Sari, I’m an optometrist. There can be multiple causes of night vision issues. Please have a comprehensive dilated eye exam. If it turns out that you need cataract surgery, get recommendations for the best surgeon you can find— one who does hundreds of procedures a year and has low complication rates. Get a diagnosis before you invest in home grown treatments that could turn out to be useless or unnecessary.
Thank you, Barbara, excellent advice. Also appreciate everyone's comments below. I recently had cataract surgery, in both eyes at once. Although my cataracts weren't that bad, I'm astounded at how much brighter colors are, how I can read without glasses, and that the birds who come to my feeder actually have facial expressions!
I'll be 75 this year and I see an ophthalmologist regularly. In the office, my eyes are fine, swell, no discernable change, but in real life, I struggle! Cataract surgery didn't noticeably change my vision (I had it relatively early, but I also significant astigmatism which wasn't affected by surgery). The yellow non-glare night glasses didn't help much. The biggest change has been getting a new car! With my Subaru Crosstrek's automatic headlights (it turns the brights off when not needed, turns them on when possible), I am seeing much better at night. I've also noted that very well or very poorly lit routes are easiest for me. Busy divided highways are easier than curvy secondary routes with unpredictable headlights coming. Rainy nights are of course the worst, when even the road is glaring with light. It turns out it's not the light or dark, exactly, it's the contrast of lights hurtling towards you in the dark. So my coping strategies are to pick my routes, go a little slower on those curves, aim for daytime driving only in unfamiliar places, and rethink the necessity of my destination on rainy nights.
2022 Subaru Outback owner here - first new car since 2003. As much as I hate meeting the glare of oncoming LED headlights at night, they sure do brighten up the road for me, lol! Love the predictive turning feature on the headlights, where they shift the direction that you're turning. The fog lights help a lot where there's no street lighting, too. Still hate the early darkness of winter, when I have to be home so early in the evening. Like you, I minimize the night driving whenever I can, especially steering clear of the nightmare traffic on the highway system in and around Houston metro.
I saw my eye doctor for the first time in ages the other day (it takes years to get an appointment) and was shocked when she said I had a cataract. ‘Isn’t it usually only old people who have cataracts – I mean really old?’ I mumbled – I’m 55… but she informed me that they can develop at any age and I’d probably had mine since birth. She asked if I was finding it harder to drive at night – ‘Yes!’ and recommended yellow-lensed glasses for night driving. And so, along with my new prescription reading glasses, I ordered some ‘night-vision goggles’, as I like to call them. I was super excited to try them on, and as luck would have it, it was just beginning to get dark when I collected them a week later. As eager as a child at Christmas, I whipped them out as soon as I got to my car, and put them on in the dusk. It was AMAZING! I can’t remember the first time I ever tried on sunglasses so I don’t know if my sense of wonder was the same… suddenly the twilit carpark was transformed as though it was broad daylight at noon! The danger would be that you’d forget to put your headlights on, not realising that it’s getting dark. As I drove home (it’s a long way to the shops), it began to get darker and I was confronted with car headlights in the opposite direction. While they were still slightly bright and confusing (I think my windscreen could do with a good clean too), they appeared yellow rather than white and were less dazzling. Conclusion: I’d definitely recommend them, they do make night driving slightly less terrifying – and they’re really fun to wear at dusk even if you’re not driving - or to look at the moon.
My understanding is that over the past few decades, the tech around cataract surgery has improved so much that people are getting them removed earlier and more often, and the recovery time is very quick. So the idea that only people in their 80s get them removed is outdated! ❤️
I was disappointed with my cataract surgery back in 2013. I was hoping I could see without glasses, but it definitely did not work out that way for me. I know some for whom it was successful.
Pre-cataract, I only needed glasses for distance. After having my cataracts removed, I need two different pairs of glasses, one for reading and one for distance. What a pain in the neck.
My lens implants give me what's called monovision--right eye corrected for closeup and left eye for distance. I have glasses for the zone in between them that's not covered (sitting at the computer) and for extra distance seeing (driving, if I did it, but I don't, and sometimes plays in a large venue). But generally I don't need the glasses and can read menus and see at all but the greatest distances quite well without them. I had had monovision with contact lenses so the doctor said it would work with implants. A great blessing of 20th c medical technology.
This is my normal vision! I assumed everyone had one eye of each and only recently learned that's not true. And my opthalmologist shared that some people actually do what you did. But you're the first person I've "met" who has done so! I'm so grateful for my eyesight -- I've never needed glasses. Since it wasn't your original vision, was it difficult for you to make the adjustment?
