Before I added contacts to the mix, I wore trifocal glasses with 3 lenses - near vision at the bottom, computer lenses in the middle, and far vision at the top.

If you have cataracts - ripe or not - that can add to the problem.  Good luck finding a good solution.

[d-k_treasures]

---

@keziak wrote:

I'm seeing my optomotrist tomorrow to talk about my poor vision using the PC. I've limped along with reading glasses but it's gotten to be too difficult to see the screen clearly. I've moved the monitor closer and increased the font. Do any of you have glasses to wear over contacts for computer work? I have special computer glasses to wear when I do not have contacts in, and they work great, but I only use them when I remove my contacts in the evening.

---

I used to before I quit wearing contacts. Just simple dollar store reading glasses worked fine. 

But I see better close up without contacts and don't need reading glasses, so since my work IS computers, I just stopped wearing contacts.

But I hate wearing glasses outside in the winter.

[mistwomandancing]

Have you increased the SIZE of the computer print, to make it easier to see clearly? 

Occasionally I run into some print that is too small for comfortable reading, so I do the    Ctrl key with the + key until I can easily read.

[keziak]

---

@mistwomandancing wrote:

Have you increased the SIZE of the computer print, to make it easier to see clearly? 

Occasionally I run into some print that is too small for comfortable reading, so I do the    Ctrl key with the + key until I can easily read.

---

Yes, I mentioned that I increased the font size, at least for most pages. It helps, but everything is still blurry enough to be a problem (I compared to the crystal clear resolution when I wear my computer glasses with contacts out - they are bifocal with reading on the bottom and computer on the top, works great). 

[mistwomandancing]

Oh, lol.  I missed about you increasing the size.  Sorry.

I know what you mean about a lot of this though... my husband is very, very visually impaired.. very limited vision.  Some think he should just use a magnifying glass, but the thing is, if you can't see.. making it bigger doesn't help.  Pure blur is still pure blur.  Dark is still dark.  Magnifying it larger doesn't work. 

I'll think positive thoughts that your visit tomorrow will result in something that will be a big help to you!  Good luck with this.  I can't imagine having to struggle long hours trying to do computer work for our eBay businesses when seeing a screen isn't nice and clear and crisp!  Enough headaches with this eBay stuff already without causing physical ones from vision troubles.  Let us know how it turns out for you!  I'll bet there will be others who could benefit if you find out a good answer to this problem.

[berserkerplanet]

I wear approx 2.25 to 2.7 diopter cheap reading glasses on the computer, reading, looking at my phone, anything where I need to see within 6 feet 🙂

I prefer them to my $150 prescription reading glasses because they are lighter (99¢ stores got some quality overstock titanium and other nice framed glasses in years ago and I picked some up then - all they have now is garbage made for dollar store readers)

I wear contacts for tennis, fishing, being out and about (but don't need them and not required to wear glasses to drive - slight astigmatism correction).

I've tried wearing readers (various lower diopters) over the contacts for reading and on the computer and it drives me nuts. Eyestrain, and can't seem to get any combination that worked. Don't know why, but it is what it is. I pretty much just pinch my contacts out of my eyes when done with an activity requiring them and go with the stronger readers most of the time for the armslength stuff.

(I do have a pair of "distance" eyeglasses I wear a lot instead of the contacts, and did have two pair of $200 bifocals before one ended up in 300' of water in a lake and the other pair in 50' of water in a river - quit getting bifocals made after the last splash 🙂

[myoasisjewels]

i am now using reading glasses myself.... not a great fan of it. cant wait for smart contact lenses to hit the market with (amongst other great features) automatic vision correction!

[keziak]

That is actually what we went with, 2.25 reading glasses (I was using another strength), larger fonts, closer monitor, and rewetting drops if dry contacts are partly to blame. I can go back if I want prescription glasses with special non-glare coating. The optomotrist was super nice and didn't charge for the visit since my prescription hasn't changed. 

I can already tell that my vision is getting worse later in the day compared to earlier today so just taking out the contacts in early evening may be half the battle.

[dtexley3]

I use trifocals, seem to work for most but when tired it's hard.

I was told if my right eye gets any worse I'll have no choice but laser surgery to bring it back to where it's correctable via lenses.... oh joy....

[duggmills]

With over 19000 feed backs, I'd say your limping along quite well.

[postingid2017]

I don't use glasses or contacts for computer work - I know it was "suggested" for me to get bifocals 20 yrs ago, but I declined.  I see fine on the computer and reading most w/o my glasses.  I do use glasses for driving only.  I don't think contacts would work for me as I think I would blink them off my finger before I could place them in 🙂

My father had eye surgery nearly 6 yrs ago, 5k for each eye, but what they failed to tell him is that it should be repeated, but at his age, it does not make sense to me to have it done again.

[sockmonkeydave]

@keziak

This getting old stuff is a real PITA.

I have my real glasses, to drive, they have bifocals, not that they help.

Then I have about 4 different readers, depending on how up close I need to see.

The computer is right at that only place I can see... 12 inches...

I don't drive after dark, and when I do drive I am 20 MPH under the speed limit...

OMG and I had my left turn signal on for the last 5 miles.