Your help

[Trish_GlaucomaUK]

Hello Everyone,

I am looking at doing an article for our next Newsletter on how glaucoma can effect glare or difficulty looking at bright surfaces/walls etc.,

I would like to know how you combat these issues. You may have useful hints and tips that I haven't thought of, which could help anyone experiencing these types of problems.

I look forward to your replies.

Trish 😊

[Beecalmed]

Hi Trish,

Just the obvious one, if you wear glasses, of getting photochromatic lenses that darken in bright light.

They don’t always work well inside cars when driving though. The best thing I found for driving to decrease glare were polarised sunglasses which still allow you to see true colours (like traffic lights) but take the edge off glare from sun or in winter for glare from wet roads, snow or ice.

My biggest issue with glare was actually in my home which is really bright in some rooms and I was just unable to see or remain in there comfortably . So I got photochromatic lenses and they adjust quickly to the light level in each room and mean I can finally enjoy all rooms in my home. 🙂

Glare when driving at night from headlights is still an issue for me. I haven’t found a solution for that and I have tried night time driving lenses. So sadly I now prefer not to drive at night in the dark or at twilight as the dwindling light also seems to make it difficult to see clearly too.

[Hidden]

Hi Trish, I don’t have any answers but I do suffer from bright lights & white floors in some supermarkets which make me feel dizzy so I would welcome any suggestions on how to overcome this problem. Thanks

[frankthebank in reply to Hidden]

I work in supermarkets as a refrigeration engineer and Green tinted glasses saved me from this problem, they even improve vision, they sell them on the rnib website.

[muddledme]

Hello Trish,

Following two Preserflo implants I found bright indoor lights and sunny days could be a problem. For me it can be quite uncomfortable and dazzling. I tried sunglasses without success as they all seemed to restrict vision too much. I find a peaked cap in the garden is excellent and a cloth visor useful to put in a bag or pocket when out and about.

A straw hat is kept in the car but the visor or a cap is often better .

Last year in Accident and Emergecy I was in bed with a flourescent light shining in my eyes from above. This was very uncomfortable , almost like torture ! and I made a note to always take a visor with me if I am ever admited to hospital again.

Best wishes

[tkhach44]

I had been at a very arrogant eye doctor , who damaged my healthy left eye that was healthy 5 years ago, while my right eye had glaucoma. He just wanted to check my healthy eye to PREVENT it from getting glaucoma on it too. After 2 times checking it out with his methods of flashing a strong light into my healthy eye, and asking me to look directly into the light, I began to have glare in it, and seeing double, and auras around lights, just after coming out of his office. Returning back to him, as the glare was so strong looking around with my "healthy" eye, he pretended that everything will be OK after one week. However it's been 5 years the double vision and the auras around lights at night are still bothering me so much. And all this trouble is happening with my "healthy" left eye, where there is no Glaucoma. That Dr pretended that double vision is related to my glaucoma in right eye, which was not true, as my double vision was happening even after closing the glaucoma right eye with my hand. So I had to change my doctor, who accepted that I look at the light (checking the backround of the eye) in a sideway direction, and not directly into that light. Now after 5 years, the glare has decreased by 50 %, and it's bothering me to drive at night.

[Islandhome]

I have always been sensitive to bright light even before glaucoma so had reactalight glasses. However, the most troubling glare I have now is the bright white FOV machines they all seem to use. Stare at it for long enough I can see many reflections of orange light which, to me anyway, seems to defeat the object. Much better results with black background ones. Would be interested to know if you find others with this problem and what they do about it.

[Trish_GlaucomaUK Partner]

Thank you all for your very helpful suggestions regarding glare.

[Biosphere in reply to Trish_GlaucomaUK]

I find cocoon overglasses a life saver. I wear them all the time, using different shades for different lighting….my bag has at leadt theee pairs of sunglasses in ! I am very sensitive to glare and bright lights and find computer screens a nightmare. Green filters are useful. I also use izipizi glacier sunglasses in extreme sunlight as they block out all the light. Also wear a wide brimmed hat.

[GlaucomaMe]

Perhaps you should consider the development of cataracts in considering glare? I suffer greatly in this bright sunlight that we are currently having. A dark peaked cap works best for me but I also use polarised glasses. The dark glasses on their own are not that effective. But as I’ve had a trab in each eye I wear them as I am concerned about developing cataracts. So a question is will a peaked cap help protect against cataracts developing or are dark glasses the most effective? It’s just that I look like a bandit wearing both.