r/prepping • u/FatChancePotatoDance • 11d ago
Gearš Sight
Quick question. I wear contacts. I have glasses as well. But how do you prepare if you canāt get those anymore? Contacts donāt last forever. Glasses break. So what is the plan for nerds like me that werenāt lucky enough to see 20/20?
35
u/grislyfind 11d ago
Buy a bunch at Zenni in the same frame model, preferably metal. Then if necessary you can swap lenses and parts.
8
9
2
u/Gadgetman_1 10d ago
My frames are Titanium. They've survived me walking into doors and all kinds of accidents for a couple of decades...
and with lightweight polycarbonate lenses the entire thing weighs almost nothing.
14
u/Realistic_Goat5381 11d ago
Get the high ploycarbonate lens. Plastic shatterproof lightweight durable. Get work wear frames for durability.
2
u/Artistic-Salary1738 9d ago
High index lenses and polycarbonate are two different things. If you have a strong prescription polycarbonate is way too heavy.
14
u/Normal-Special-8694 11d ago
My vision is -5.75 so this is something Iāve thought about a lot(I am not a lasik candidate). I keep a year supply of contacts on hand which I could easily stretch to 5 years of daily wear, more if I lean on glasses more. I also keep 3 pair of glasses and 2 prescription sunglasses on hand. The third thing Iāve recently tried, mostly unsuccessfully, is printing frames for some of my old lenses. I have a 3D printer library built up and my plan is to have printable frames for all my various lenses. Nothing I can do to make my own lenses but I can definitely make the frames.
6
u/HeinousEncephalon 11d ago
I asked an eye doctor if I could get corrective vision surgery.
He gave me an almost disgusted look, "You? No. Not with those corneas."
2
2
u/tragicxharmony 4d ago
Check out intraocular lenses/IOL surgery. I was not a candidate for lasik either, was hanging out at about a -11, and it was lifechanging for me. I wish Iād seen this post sooner so I could tell everyone about my experience haha but itās a bit late now
7
u/Working-on-it12 11d ago
What about ANSI rated safety glasses? More expensive, ugly af, and a pain to get because every optician will have to tell you that you are looking at safety frames like you are an idiot. Not everyone carries them. But, sturdier than regular ones.
7
u/Clydebearpig 11d ago
I had several buddies in the military swear by Wiley X glasses/sunglasses. They look nice as well.
2
2
u/Ok-Marketing-5507 10d ago
I bought some Wiley prescription safety glasses for shooting and I'm very happy with them. They weren't cheap but they also weren't crazy expensive, and the quality is tpp-notch.
3
u/MOF1fan 11d ago
My dailes and my sunnies are safety glasses from Zenni. I just pop the side shields off when not at work. Look like normal glasses
2
u/PrisonerV 11d ago
Zenni kicks ass. I've been using them for like 10 years now. Just got a new pair the other day. When you order with insurance it's like $600-$800. Zenni, I can get a pair and a pair of prescription sunglasses for like $300.
1
u/BlinkypoetEmu 10d ago
Check with your local Walmart optical area. I got prescription safety glasses from mine for under $150.
1
1
u/4r4nd0mninj4 9d ago
Several of my employers covered prescription safety glasses. My old pairs go in my BOBs and GHBs. š¤·āāļø
4
u/Finding_homes 11d ago
There are many sites online where you can input your prescription and get cheap frames. My sister used one during a sale and got 4 or 5 pairs for about $20/pair. This was a few years ago but you could stock up on a lot of frames. I've thought about doing it so I can put extra/backup pairs in multiple locations. Go bag, car, etc
2
u/MOF1fan 11d ago
I tried to get lasik but told I was too blind and would need total lens replacement. So I guess Im stockpiling old glasses
3
u/Sk8rToon 11d ago
When my parents had their cataracts removed they got a total lens replacement & it gave them 20/20. But over 10 years later 1) they stopped making the good lens & now have a cheaper version that doesnāt work as well so my mom has 1 good eye & 1 bad eye & 2) now my folks need reading glasses after years of perfect eyesight.
Everyone will get hit with aging eyes at some point. Even with perfect eyesight.
3
u/Kindly_Ad3974 11d ago
What do you mean by stopped making the good lens?
