Joy of Specs

Someone recently announced to a room full of journalists that varifocal glasses are more hip-replacement than hipster. 

Admittedly they were promoting the benefits of a new type of contact lens, but their throwaway remark hit home. For, dear reader, I have been wearing varifocals for some years now.

The new contact lenses are, admittedly, impressive. Not only do they help with presbyopia – the inevitable change in eyesight that comes as we get older, causing problems when reading menus and threading needles – but they are also made of a material that is much kinder to older eyes, which tend to be dryer than younger ones. 

So this makes the new Biotrue lenses more comfortable to wear.

Indeed, two people of a certain age who were at the launch and tried out the lenses there and then were suitably impressed. So impressed that I volunteered to have the optician on hand check my eyes to see if I’d be a suitable candidate too.

Sadly the answer was ‘no’.

As well as myopia (short sight) and presbyopia (the loss of the ability to focus close up), I have astigmatism (my eye isn’t a perfect curve).

And the lenses can’t correct that – although manufacturers Bausch + Lomb say they are working on ones that will.

So specs it is then.   And it’s not so bad, honestly. Even with lenses I don’t think anyone would find me remotely hipster. 

 

When it comes to the gory/scary bits in films I can just look over the top of my specs instead of having to close my eyes. And glasses disguise those late night under-eye bags and shadows much better than lenses.