3 ms·

Can an incorrect prescription can cause permanent eye damage? What is requiring a prescription supposed to protect someone from, other than protecting the optom

by tlb 9y ago

Can an incorrect prescription can cause permanent eye damage? What is requiring a prescription supposed to protect someone from, other than protecting the optometrists' business model? I've been making up my own prescriptions for years. I had the astigmatism measured, but I like to set my own reading power to focus on my screen in the most comfortable position.

joecool1029 9y ago
>Can an incorrect prescription can cause permanent eye damage? There's a few ways you could get eye damage from even a correct prescription. One way is corneal staining (basically scratches on your eye) that becomes a bigger issue with some sorts of contact solution and contacts worn past their expected time. Improperly fitted contacts can cause irritation and damage. There are many types of contacts suited to different wear patterns. There are also formulations of silicone hydrogels where people are allergic to the wetting agent. A doctor should be able to figure this out and switch you to a different composition if this poses a problem. Other issues are infection and oxygen starvation. The cornea absorbs oxygen and when you have an old contact in for too long the eye does things like grow veins where they should not be, eventually causing blindness.[1] Long story short, you should be getting checkups to make sure your eye isn't getting screwed up from contact lens wear, but under the situation of being stuck with old pairs or getting replacements without a script, I'd say the latter is probably safer. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corneal_neovascularization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corneal_neovascularization
leeoniya 9y ago
> Can an incorrect prescription can cause permanent eye damage? not from a correction power perspective. your brain can accommodate to some degree and you may strain your eye muscles and/or get headaches. but you won't get damage from that. you can get damage if the contacts are not fitted well and get corneal abrasions etc or bacteria buildup if you over-wear. however, you should still go in to see an eye doctor once in a while. my wife's an optometrist and she has saved several people's lives by finding brain tumors and other serious systemic issues by looking at ocular health.
jessriedel 9y ago
I think the best defense of this rule is that (1) visiting the optometrist for time-to-time has early-prevention benefits that outweigh the exam costs and (2) requiring a new prescription when people get glasses/contacts forces people to have this exam. Not exactly honest, but plausibly net good.
lutorm 9y ago
Requiring a prescription ensures that you use the products under the care of a medical professional.
kazinator 9y ago
If it were so, reading glasses couldn't be sold off self-serve racks.

by tlb 9y ago

joecool1029 9y ago

>Can an incorrect prescription can cause permanent eye damage? There's a few ways you could get eye damage from even a correct prescription. One way is corneal staining (basically scratches on your eye) that becomes a bigger issue with some sorts of contact solution and contacts worn past their expected time. Improperly fitted contacts can cause irritation and damage. There are many types of contacts suited to different wear patterns. There are also formulations of silicone hydrogels where people are allergic to the wetting agent. A doctor should be able to figure this out and switch you to a different composition if this poses a problem. Other issues are infection and oxygen starvation. The cornea absorbs oxygen and when you have an old contact in for too long the eye does things like grow veins where they should not be, eventually causing blindness.[1] Long story short, you should be getting checkups to make sure your eye isn't getting screwed up from contact lens wear, but under the situation of being stuck with old pairs or getting replacements without a script, I'd say the latter is probably safer. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corneal_neovascularization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corneal_neovascularization

leeoniya 9y ago

> Can an incorrect prescription can cause permanent eye damage? not from a correction power perspective. your brain can accommodate to some degree and you may strain your eye muscles and/or get headaches. but you won't get damage from that. you can get damage if the contacts are not fitted well and get corneal abrasions etc or bacteria buildup if you over-wear. however, you should still go in to see an eye doctor once in a while. my wife's an optometrist and she has saved several people's lives by finding brain tumors and other serious systemic issues by looking at ocular health.

jessriedel 9y ago

I think the best defense of this rule is that (1) visiting the optometrist for time-to-time has early-prevention benefits that outweigh the exam costs and (2) requiring a new prescription when people get glasses/contacts forces people to have this exam. Not exactly honest, but plausibly net good.

lutorm 9y ago

Requiring a prescription ensures that you use the products under the care of a medical professional.

kazinator 9y ago

If it were so, reading glasses couldn't be sold off self-serve racks.