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Off topic: Myopic translators
Thread poster: eva75
eva75
eva75
English
+ ...
May 8, 2007

I've recently been to see my opthomalogist and now need a prescription of -5. I started off on just under -2 about 7 years ago.

I'm quite scared that if I continue this way, I'll become more myopic.

Have other translators the same problem?


 
Hipyan Nopri
Hipyan Nopri  Identity Verified
Indonesia
Local time: 16:39
Member (2005)
English to Indonesian
+ ...
-7 May 8, 2007

Hello Eva,

I started freelancing in 1990. Now, I have to wear contact lenses because I have -7.

I am curious to hear what happens to other fellow translators' eyes.

Warm Regards

Hipyan


 
Roberta Anderson
Roberta Anderson  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 10:39
Member (2001)
English to Italian
+ ...
no impact in my case May 8, 2007

Hi Eva.

When I started to work in front a computer screen, almost 20 yrs ago, I was already wearing -7 glasses/contacts.
I've been spending an average of 8 hrs/day at my PC since then, and it did not get any worse.

[In fact, although I now spend even more time at the PC, since I past my 40's it got slightly better - I'm now at only -6]

There was a poll about this a while ago, with a few
... See more
Hi Eva.

When I started to work in front a computer screen, almost 20 yrs ago, I was already wearing -7 glasses/contacts.
I've been spending an average of 8 hrs/day at my PC since then, and it did not get any worse.

[In fact, although I now spend even more time at the PC, since I past my 40's it got slightly better - I'm now at only -6]

There was a poll about this a while ago, with a few other translators sharing their experience - see http://www.proz.com/topic/36096

cheers,
Roberta

[Edited at 2007-05-08 09:30]
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eva75
eva75
English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
worried May 8, 2007

Hipyan Nopri wrote:

Hello Eva,

I started freelancing in 1990. Now, I have to wear contact lenses because I have -7.

I am curious to hear what happens to other fellow translators' eyes.

Warm Regards

Hipyan


I don't think I could ever tolerate contacts.

What I'm worried about is the look of thicker lenses.

[Edited at 2007-05-08 09:28]


 
PAS
PAS  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:39
Polish to English
+ ...
Holding out so far May 8, 2007

I have never worn glasses and my eyesight is all right (having embarked on my 5th decade on this planet) and sitting at the computer more or less full time since the early 1990's.

I have always tried to sit as far away from the monitor as reasonably possible, always bought the best/ biggest monitor I could afford, set highest possible refresh rates to reduce monitor flicker, reduced contrast and brightness and set up "earth tone" colour schemes (the ProZ website is good that way).... See more
I have never worn glasses and my eyesight is all right (having embarked on my 5th decade on this planet) and sitting at the computer more or less full time since the early 1990's.

I have always tried to sit as far away from the monitor as reasonably possible, always bought the best/ biggest monitor I could afford, set highest possible refresh rates to reduce monitor flicker, reduced contrast and brightness and set up "earth tone" colour schemes (the ProZ website is good that way).

What does bother me is the right side of my upper back from using the mouse.

Pawel Skalinski



[Edited at 2007-05-08 09:41]
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Angela Dickson (X)
Angela Dickson (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:39
French to English
+ ...
eyestrain May 8, 2007

My eyesight has got a bit worse since I started translating 2.5 years ago - I started at -5.5 in each eye, and I'm nearer -6 now. Spectacle technology has come on in recent years, though, and I now have much thinner lenses than I did when I was a child (at a price!).

 
avsie (X)
avsie (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:39
English to French
+ ...
No impact either May 8, 2007

I've had the same prescription for more than 6 years now, and I've been staring at a computer full-time for about 5 years!

-8.50 for both eyes, plus a cylinder of -1.75 on the left, and a cylinder of -1.25 on the right


 
eva75
eva75
English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
not the worst then May 8, 2007

Marie-Claude Falardeau wrote:

I've had the same prescription for more than 6 years now, and I've been staring at a computer full-time for about 5 years!

-8.50 for both eyes, plus a cylinder of -1.75 on the left, and a cylinder of -1.25 on the right


Oh, that sounds much worse. Do you ever get stares because you wear thick glasses? (I'm very self conscious)


 
Gillian Scheibelein
Gillian Scheibelein  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:39
German to English
+ ...
watch out if you are wearing contacts May 8, 2007

My eyes (-2.5 + -3) haven't changed much since I was a child. I started wearing hard contact lenses over 30 years ago, but start having problems focusing on distant motorway signs, they were very blurred. My opthamologist told me this was due to eyestrain: my eye control muscles for left/right movement (i.e. reading) were strained and were constantly moving my eyeball very very slightly to the left and right (tremor) thus blurring my long-distance vision. He recommended that I should stop wearin... See more
My eyes (-2.5 + -3) haven't changed much since I was a child. I started wearing hard contact lenses over 30 years ago, but start having problems focusing on distant motorway signs, they were very blurred. My opthamologist told me this was due to eyestrain: my eye control muscles for left/right movement (i.e. reading) were strained and were constantly moving my eyeball very very slightly to the left and right (tremor) thus blurring my long-distance vision. He recommended that I should stop wearing contacts whilst working on the computer because the extra weight (!!!) added to the eyestrain and because many people have a lower blink rate thus causing drier eyes.

I now wear a pair of glasses (0.75, -1.0) specially prescribed for working with a computer and feel much more comfortable.

