Over 50's club

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Fizz :-) Jul 2020 8:47pm, 28 Jul 2020 4,063 posts	0 Fizz :-) I've worn glasses since I was five. Moved into varifocals about seven or eight years ago, never had a problem with them. And all this talk of glasses has prompted me to write a blog I've been mulling over for weeks.
Dvorak Jul 2020 9:21pm, 28 Jul 2020 20,304 posts	0 Dvorak I wore glasses in my . I don't know how you accurately test a pram-age child for glasses. Little round pink NHS ones. (Why were the NHS frames pink? Another thing I don't know.)
Markymarkmark Jul 2020 10:42pm, 28 Jul 2020 12,266 posts	0 Markymarkmark Dvorak, I think baby blue ones were available too. And yes, very round! But pink is a very manly colour!
Velociraptor Jul 2020 10:45pm, 28 Jul 2020 47,743 posts	0 Velociraptor I remember NHS children's specs being pink, blue, or tortoiseshell. And the baby ones having little round ends to go round their little ears. I was 12 or 13 when I became short-sighted very quickly and got my first pair of glasses. My mother insisted that the NHS frames suited me better than the various paid-for ones I tried. The optician took pity on me and, as I recall, used the expression, "Like something out of the ark." NHS specs had improved massively by the time my children started to need them.
Angus Clydesdale Jul 2020 11:17pm, 28 Jul 2020 19,040 posts	0 Angus Clydesdale I had those NHS specs. And when I joined the army I was issued with Defence Specs (just like NHS specs but with roundy "spring-like" ends to keep them gripped to your lugs). Wore contact lenses from age 18 to when I got laser treatment at age 40. Beginning to experience usual signs of aging now, having to hold my book slightly further away! Hoping the kids take after their mother, who still doesn't need glasses at the age of 46.
Lip Gloss Jul 2020 11:25pm, 28 Jul 2020 42,555 posts	0 Lip Gloss My OH at 61 still doesn't need specs - lucky bugger
GimmeMedals Jul 2020 6:10am, 29 Jul 2020 17,304 posts	0 GimmeMedals I had blue NHS specs from the age of 9 then contacts at 21. I had to go back to glasses at 50 as the varifocal CLs didn’t work for me.
Nellers Jul 2020 6:51am, 29 Jul 2020 36,848 posts	0 Nellers I started to need glasses when I was about 20. I have contacts but don't actually use them much except for exercising (running and cycling are much easier without glasses steaming up/getting rained on). I've had varifocal glasses for the last couple of years and they're great. Makes a big difference. I've never even looked at varifocal or bifocal contacts though. I know they exist but it doesn't seem worth it for the use I'd put them to. (Mrs Nellers wore glasses from her teens. So far has refused to switch to varifocals because they're for old people. All our kids wear glasses already, ages 19 to 22.)
bja61 Jul 2020 8:18am, 29 Jul 2020 127 posts	0 bja61 I was 6 or 7 when I started to wear glasses. Had an eye test at school and had perfect vision. Was then off school with measles for a couple of weeks and when I got back I couldn’t see the blackboard. Prescription was -6 and has been that or worse ever since. May have been coincidence but everyone else in the family had good eyesight into their 50s. Growing up in Jersey there was no such thing as NHS glasses. Every time I came home with a broken lens I could see my Mum worry about the cost, it became one of those things that defined my childhood.
Markymarkmark Jul 2020 8:32am, 29 Jul 2020 12,269 posts	0 Markymarkmark I 5hink even on the NHS there was a limit to how many replacement pairs a child could have in a year. I seem to remember my brother (or Speccy as he was known at school!) being a source of financial pain.... I was prescribed glasses at about 13. Didn't wear them until I got a moped at 16! And I wasn't a cool kid, I just didn't like them!