I had a really good doctor who spent a lot of time with me making sure I was getting the right correction. And since I had already had monovision in contact lenses, which worked well, it felt natural with the prostheses. I can't remember whether I had any trouble adjusting to the contact lenses. I seem to recall hearing that monovision works for some people but not others.
But aren't you lucky! I spent many years wearing glasses and then contacts.
Yes - my eye doctor did suggest surgery for the near(ish) future. We’re going to talk about it at my next appointment in December. I need to find out just how quick recovery time is, for work etc. (And yes, I’m slightly nervous and putting it off!)
I had cataract surgery but unfortunately I have glaucoma which permanently damaged my vision, at 58, so disheartening in the winter to not drive after 4:30 - ughh! But! onward! The yellow tint glasses sound compelling :)
They were from my opticians, but they’re just neutral lenses, not prescription ones since I don’t need that for driving, so I guess you can get them anywhere
I used them in MI during the winter to see snow-covered roads (the white on white was hard to differentiate) and now I find them quite useful in the night driving arena.
I got mine from my opticians at the same time as my new prescription reading glasses. But as I don’t need glasses for driving, they’re just standard, neutral lenses so I guess you can get them anywhere.
I just chose the frames from my opticians… they offer prescription yellow lenses (which I don’t need for driving) or just neutral ones, which were free with the €30 frames.
Just a PSA about cataract surgery: 70-yr old friend recently had both eyes done, two weeks apart. First eye was fine. Second eye developed what initially looked like a retinal infection within two weeks of surgery. Excessive watering, redness, soreness, feeling of pressure, and headache. Turns out a herpes simplex virus migrated to his retina (found in the retinal fluid). He'd never had any recognizable herpes symptoms, and post-surgery blood tests didn't show positive for HSV. Reading up on it, apparently it's fairly common after cataract surgery, and some surgeons are recommending pre-surgical testing, as well as consideration of higher risk factors for those who have had previous herpes outbreaks. The steroid drops prescribed after the surgery are known "activators" of the virus. Apparently, HSV types 1 and 2 (as well as the zoster shingles virus) can be dormant and hide in the spinal cord for decades, then become active again with surgery, immunosuppressant drugs, or even stress. None of the eyes docs or surgeon even mentioned HSV or HZV as risks before his surgery, or asked if he'd ever had an outbreak. Nor did they indicate that there could be elevated risk due to him having his spleen removed at a young age, which leaves a person more prone to infection. He was (quote) "just unlucky", and is now facing the possibility of retinal necrosis (blindness) or another risky surgery. This was a very popular and professional surgical facility specializing in cataracts, too. Don't cheap out on your future vision, folks - be sure to ask about the details of possible complications, and their frequency at the facility (or surgeon) you're choosing. They don't tell you if you don't ask, and the consent forms you sign are vague enough that they are protected from legal recourse.
Dang. Do your research, and ask lots of questions. The best surgeons have a pre-surgical steroid protocol for previous HSV/HPV infections. If they are dismissive about your risks, get a second opinion elsewhere. In fact, run away. It's not worth the risk, especially at your age. Once you get the virus inside your eyeball (retina), it's about 50% likely to recur in either eye. Not sure about the stats on having had it outside the eye, though.
I had cataract surgery and a few years later had lots of new floaters in the left eye. Fast forward to retina detachment. Surgery to repair =putting a “buckle” in my eye to hold it in place along with a gas bubble that blocks vision and takes 8 weeks to slowly dissolve. I had to spend one week flat on my stomach for 50 min out of every waking hour. Result: that eye is now near sighted (my cataract surgery had been to correct in favor of far-sighted and eliminated need for progressives. Now I wear progressives again)
My retina doc said it’s not uncommon for this to happen after cataract surgery. So, ask about risk. We’ve been led to believe cataract surgery is inevitable and beneficial.
My night vision was ruined by cataract surgery. Apparently, the whazoo “multi-focal” cataract lenses I got are the worst for night vision. Of course, NO ONE ever mentioned that.
Be careful with Cataract lenses and make sure to get the lens that will work FOR YOU, not the lens that your eye surgeon is pushing for the company that is paying him to sell their product.
If I could get the lenses I have replaced, I would!
