Some help with information on glasses, eyesight levels and contacts please?

Question

Okay, so I'm not great at describing this and I probably don't know everything you need to know etc but it's worth a shot.

I am fifteen, turning sixteen in January and I have asked my Mum for contact lenses for about a year now. My Mum, never wearing glasses herself, doesn't understand how frustrating it is to not be able to see perfectly and dismisses me every time I mention contacts.

The last time I went to my optician he told me my left eye was 1.75 and my right eye was better at 1.25, I'm not sure if they were plus or minus numbers but they were either both minus or both plus not one and the other. To be honest I think they may have been plus.

I am shortsighted and need my glasses for distance, I do understand my eye sights not as bad as some people but it can make life more difficult for example I have to ask people what bus is coming towards me as I cannot see the number and I have to squint to see things from about 7 or 8ft in front of me. This is when I'm not wearing my glasses.

My Mum says that if I get contact lenses (monthly ones) and wear them all the time apart from when I sleep I will make my eyes worse and become dependent on them. To me becoming dependent on contact lenses doesn't bother me as I'm already pretty dependent on my glasses or other people.

I am planning to go to my optician and ask but I would just like to know if I am wasting my time? Are contacts available to any eyesight level that qualifies for glasses or just for people with really bad eyesight?

Sorry for this being so long winded, I appreciate any answers and if you need to know more just ask and I'll try and answer the best I can.

Thank you!

? · Accepted Answer

Okay, first off, if your mum doesn't understand what your vision's like, next time you're at the eye doctor ask them to show her. It's a real easy thing to do, we just pop some lenses in front of her eyes so she sees how you do without glasses. 
If you're shortsighted, they're both minus numbers; you're right, it's not that strong of a prescription, but still enough that if my eyes were like that I'd end up wearing glasses pretty much all the time, too. Contacts are definitely available in your prescription; it's not too weak or anything. You end up with clear vision all the time, better peripheral vision, and it certainly won't hurt your self-confidence either.
Your mum's wrong, though; wearing contacts all the time won't make your eyes change. Neither will wearing glasses all the time. You're a teenager, meaning you're still growing, and your eyes (and prescription) will change whether you wear glasses, contacts, both, or neither. If she doesn't believe me, a random stranger on the internet, get your eye doc to explain that to her, too.

Footprintz · Answer

Being shortsighted, your powers would be - 1.75 and - 1.25 , which are in the perfect range for contact lenses.

It isn't true that your vision would get worse because you become dependent on them. That is just an old wives tale started by uninformed people....and old wives tales seem to live forever.

? · Answer

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Anonymous · Answer

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Some help with information on glasses, eyesight levels and contacts please?

4 Answers