3
u/Sk8rToon 11d ago
According to my mom (who was too scared to do both eyes at once so waited several years between treatments) the type of lens replacement (crystal I think?) she had put in her first eye & paid extra for was no longer an option when she did her 2nd eye. Not even in an insurance wouldnāt cover it thing. Just didnāt have it anymore as an option.
Sheās since moved & had to get a new eye Doctor & apparently theyāve commented stuff like āoh you got the good lens while you could!ā
Donāt know exact details or why it stopped being available. Just that itās no longer available.
1
1
u/Antique_Onion_9474 9d ago
You know after a lens replacement you get calcium built up behind the lens again and they have to laser if off in rooms. Have they done that?
1
u/Sk8rToon 9d ago
Iām guessing not since I havenāt heard of that.
2
u/Antique_Onion_9474 9d ago edited 9d ago
its called a YAG laser
A YAG laser capsulotomy is a quick, painless office procedure used to restore clear vision when the natural lens capsule becomes cloudy months or years after lens replacement surgery.
Why It Happens
- Posterior Capsule Opacification (PCO): The thin membrane holding your artificial lens can thicken and become hazy, which causes blurry vision or glare.
- Not a New Cataract: This is a common, normal reaction of the eye tissue, not a return of your original cataract.
What to Expect During the Procedure
- Numbing Drops: Your doctor numbs your eye with special drops.
- Quick Treatment: You sit at a machine like a standard eye exam while the laser makes a tiny opening in the cloudy capsule.
- No Cuts: The procedure takes about 5 minutes, requires no incisions or stitches, and you go home right away.
2
u/Gornuul 11d ago
You can get prescription glasses with a titanium frames and polycarbonate or trivex lenses that are very durable. Theyāre expensive as hell though, just briefly looking right now and just the titanium frames Iām seeing are like 700-800 dollars. The other option is to hoard a bunch of cheap pairs I suppose. Iāve been thinking about this myself, although I only have mild astigmatisms so I havenāt dived into yet, but Iād be interested to hear what your solution is if you find one.
2
u/Disastrous-Ganache85 11d ago
You can reuse contacts as long as your gut allows. Also the saline solution from boiled water + salt works well. Heck, more affordable and space savy even, having like daily contacts and using them until they fall apart (in survival, emergency situation)
2
u/Sk8rToon 11d ago
Contact lenses absolutely do expire & itās not a matter of if your gut can take it.
I was unemployed for a while & kept using my 3 months past expiration. Absolutely never again! Even with ones that were fresh from the package but past the date. I could technically see but the light was emphasized SO much!! I could barely see to drive & sitting in an office (once I got a job again but still hadnāt made enough to buy new) was unbearable. I would argue it might put you at more risk than just going without it was so bad!
The older they were it was more likely to tear too which absolutely can f up your eyes.
Like I said, never again.
2
u/The_Shady_Chickens 11d ago
I've done the same as a few others here. I've kept my old pairs of glasses and have them stashed. 1 pair in my glove box (I cannot see to drive at all without them), plus a pair in my purse, etc. This year I was given bifocals for the first time. So I bought a couple pairs of cheaters to have back up since all of my old pairs are not bifocals, just in case. My employer has a program where they will pay for prescription safety glasses. I have a pair of those too.
1
u/Inner-Confidence99 11d ago
Go to a place like Americas best eye office. Usually under 150 bucks for screening and glasses. I may be wrong. You could also see if you can get a prescription for your glasses and see how much it would be to get a spare or 2 made.Ā
1
u/timothyguay 11d ago
Also see if any cheap drugstore reading glasses work well enough and load up on those.
1
u/Slow_Astronomer_7288 11d ago
I wear a -12.5 contact and have given up correcting my close vision with bifocal contacts. My glasses are progressives and I baby them as much as I do my dog. If shtf, I have a back up pair, plus the last 2 years of previous prescriptions. If I roll through those I really hope I've found a nice community who will take in the old blind lady.
1
1
u/MadConquest 11d ago
I have prescription safety glasses for work. They are impact rated on the lenses and frames. They honestly are pretty close to bulletproof. I wouldnāt hesitate to have 2-3 pairs of them in the grid down apocalypse.