I am almost 45 and have struggled with night driving for it seems like forever. Like you, I struggle with depth perception and all the lights feel extra blinding, add in rain and it’s a nightmare experience. There are events I don’t go to, like at my local bookstore, if they happen when it is too dark because of this. I’ve asked my optometrists and he says it is because of my astigmatism. He has also suggested the special glasses but says that only works for some of the issues. I do know, at least in my case, it is genetic. I recall my aunt refusing to drive at night because of the same issues. My mother is no longer alive so I can’t ask her—but I don’t recall her complaining about it—but that doesn’t mean much, as she hardly ever voiced a complaint and kept most things inside of herself. My father just had cataract surgery in both eyes and I haven’t asked him about night driving but I know the typical cloudiness from cataracts is now all gone and his daytime vision is restored. Because cataracts and glaucoma and macular degeneration all run in my family, I get checked more in depth for all that and so far my only so-called issue, besides my near-sighted need for glasses, is the astigmatism, which apparently has never been bad enough to need it corrected for in my glasses or contacts. I think in my head I’ve resigned myself to reaching a point where I don’t drive at night but if there is some magic answer out there to fix it I would sign up for sure! Right now, I still drive at night but only short distances (within 15 mins of home) and if I can I use backroads even if it takes longer to avoid high speeds and lots of headlights or construction lights. Like you, I love the summer months when it stays lighter longer and go to ALL the things inside the evening then.
I have pretty much stopped driving at night. I'm 77 and hail and hearty in all other respects. I find the transition from light to dark and vice versa the most difficult. I have had cataract surgery which helped some, but did not alleviate the problem totally. I can drive at night on highways and can do short distances in areas I know well. Driving in the rain at night is a nightmare! I've tried those yellow glasses to assist with the glare, but find they are a little use. At this point in my life, I avoid activities that make me drive in the dark. Luckily I have friends who can still drive at night and family members who are willing to accommodate my disability, if you can call it that. One of the worst things( and I think you'll find a lot of people with this complaint) is the new ultra bright headlights. They are a danger to everyone on the road, and I would hope at some point would be banned. But that's for another day..
I'm 68 and I am with you, Sari. This is from an essay I wrote in 2005 (when I was just 48!!!) Though I now wear glasses, night driving is still SO challenging!
"It has been gradually, then rapidly, becoming apparent that I am heading toward blind-as-a-batness....Last month, driving in an unfamiliar neighborhood in the rain, and the dark, I had to get out of the car twice to walk over to the street signs to read them. When I can read signs at all, I comically misinterpret them. In my hazy world, 7-11 advertises for 'overweight cashiers,' and Hertz offers a great rate on 'dental cats.'
There is really is no plausible reason for my letting my vision slide to this degree. Me, who cries over beautiful sunsets (or did back in the days when I could see them). Me, who loves to read almost more than anything else. And what’s with me endangering other people as I grab those car keys and speed away, in which direction I can’t quite tell?
So it’s off to read that goofy eye chart. Strangely, I’ll miss my myopia, though. Miss the gentle blurring of the rough edges of life. But I do believe it’s high time I began to see."
67 here, had cataract surgery this year and it's been fantastic. Sorted out any concerns I'd started to have driving in low light conditions. I do wear "top up" glasses for driving and they are treated for glare reduction - very effective. Highly recommend it.
Yes I did. They referred me for surgery and managed all the check-ups. Very convenient. I'm in the UK - in case that's relevant. I can ask them what the proper terminology is for the glare reduction feature if that helps?
I’m 67 and yes, driving at night sucks especially when it’s super dark (I live in northern Michigan) and people use their brights. I think cataract surgery is in my future. I did have those glasses and promptly lost them.
Seems like people have forgotten that you're supposed to turn off your brights when in close proximity to other cars...? So many cars and trucks with their brights on lately!
i thought folks were driving with their "brights" on, but noticed it usually was just the normal LED headlamp (at least that is my perception). they are just so much brighter!
Sari, I’m an optometrist. There can be multiple causes of night vision issues. Please have a comprehensive dilated eye exam. If it turns out that you need cataract surgery, get recommendations for the best surgeon you can find— one who does hundreds of procedures a year and has low complication rates. Get a diagnosis before you invest in home grown treatments that could turn out to be useless or unnecessary.
Thanks, Barbara. Yes, will do.
Thank you, Barbara, excellent advice. Also appreciate everyone's comments below. I recently had cataract surgery, in both eyes at once. Although my cataracts weren't that bad, I'm astounded at how much brighter colors are, how I can read without glasses, and that the birds who come to my feeder actually have facial expressions!
