i’m genuinely afraid to bring this up to a blog like this, and also scared of the reactions i will get.
but i think nearsightedness not being classified as a disability is ableism.
i am nearsighted. when i do not have my glasses, i cannot function normally. i can barely see 4-6 inches in front of myself and i am in constant danger of hurting myself if i’m in an unfamiliar environment. i cannot read, write, or use most technology. but because my glasses correct my vision, i am not seen as disabled by my nearsightedness.
glasses can cost hundreds of dollars, counting the eye exam, frames, and lenses. if i could not afford glasses, or if i lost my glasses with no spares, i would have to work through my life with the same struggles and limitations as someone with vision like mine that can’t be corrected.
glasses are disability aids and i will always stand by this. if hearing aids are disability aids, so are glasses. just because something has a temporary, easily lost or damaged “fix” does not mean my life is not hindered by what very much disables me otherwise.
but the reason nearsightedness, or other related vision issues, are not considered disabilities is likely almost purely because 1) it affects so many people and 2) the government isn’t willing to give up that much more money to support those with such a common disability.
it’s infuriating to be told that i am not disabled in terms of vision because an OBJECT that i can LOSE or BREAK or BE UNABLE TO AFFORD like ANY OTHER DISABILITY AID “fixes” my vision only when i have access to it. i am visually impaired and i suffer because of it. why is that not enough to be disabled?
I personally consider the lack of classification for nearsightedness as a disability to be ableism.
Just because it's prevalent in a larger number of the population, doesn't make in less disabling, especially because of the degrees to which nearsightedness can effect people.
I also agree that it isn't classified as such because governments don't want to spend money on glasses, when they can literally be life saving for some people (if you can barely see ahead of you, that puts you at risk for environmental hazards that people without nearsightedness can avoid).
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About me: late 50's nearsighted since birth. Until this week my left eye was -17.0 and my right eye was -10.25. This meant that the best they could do for my glasses was to get me to 20/70 for my left eye and 20/20 for my right. However the disparity between my eyes caused me to basically become mono-vision due to the difficulty in processing data between both eyes at once. I now have to learn to properly use my left eye. I also have issues requiring vertical and horizontal adjusting prism lenses because my eyes don't line up an image correctly.
I knew I was going to need to have surgery due to cataracts for some time & did a lot of research. The biggest decision I (and everyone else has) is the difficulty determining what type of lens to get.
Let me first say that you can change your mind. Yes, making a change after you have a lens installed does require another surgery but don't feel like you're screwed if things are bad with your first choice. Keep in mind however that you will likely have to pay out of pocket for the change if the doctor didn't make any mistakes and its just your choice. Ask your doctor if this is an option before you go under the knife in case you are a special case, such as having Lasik in the past.
The most impactful choice is if you're getting fixed vs. multi-focal lenses. The best advice I got regarding this is that if you really want perfectly clear vision then go with fixed. If you can't stand spots on your glasses etc. you won't like the downsides of multi-focal lenses. Multi-focal are cool if you can accept the halo effect at night and sometimes during the day. Due to my issue needing prism lenses I'll never get away from wearing glasses so I went with a fixed lens (and I hate the halo I already had with my cataracts so I knew I wouldn't want it while driving at night).
When choosing a lens consider what your FUTURE life is going to be. Most people go with a distance lens and wear readers because they are tired of being nearsighted. Maybe you want to be able to go water skiing or hang gliding and see whats going on. I went with a near lens because most of my life involves close up work. Soldering electronic parts, computer work, reading books, etc. My doctors were surprised and tried to talk me into a distance lens but I know my life. (They weren't assholes about it, they just wanted to be sure that I really knew what I wanted).
There are other types of lenses like Toric which are used if you have a bad astigmatism but that's something best discussed with your doctor. As a side note, there are some people that will get one eye set for close up and one eye set for distance. As someone that has lived with a large variance between both eyes don't do this unless you know exactly what you are doing. You will lose your binocular vision and many things will become more difficult in life because of this.
I watched a bunch of videos of actual surgeries because I wanted to know exactly what was going on as I saw blurry objects passing in front of my eye. If you don't want to do this, its understandable. Know that the doctor will gladly tell you everything they are doing at each step of the procedure if you change your mind and ask.
I did my eyes 1 after the other (Mon & Tues) and both days were the same.
On the day of the procedure, we planned ahead a little. Have a light meal before hand if your nerves allow it. Drink enough water. Have snacks, food & drink waiting at home so you don't have to go out afterwards. The actual procedure is less than 5 minutes but you could sit around for 2 hours before hand. I didn't have an appetite afterwards for quite a while so it helped to have eaten before hand.
If they don't offer, ask about the anti anxiety meds, even if you don't think you need it (I did). The office I went to had a mix of 3 drugs in a small short term dose. One of them was Ketamine and I found out while there that it actually helps the procedure. There is a side effect of Ketamin called the 'Ketamine Stare' that helps keep your eye more stable and can help offset the concern of not moving your eye during the procedure.
Dilation drops... In a normal office visit you may have a drop in each eye as they run their tests. At this office they put 3 drops in each eye spaced a few minutes apart. Your eyes will be REALLY dilated when you leave so plan accordingly if you have a hard time driving after a regular visit. My dilation didn't wear off completely until 2 days later (yes 3 days of some level of dilation). I normally don't process the chemical quickly for some reason so this was not surprising. Most people only have 2 days of effects.
The actual procedure felt like it took forever on my first eye and my second eye it sped past. The transition from old to new lens was the strangest and most vulnerable feeling cause if a fire broke out at that stage, you'd be a mess. That middle stage of no lens only lasted about 15-30 seconds though. It was done quickly and I walked out on my own two feet (they forgot to make me use a wheelchair on my first visit).
Results: my results are great. Both eyes are at about -2.5. You won't know your final results until about a month later as the swelling goes down and your eyes settle. If you're young or have amazing healing you may know after 2 weeks but don't get new glasses (if needed) till 4 weeks.
The thing about being multiply disabled is that abled people assume it’s like “x + y + z” or a loose mixture of symptoms but really it’s more like a chemical compound. My autism affects my anxiety which affects my ADHD which affects my autism. They’re all connected. And it’s not just mental stuff, either; my neurotype means I don’t go outside a lot and spend huge amounts of time reading and on my computer, which undoubtedly negatively affects my nearsightedness. My anxiety and ADHD can cause sleep deprivation which has many physical effects. Anxiety raises my heart rate and causes hyperventilation. Autism makes me a picky eater which means I can’t eat random foods without knowing first which means I sometimes go hungry. And none of those things can be separated from me.
U tell me that in order to pass i need more masculine glasses but do u know how many times I thought I was going to die or go blind from how many lights you doctors kept shining in my eyes and those air puffs had me genuinely shitting my pants I thought I was a goner
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