Eye Drops Could Replace Glasses or Surgery for Longsightedness, Study Says

There are new non laser surgeries either in the testing or just released stages. I only know about them because they were on HN in the past 6 months.

Easiest link I found: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44938818

US has a few look at Vuity - which is for age releated.

I've been wearing glasses for short sightedness for my whole life and also don't wear contacts because the idea of putting them in freaks me out.

I always think about it from the point of view of what would happen if I want to do extended travel. Which method minimizes risk around something going wrong.

For example:

If you put your contacts in luggage and that gets lost or stolen now you have a really big problem with your sight in a foreign country.

If you're dependent on drops, it's the same problem as contacts.

In both cases, even if you do things to minimize losing them they have a limited supply. What if you want to travel for a year, are you comfortable getting the same type you have at home sent to you in a foreign country?

If you're dependent on glasses, typically you wear them all the time so the risk is them getting broken somehow which is rare. I've been wearing glasses my whole life and have never once broke or damaged them. The biggest risk is falling asleep with them on and rolling over them so it's critically important to move them off to the side somewhere. That also means being extra careful if you're sleeping on a bus or outdoors, you need to be really mindful of where your glasses are at all times if you're not wearing them.

The downside to glasses is they can prevent you from experiences. Casual swimming is annoying, especially alone where you also want to watch your bag that could be hundreds of feet away. Also practicing martial arts with sparring is a problem. Showering without being able to see clear isn't too bad in practice but it's a daily thing.

Surgery has the highest potential upside since you effectively become "normal" but the surgery has to go well so there's a risk factor to think about now. I only know 3 people who have gotten lasik in the last ~15 years. 1 of them sees massive halos at night time with lights so they can't drive at night. 1 of them has to use eye drops for dryness even 2 years after surgery. 1 of them had it done about 10 years ago and has no negative side effects but the effects of the surgery are slowly wearing off to where they will need another surgery in the next few years since their eyes have changed.

Personally if I knew surgery had a 99.999% side effect free success rate and at worst I would only need to do it every 10-15 years I would do it but I just can't get past the risk factor. Sight is just too important. I look forward to a day where this is a fully solved problem in a non-invasive way.

Until then I compromise with glasses.

EVO ICL. Or even pinned ICL. Just got it recently, would recommend.

LASIK/SMILE/etc were never and are not safe. At least ICL is fully reversible.

Note that is the current version (EVO) I’m referring to, not the older (Visian) which still involved irreversible steps.

Info: https://eyewiki.org/Implantable_Collamer_Lens

Patient info (simpler language): https://www.rcophth.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Phakic-...

(I paid out of pocket for this and have no affiliation with any clinics)

Have you looked into orthokeratology?

Basically, contact lenses you wear at night (which could perhaps be tolerable for you). Then, your vision stays fine during the day (mostly, it worsens gradually but it's manageable).

I don't use it myself but I have a relative that does and they love it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthokeratology

I had a similar issue with lenses. Those appointments are hell and counter-productive. Firstly, it's a difficult thing to do under pressure. Secondly the more you attempt it the more your eyes get irritated and the more difficult it becomes. Eventually I managed to sort of just shove it in when the optometrist wasn't looking. Then they gave me some to take home and I was able to practice in a less stressful environment and finally got the hang of it. Saying that, if I stop for a while and then go back to them it can take a couple of days to get the reflexes to slow down again. If you can order a pack online without a prescription I'd say it's relatively safe to do that and practice at home provided they've already explained the hygiene basics and you know how to put them in/out, you're just having issues with the blinking.

A similar thing happened to me in my mid-40s. I had been fortunate to have "perfect" vision until suddenly I was complaining about the tiny fonts on labels and started struggling doing small wiring tasks. It wasn't a surprise really, my mother had the best vision in my family and she eventually needed reading glasses. But how suddenly it came on surprised me, although maybe I had actually been compensating all along until I couldn't anymore.

Dollars to doughnuts that "shortsighted" as poor planning would be from the "shortsighted" eye affliction.

since you can only see a short distance ahead.