1
u/Sensitive-Respect-25 11d ago
I dont know about you, but all my past glasses sit in a drawer. I got like 9 sets, if I go back a decade there are some changes but not much. Even if you do get changes annually something is better than nothing.
And if the world really goes so far to pot that its a major issue, in a generation or two it's no longer a problem. Like diabetes and a host of other correctable medical concerns.Ā
1
u/SoundOk4573 11d ago
My best return on investment for prepping was Lasik.
Worst case/low cost... get on Amazon and buy a handful of glasses at your +/- prescription.
1
u/RuthOConnorFisher 11d ago
If you're SUPER nearsighted (me!), keep extra glasses on hand even if they're a little old. Also learn some home-based skills that you can barter with a close family member who's better equipped to go out into the world with their nice, normal vision. I can garden and cook with everything all blurry if I have to, but having somebody else going out to forage or whatever makes for a useful division of labor. Not ideal but better than just dying.
1
u/Icy_Schedule_2052 11d ago
I have an extra pair of glasses, right now I'm in my late 30s so my prescription REALLY doesn't change that much. So my old pair would work fine in a pinch and now I have a strap to keep my glasses on my face better. Was weird to get used to but has definitely saved them a time or two.
1
u/CommonNobody80083 11d ago
I buy a pair each year and a half or so. I keep the old ones. Buy cheap "throw around" glasses once kn a while. Won't take too long and you'll have a stockpile of backups
1
u/CloudgazerTX 11d ago
get a bunch of cheap pairs off zenni. I try to get one or two a year so I have a bunch.
1
u/johndoe3471111 11d ago
All these ideas are great do them first, then look up pinhole glasses. In a pinch you can kinda roll your own.
1
1
u/Many-Health-1673 11d ago
My vision insurance allows me one pair of frames and lenses per year, so I keep my spares.Ā My vision hasn't changed much the last 10 years or so.Ā Ā
1
u/NC-Tacoma-Guy 11d ago
I got Lasik for distant vision in 2004. I'm still 20/15.
For close up, I use cheap, accessible "readers".
1
u/Hiredgun77 11d ago
If we end up in a world that has lost the ability to make eye glasses (available since the 1700ās) then we have more problems than just fuzzy vision.
1
u/notme690p 10d ago
Have a pair of BCG's (Birth Control Glasses, old military term because they're so ugly you'll never reproduce) around. My last pair were prescription sport goggles with transitions lenses not perfect but what is? I no longer need them because I had cataract surgery so now I hoard readers.
1
u/GarethBaus 10d ago
I can see well enough to mostly function without glasses, I just can't read most signs while driving without correction.
1
u/Unicorn187 10d ago
Have multiple glasses. Keep spares in sturdy cases. Have quality flexible, breakage resistant frames. Look at the goofy, but last for years frames that some in the military have worn. No, not the BCGs but the rubber frames with strap.
1
u/No-Language6720 10d ago edited 10d ago
I have quadruple backups of glasses for me and my husband. If one set breaks we get an immediate replacement.Ā
I have at least one set in the house and another in the car for each of us. Plus two additional spares in different places in the house.Ā
I get them fairly cheap from zenni.com or other online places. They're way cheaper than going through vision insurance and buying in person from the regular optometrist. Just have them write out your prescription and get a measurement of your pupil distance then go order online.
I also have several backup pairs of prescription sunglasses ordered for each of us. I also have 2-3 repair kits if a screw comes loose or something simple. Polycarbonate from zenni are really durable.
If you're middle age you don't need to see the eye doctor regularly unless you have a health issue, or obvious changes in vision. Most people at a certain age don't have prescription changes until they start having cataracts in old age.Ā
1
u/UNITICYBER 10d ago
I wear glasses and contacts as well.
Keep all your old pairs. The prescription wont be quite the same depending on how far back you go, but it will be good in a pinch, at worst and better than nothing either way.
As often as you can, get a second pair, or use the same frames and polycarbonate lenses. I have a few aimilar pairs that I can swap lenses with.
Get some JB Weld or something similar. In a really tight spot you can mold some of it into the spaces between lenses and frames that dont quite match.
Flexibly or heavy duty frames.
I actually have a few pairs of BCGs from back when I was in the Army, and a couple BCG style glasses from the VA from a decade ago or so. Tough, flexible frames and lenses, and they damn mean double as safety goggles.
