USAWA

Okay, Thom, now that we all seem to agree that you are not almost 1,000 years old, there is the question of the real age of your vision, which is a lead-in to a post I had thought about making here in recent weeks.

Perhaps most people accept the effects of the aging process, but 46 ain’t old! Not to me, anyway, since I am 66. I have never worn glasses, even reading glasses. But of course I am not immune to the effects of aging and I do use my eyes a lot in writing books. As I might have mentioned in a previous post (but I don’t recall doing so), Georgia requires a vision test for a driver’s license renewal once a person reaches age 64. The state has a very lenient vision requirement, however, as a person’s vision need only be at least 20/60 in the better eye. (The vast majority of states require at least 20/40.)

I thought that surely I would be better than 20/60, but I didn’t want to cut it too close. So I started training for the vision test 6 months ahead of when I would have to take it, doing daily eye exercises and taking specific nutritional supplements (lutein, bilberry, beta carotene, etc.).

My vision was about 20/50 with both eyes when I started my training (i.e., not great). After 6 months I was down to 20/32, so I should have passed the vision test easily. Oddly, when I renewed my license in April, I wasn’t even asked to take the test! I was very surprised by that but I certainly didn’t complain. 🙂

I wasn’t satisfied with 20/32, so I have continued training and now I am down to 20/28. (I use the Internet test at http://www.smbs.buffalo.edu/oph/ped/IVAC/IVAC.html .) My vision was tested by a doctor at 20/15 with both eyes and with my right eye when I was 48, so now I am wondering if I might be able to continue improving and set a “world record” for my age, which would be kinda neat. Maybe I would be close to a record if I could approach 20/15 as I head toward age 70. My muscles can’t lift much anymore so I need to train for a record of some sort.

There are various ways to try to improve vision. Check out the Amazon rank of this book http://www.amazon.com/Relearning-See-Improve-Eyesight-Naturally/dp/1556433417/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1306979662&sr=1-1
and the reviews of it. I have corresponded with the author but I haven’t used much from the book, although I do use palming.

Some of you who have been wearing glasses for decades (such as Joe) may be content doing so, but I am not interested in wearing glasses and don’t intend to do so … even when I am 100. LOL

Tom

Okay, “doubting Al”, I “see” that you are going to take some convincing. 🙂

First, I want to address nutritional supplements.

Optometrists recommend bilberry and lutein for their patients. (For example, see the testimonial at
http://www.buzzillions.com/reviews/olympian-labs-nutra-vision-lutein-bilberry-60-capsules-reviews . See also http://www.preventive-health-guide.com/lutein.html.)

Eye exercises are important, in my opinion and in the opinion of others. See, for example, http://www.wikihow.com/Exercise-Your-Eyes and
http://eyeexercisestoimprovevision.com

Jarrod, I assume that you wear glasses or contacts, as you obviously could not otherwise function since a person with 20/200 vision is considered to be legally blind. With 20/400 in your better eye, you should thus be 20/400 with both eyes.

Al recommends Lasik surgery and Chad has obviously benefited from it, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Why? There are, of course, risks associated with any surgery and the long-term effects of Lasik surgery are apparently not well known at this time. See http://www.lasikcomplications.com/long_term_issues.html and http://www.lasikcomplications.com/risks.htm

I believe in attacking any health problem with a natural approach, which is what I have done for almost half a century.

Tom