My New Glasses

My new glasses came in the mail a couple of months ago, but I wanted to give them a real trial period before I shared my thoughts with you.

How we got here

This whole saga started when I left a store and took my Covid mask off too quickly. The glasses caught on the elastic and went flying onto the concrete. Thankfully they only received a small scratch on the side which doesn’t impact my vision.

The hunt

Not wanting to spend another fortune on new glasses, I decided to try an online seller and save a few hundred dollars. After checking out the company and reading many reviews, I decided to trust a Canadian company close to home. It was a good decision.

When I bought my good glasses about a year ago, I bought the best quality progressives and chose almost all the necessary options available. The premium lenses which offer a broader view, UV protection, and anti-reflective coating.

The one I didn’t choose was blue light-blocking, thinking it was unnecessary as I have that feature already on my computer, iPad, and iPhone. I use Night Shift for both day and night, with the slider set to even warmer. The display on my computer is also set to warmer.

Online ordering process

There are a lot of numbers you need to know to order. The online company tells you how to determine your pupillary distance, as not all prescriptions include that. My prescription thank goodness had it listed and when I tried their online method of measurement to compare I was only out about a millimeter.

Time to test them out

When they arrived I was slightly taken aback by the almost yellowish tint on the lenses, visible only when the light hits them at a certain angle, not when looking through them. Upon some research, I found this occasionally happens with the less expensive lenses.

As a side note, the frames are a fun transparent blue-green. I see them as very blue, but I’m told they are more green. Just another feature of macular degeneration.

Perks of my new glasses

These glasses were not meant to take the place of my high-quality daily glasses, but they have now found their niche. I don’t know why I have not tried this before, but the blue-blocking coating has made a tremendous difference in my computer usage.

There are days when I spend far too much time online researching something important or perhaps relaxing with an ebook or computer game. Then eye strain sets in.

I try to remember to use the 20-20-20 rule where you look up from your screen every 20 minutes and focus on something about 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. This allows the eye muscles to relax after prolonged screen time. But very often time gets away from me until eyestrain then reminds me.

I love blue light-blocking coating

But now onto why I love my new glasses with the blue blocking coating. Even without the reduction in worry about all this electronic exposure to blue light possibly having an effect on age-related macular degeneration.

One day my good glasses were not close at hand and I used my new glasses. At the end of the day, I realized I had no eyestrain and had been online for much too long. Then it clicked. Blue-blocking glasses do make a difference, even when you’re using the features that help on your devices.