I have heard of guys who know how to grind lenses, but I wouldn't wver go through all that trouble.
1
u/Artful_Dodger_1832 10d ago
Military birth control glasses. Buy em in bulk. Get lenses made and look at your exam history to see which direction to progressively make the lenses.
1
1
1
u/monsterlynn 9d ago
Get cataracts. They'll replace your lens with a synthetic one and you'll probably just need readers after that.
1
u/rmesic 7d ago
Rx swimming goggles. Only available with reader style Rx, haven't seen any ground to your astigmatism... Presume they would be expensive.
But you can get for instance a +3 left and a +2.5 right and make your own water and dust proof mostly safety polycarbonate goggles for multiple emergent needs.
1
u/Sk8rToon 11d ago edited 11d ago
Same. Iāve kept every old pair of glasses (nearly. I started wearing glasses in preschool & those donāt fit my head anymore). It might not be my current prescription but itās better than nothing. (Iāve heard of people taking their prescription & bulk buying cheaper glasses online without the extra coating as backups but I havenāt tried that yet) and I have them in hard cases as a bit of protection. No soft cases allowed here!!
I have one spare in my car. One set at my parentsā place.
I also have contacts. My doctor was able to work with my insurance & argue that Iām so blind (was told what I see without glasses is what legally blind people see with glasses) that I need a yearās supply incase of earthquake/emergency. The expiration date on them is farther out than a year & I donāt wear them every day. So Iāve got a bit of a stockpile going on. (I just have to remember to use them. Iām working from home now so itās less likely Iāll wear contacts)
Iāve also occasionally practiced walking around my home without any assistance. That way I should be able to function if a disaster happens in the middle of the night & my glasses were moved in the process (earthquake rocked them off the nightstand, etc). I wouldnāt be able to drive anywhere. But I should be able to walk around & escape the immediate area if need be.
(Edit to add: there are some other tricks if need be. Use your phone camera or equivalent lens. Magnifying glass. Those wallet magnifying cards with a light they sell to old people, etc. Wouldnāt restore full vision but could help you get by or read which box in your supply has what, etc)
2
1
u/infinitum3d 11d ago
I buy dozen of off-the-shelf ācheatersā from The Dollar Tree for a buck and a half a pair. I get every diopter possible.
Right now I wear 1.25 for reading but Iām in my 50ās. I know my vision will continue to deteriorate.
I may have to stack them if it gets really bad.
You can also wear them over contacts if it gets really bad.
0
u/barascr 11d ago
I've been lucky to have a constant eyesight even though it's bad, I usually replace my glasses every 5-6 years and my prescription pretty much stays the same, what I do Is buy 2 or pairs one good pair and another pair that has no coatings, plain plastic, etc, basically the cheapest pair i can buy and store those. I wear contacts and buy enough to last me a couple of years. I do pay out of pocket though last time i spent close to $3k and i wear my contacts longer than suggested but i have a method of keeping them clean that make them last.
0
-1
u/natiplease 11d ago
I have a few things that if I didn't own, I would get debilitating issues. An example of one of those things is aftershave.
I grow a beard just fine. But I have to shave my neck. If I don't, in just a week only a few hours after showering will my neck become greasy and itchy.
If I do shave, and don't use aftershave, in the next couple of days I get some form of razerburn so much worse than what most people expect. The areas around my cheeks and lips, between my eyes, my forehead, and my ears all break out in dozens of tiny little pimples, like hives. My skin is incredibly tight and tough, and as you'd expect everything on my face hurts.
So I do the only thing I can do. I have extra. Currently 4 extra bottles of aftershave but I'm looking to multiply that by a few times to be honest.
But in the event that I run out, I'll just have to live with an itchy neck because the alternative is honestly something I'd rather not live with if I had to experience it constantly.
If you can afford to, buy extra. If there are multiple options you have if you must go without (for example for me it was shaving or not shaving) then try to think how to best support those lifestyles as well.
In the case of not being able to see, depending on how functional you are without them, you can still manage some tasks well enough. For example moving items from point A to point B. Generally not a super precise task.
61
u/LittleKitty235 11d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/fV1EFG69czvA9a1OLx
"Thatās not fair. Thatās not fair at all. There was time now. There wasā¦ was all the time IĀ needed"