Greetings to all and sundry,
It is a beautiful day today, the week has been quite stressful and fruitful because my patients benefit from goodness, which is an achievement for me. Do forgive me though for my absence here for a while, the workload and stress from work seem to pile up on me but hey, I am here.
I do hope you didn't miss me too much and I do hope you are doing well and having a fruitful week too. Today we are going to have a quick discussion on some terms that people use for individuals with ocular health issues and why I believe these things are incorrect and the wrong way to go for us all. I do hope this helps dear readers do better for themselves as well as those around him or them.
Introduction
So last night I was just trying to get a rest after an exhausting day, Tuesdays are used for post-op care for ocular surgeries that are performed on Mondays and so these two days are quite hectic for me, I was watching this video on TikTok and the lady was like, " Oh, I forgot I do not use my glasses for these videos, but hey is not a problem, so you guys... I am a little blind but thus alright...".
Before I continued with the rest of what she had to share I had to quickly go to the comment section and let her know that she had some amount of refractive error which I could tell from her glasses that she was a hyperope doesn't make her blind and so she shouldn't refer to herself as such.
Yes, I know there's the term legal blindness which applies to those whose vision without glasses is quite bad very very bad and these individuals ain't a lot and shouldn't be used to classify all spectacle wearers. When we do this, it creates the wrong impression about spectacle wearers and deters individuals who truly need glasses to improve their vision from getting them or going for eyecare.
Because they automatically assume that a visit to the Optometrist would warrant glasses wear and that should they start wearing glasses their peers or colleagues would start laughing at them that they are "blind". Over the year I have had to educate patients and encourage them to discard some of these thoughts about glasses wear because people have it all wrong, some worked, and others just didn't, but I believe you and I can make a difference by making efforts to avoid the use of such language and try to use a more appropriate term.
Some Reasons Why People Wear Glasses
People wear glasses for a whole lot of reasons and if you do not know you may just assume that one cannot see. As usual, I would remind us that when we are in doubt, we should speak to the right people and not make assumptions because we could hurt people psychologically by doing so. So let's begin with the most common reason;
- Refractive Errors
One of the most common reasons why people wear glasses is to better their vision, some individuals are shortsighted or farsighted, and depending on the severity these individuals might have trouble viewing objects unless they are closer to them or at a particular farther distance.
Refractive errors could be a headache sometimes as they can affect a child's academic performance as well as their interaction with other kids because their vision is not so clear, they can't see well from the board, playing with peers becomes an issue and others may pick up on him or her, adults may have difficulties driving especially in the night and a whole lot of other issues.
And so these individuals may be given spectacles or contact lenses to help improve their vision, please note that the fact that they cannot see the way perhaps you do does not mean they are blind and that terms shouldn't be used under any occasion unless perhaps in a legal case of legal blindness or actual blindness where one actually understands the terms being used and the intensity of the situation.
- Photophobia
Some individuals also wear their glasses to be able to tolerate extreme light or sunlight. These individuals are referred to as photophobic and they tend to have difficulties whenever the sun comes out, a lot of times they have to squint or partially close their eyes to be able to make it out. Photophobia can be a real headache and could also come with other asthenopic symptoms such as pains and headaches.
These individuals may have their vision perfectly fine, seeing 20/20 or 6/6 but they may photochromic lenses to absorb the rays of the sun and make life more comfortable and light more tolerable for them. Now if this individual is being referred to as blind by or her peers they may try to defend themselves or stop wearing their glasses altogether because peer pressure is that powerful and yet they would be causing harm to themselves. I believe you and I can do better than that.
- Computer Vision Syndrome Management
Some individuals are also given glasses based on their job description to act as prophylaxis against the development of certain eye conditions as well as to protect them from other hazards. Computer vision syndrome has become quite common in our contemporary society with the emergence of new tech in our everyday life, smartphones, smart laptops, smart TVs, etc. These equipment emit radiations that bring about dryness of the eye as well as damage to the retina.
And so blue-block lenses were developed to help prevent this effect and protect the sight of people. And so someone may be given glasses because they spend hours behind the laptop every day, or because they watch tv all day every day, or just because they want some form of protection from tech tools. This does not qualify them to be termed as blind and as such we should desist from the use of such a lexicon.
- Night Driving/Night Vision
Night driving is an issue for many drivers and it is quite a common issue among the geriatrics, mainly because the eye's strength tends to go down a bit as we grow up and sometimes the opacities that form in the lens over the years (what we term as a cataract) causes glare and makes things very difficult with incoming traffic.
And so these individuals may be given glasses with tints that make things a bit better for them when they have to drive in the evening or at night, the tints cuts off some amount of the glare or light from incoming traffic and enable them to continue to go about their duties. These individuals are in no way blind and shouldn't be referred to as such just because they wear glasses.
- Presbyopia
Let me wrap up with this because there are so many other ocular conditions that may need some form of glasses or contact lenses to make things better for a patient and I do not think I can exhaust the list in this writeup, perhaps I can make a part two later on but until then I am hoping this becomes an eye opener for many of us.
So presbyopia is simply a point in one's life where the eye's ability to do near work declines, this is because the flexibility of the lens to increase its power when doing near work has part of it or all of it gone due to aging. And this is a normal phenomenon that happens to every human being that walks on this earth, you cannot escape it and that doesn't make you blind too.
You would just need some form of spectacles to supplement that power lost to aging and this would enable you to be able to see small prints and do your near work comfortably and easily without having to stress or strain etc. There are different types of lenses available for such individuals but that is not the purpose of today's writeup and so I wouldn't go into those details perhaps another time. But I believe my point has been made that glass wearer ain't necessarily blind and that we ought to stop using that term for people because it has psychological consequences.
Conclusion
It starts with you and me, we are the men in the mirror, and the choices we make today would directly or indirectly affect our generation, our neighbors, our loved ones, our friends, our acquaintances, etc. Remember that words are powerful and we ought to use them positively to motivate, encourage and push people to become the very best versions of themselves possible.
@nattybongoRemember, when in doubt speak to a professional, assumptions are not the right way to go. Stay healthy and protect your sight, have regular health care examinations, and avoid the use of over-the-counter medication for your symptoms without proper diagnosis and care. You may have just saved your sight by doing so. Have a wonderful day, and be safe.
Further Reading
Hwang, A. D., Tuccar-Burak, M., & Peli, E. (2019). Comparison of Pedestrian Detection With and Without Yellow-Lens Glasses During Simulated Night Driving With and Without Headlight Glare. JAMA ophthalmology, 137(10), 1147–1153. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2019.2893.
Lee, J. Y., Seo, J. Y., & Baek, S. U. (2013). The effects of glasses for anisometropia on stereopsis. American Journal of ophthalmology, 156(6), 1261–1266.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajo.2013.07.016.
Zhao, C., Cai, C., Dai, H., & Zhang, J. (2022). Effect of the combined application of orthokeratology and single-vision spectacles on slowing the progression of high myopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine, 101(33), e30178. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000030178.
Hester, L., Dang, D., Barker, C. J., Heath, M., Mesiya, S., Tienabeso, T., & Watson, K. (2021). Evening wear of blue-blocking glasses for sleep and mood disorders: a systematic review. Chronobiology International, 38(10), 1375–1383. https://doi.org/10.1080/07420528.2021.1930029