rush-rulz
08-28-2007, 12:27 AM
Hi. I got my driver's license renewed today, and I had to do a vision test for it, which I sort of dreaded. The woman passed me at 20/40, although that was with a bit of coaching.
I actually have 20/20 vision, organically (per the ophthalmologist). The problem is that I have blepharitis, so despite having supposedly great vision, I have trouble reading charts. I'm worried about this because I don't want to spend my life hoping for sympathetic DPS employees so I can get by. I can see fine to drive and plenty of other things, but charts are kind of a different story, especially when they're backlit, as they always are.
It seems like my only option for blepharitis is drops, but I don't bother with them. I can never manage to get eye drops into one eye (they always just end up on my cheek), and in the other, any positive effects are pretty short term. So as I say, I just don't bother. (Another option for blepharitis is warm damp cloths, but I don't find they help, and more importantly, they get cold within mere seconds. I also tried ointment and liked it, but I have to close my eyes ASAP and keep them that way so I don't blink it all away, and I don't like being compelled to do this.)
The other thing that happened during this vision test is that I couldn't see the third column of numbers until she told me it was there. It wasn't a case of being unable to read it but actually seeing it in the first place. I would have put this down to my supposed amblyopia (I don't know if I can say I still have amblyopia, if I'm at 20/20 now) except that a few other people there had this same problem. I would be able to see all three columns fine if it weren't for the fact that they're using two different eyepieces on the vision tester. Clearly, anything on the right side is being given a miss unless I actively seek it out (after being told it's there). My right eye is my weak one, by the way--my left eye is dominant, and I don't have to do one of those thumb tests to know that.
So what all this boils down to...
1) Is there any other way to get by with blepharitis without spraying eye drops all over myself before vision tests? :D Can functional vision problems be corrected by treatments intended for organic problems (e.g., glasses)?
2) Why is it that I and a few others at the DPS office couldn't see the right side without prompting? Why was it always the right side, for that matter? (That may have just been a statistical anomaly. :)) Does this inability "matter"?
I actually have 20/20 vision, organically (per the ophthalmologist). The problem is that I have blepharitis, so despite having supposedly great vision, I have trouble reading charts. I'm worried about this because I don't want to spend my life hoping for sympathetic DPS employees so I can get by. I can see fine to drive and plenty of other things, but charts are kind of a different story, especially when they're backlit, as they always are.
It seems like my only option for blepharitis is drops, but I don't bother with them. I can never manage to get eye drops into one eye (they always just end up on my cheek), and in the other, any positive effects are pretty short term. So as I say, I just don't bother. (Another option for blepharitis is warm damp cloths, but I don't find they help, and more importantly, they get cold within mere seconds. I also tried ointment and liked it, but I have to close my eyes ASAP and keep them that way so I don't blink it all away, and I don't like being compelled to do this.)
The other thing that happened during this vision test is that I couldn't see the third column of numbers until she told me it was there. It wasn't a case of being unable to read it but actually seeing it in the first place. I would have put this down to my supposed amblyopia (I don't know if I can say I still have amblyopia, if I'm at 20/20 now) except that a few other people there had this same problem. I would be able to see all three columns fine if it weren't for the fact that they're using two different eyepieces on the vision tester. Clearly, anything on the right side is being given a miss unless I actively seek it out (after being told it's there). My right eye is my weak one, by the way--my left eye is dominant, and I don't have to do one of those thumb tests to know that.
So what all this boils down to...
1) Is there any other way to get by with blepharitis without spraying eye drops all over myself before vision tests? :D Can functional vision problems be corrected by treatments intended for organic problems (e.g., glasses)?
2) Why is it that I and a few others at the DPS office couldn't see the right side without prompting? Why was it always the right side, for that matter? (That may have just been a statistical anomaly. :)) Does this inability "matter"?