Cheers,
Jill
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Valentina_D
Valentina_D  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:39
English to Italian
+ ...
yes May 8, 2007

Hi,

In my case, it all started off at high school, with -2.25.
Now (I'm 30), I've reached -5.25.

If you can bear contact lenses, I'd recommend them. The only time when my myopia remained stable were the years when I completely replaced glasses with contact lenses.
My ophthalmologist explained that contact lenses can slow down myopia in cases like this (nearsightedness getting worse and worse every year) because the distance from lens to eye is pratically red
... See more
Hi,

In my case, it all started off at high school, with -2.25.
Now (I'm 30), I've reached -5.25.

If you can bear contact lenses, I'd recommend them. The only time when my myopia remained stable were the years when I completely replaced glasses with contact lenses.
My ophthalmologist explained that contact lenses can slow down myopia in cases like this (nearsightedness getting worse and worse every year) because the distance from lens to eye is pratically reduced to zero (in comparison to glasses), so your eyes don't strain at all.

If you decide to use contact lenses, be very careful. I was silly enough years ago to use them over their time limit and had a bad cornea inflammation. Three years ago, I decided to try them again, and now I don't have any problem. I only use one-day disposable lenses (so I'm not tempted to use them longer ). I use glasses when I work at home (so most of the time), and contact lenses when I practise sport or during the week-end.
This works for me. My eyesight has still gotten a little bit worse over the years, but not so dramatically as in the past. It would have stayed stable, probably, if I had worn contact lenses all the time, but I didn't want to risk it again (my eyes are quite dry and that's not ideal for contact lenses).

Working in front of a PC screen all the time isn't probably good for your eyes, but for me the worst time ever were the years spent on books at school/university.

[Edited at 2007-05-08 09:57]
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Heinrich Pesch
Heinrich Pesch  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 11:39
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
No change May 8, 2007

I had the same degree already back in 1990 and 5 years of translating has had no effect.
One colleague here at Proz, Brandis, has had laser treatment last year. I wonder how it worked out for him.
Cheers
Heinrich


 
Valentina_D
Valentina_D  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:39
English to Italian
+ ...
thin lenses May 8, 2007

I wouldn't be too much concerned with this, as there are thin lenses for high myopia, too. My lenses are made of titanium and are as thin as lenses for low myopia (though more expensive).

eva75 wrote:

What I'm worried about is the look of thicker lenses.

[Edited at 2007-05-08 09:28]


 
Yolande Haneder (X)
Yolande Haneder (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:39
German to French
+ ...
Myopia May 8, 2007

I started from -2 in one eye at 6 and now -5,5 nearly 23 years later (I usually wear contact lenses when I have a meeting). I think if this get that bad that quick, you should really get your eyes checked. Myopa is mostly taking place when one is growing. Later on in life, there is the weakening of the sight due to age, but then it is not myopia because you get + something (unfortunately as one optician once told me, + and - does not get you to 0 like in maths, you tend to need bifocal glasses b... See more
I started from -2 in one eye at 6 and now -5,5 nearly 23 years later (I usually wear contact lenses when I have a meeting). I think if this get that bad that quick, you should really get your eyes checked. Myopa is mostly taking place when one is growing. Later on in life, there is the weakening of the sight due to age, but then it is not myopia because you get + something (unfortunately as one optician once told me, + and - does not get you to 0 like in maths, you tend to need bifocal glasses because you get + and - at the same time.

I also read a couple of years ago a study in Britain (OK MANY years go )that showed a strong correlation between reading with low light and myopia and I must admit that I read a lot as a child just with a small light.

As a matter of fact, I always now have a small light close to my computer (even on daytime) to avoid the radiations of my computer on the eyes (never watch TV in the dark) and get my children used to read with the main light on in the evening.
This way, it is much better for the eye to fix something, it is not as tiring.

[Edited at 2007-05-08 10:41]
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Cecilia Di Vita
Cecilia Di Vita  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:39
English to Italian
+ ...
no worsening in recent years May 8, 2007

Heinrich Pesch wrote:

One colleague here at Proz, Brandis, has had laser treatment last year. I wonder how it worked out for him.


My myopia dates back to when I was a 10 year-old kid, and has worsened throughout the years. It just stopped worsening when I finished my University career (i.e. when I stopped reading books and photocopies several hours a day). Now I have -4.5 in both eyes and have a bit of astigmatism (0.25/0.50), but it hasn't worsened since I started working in front of a PC 8 hours a day.

However, as Heinrich sais, it would be interesting to know how the laser treatment worked for our colleagues. I know some people who had this operation and were very satisfied.

As far as contact lenses are concerned, I had the same problem as Tiny several years ago (I used soft lenses) and never got back to them. However, I am always tempted to try daily lenses, as they could easily avoid the problem of an extensive use. Maybe I'll make up my mind, one day or another...

Cheers!

P.S. I agree with Tiny that the thickness of lenses is not a problem anymore. My myopia is quite strong but I always buy extra-thin lenses and use very light glasses. They are more expensive than normal ones but they're definitely worth it

[Modificato alle 2007-05-08 12:03]


 
Niraja Nanjundan (X)
Niraja Nanjundan (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:09
German to English
Have regular check-ups May 8, 2007

Hi,

My eyes have been the same since I was eleven, -4.25 in the right eye and -3.75 in the left. What I'm more worried about though, is that people with myopia are more likely to get eye diseases such as cataract, glaucoma and retina detachment. This can be prevented by going for regular check-ups, so that such diseases can be detected in the early stages, and surgery performed before it is too late.

Best regards,
Niraja

[Edited at 2007-05-08 10:54]


 
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