I'll be 75 this year and I see an ophthalmologist regularly. In the office, my eyes are fine, swell, no discernable change, but in real life, I struggle! Cataract surgery didn't noticeably change my vision (I had it relatively early, but I also significant astigmatism which wasn't affected by surgery). The yellow non-glare night glasses didn't help much. The biggest change has been getting a new car! With my Subaru Crosstrek's automatic headlights (it turns the brights off when not needed, turns them on when possible), I am seeing much better at night. I've also noted that very well or very poorly lit routes are easiest for me. Busy divided highways are easier than curvy secondary routes with unpredictable headlights coming. Rainy nights are of course the worst, when even the road is glaring with light. It turns out it's not the light or dark, exactly, it's the contrast of lights hurtling towards you in the dark. So my coping strategies are to pick my routes, go a little slower on those curves, aim for daytime driving only in unfamiliar places, and rethink the necessity of my destination on rainy nights.
"the contrast of lights hurtling towards you in the dark" — that is the best description of what it feels like!
2022 Subaru Outback owner here - first new car since 2003. As much as I hate meeting the glare of oncoming LED headlights at night, they sure do brighten up the road for me, lol! Love the predictive turning feature on the headlights, where they shift the direction that you're turning. The fog lights help a lot where there's no street lighting, too. Still hate the early darkness of winter, when I have to be home so early in the evening. Like you, I minimize the night driving whenever I can, especially steering clear of the nightmare traffic on the highway system in and around Houston metro.
Yes on the Crosstrek headlights! We bought ours in fall 2023 and it's really helped a lot.
I think you just sold a ton of Subarus!
Ha!
I saw my eye doctor for the first time in ages the other day (it takes years to get an appointment) and was shocked when she said I had a cataract. ‘Isn’t it usually only old people who have cataracts – I mean really old?’ I mumbled – I’m 55… but she informed me that they can develop at any age and I’d probably had mine since birth. She asked if I was finding it harder to drive at night – ‘Yes!’ and recommended yellow-lensed glasses for night driving. And so, along with my new prescription reading glasses, I ordered some ‘night-vision goggles’, as I like to call them. I was super excited to try them on, and as luck would have it, it was just beginning to get dark when I collected them a week later. As eager as a child at Christmas, I whipped them out as soon as I got to my car, and put them on in the dusk. It was AMAZING! I can’t remember the first time I ever tried on sunglasses so I don’t know if my sense of wonder was the same… suddenly the twilit carpark was transformed as though it was broad daylight at noon! The danger would be that you’d forget to put your headlights on, not realising that it’s getting dark. As I drove home (it’s a long way to the shops), it began to get darker and I was confronted with car headlights in the opposite direction. While they were still slightly bright and confusing (I think my windscreen could do with a good clean too), they appeared yellow rather than white and were less dazzling. Conclusion: I’d definitely recommend them, they do make night driving slightly less terrifying – and they’re really fun to wear at dusk even if you’re not driving - or to look at the moon.
My understanding is that over the past few decades, the tech around cataract surgery has improved so much that people are getting them removed earlier and more often, and the recovery time is very quick. So the idea that only people in their 80s get them removed is outdated! ❤️
Good to know!
I was disappointed with my cataract surgery back in 2013. I was hoping I could see without glasses, but it definitely did not work out that way for me. I know some for whom it was successful.
Oh, that’s a drag.
Pre-cataract, I only needed glasses for distance. After having my cataracts removed, I need two different pairs of glasses, one for reading and one for distance. What a pain in the neck.
My lens implants give me what's called monovision--right eye corrected for closeup and left eye for distance. I have glasses for the zone in between them that's not covered (sitting at the computer) and for extra distance seeing (driving, if I did it, but I don't, and sometimes plays in a large venue). But generally I don't need the glasses and can read menus and see at all but the greatest distances quite well without them. I had had monovision with contact lenses so the doctor said it would work with implants. A great blessing of 20th c medical technology.
This is my normal vision! I assumed everyone had one eye of each and only recently learned that's not true. And my opthalmologist shared that some people actually do what you did. But you're the first person I've "met" who has done so! I'm so grateful for my eyesight -- I've never needed glasses. Since it wasn't your original vision, was it difficult for you to make the adjustment?
I had a really good doctor who spent a lot of time with me making sure I was getting the right correction. And since I had already had monovision in contact lenses, which worked well, it felt natural with the prostheses. I can't remember whether I had any trouble adjusting to the contact lenses. I seem to recall hearing that monovision works for some people but not others.
But aren't you lucky! I spent many years wearing glasses and then contacts.
So interesting! Thank you for sharing, Stephanie! And I'm glad you get to enjoy such good vision now!
I was supposed to get clear vision for near, medium-range, and far after my surgery. Nope.
Yes - my eye doctor did suggest surgery for the near(ish) future. We’re going to talk about it at my next appointment in December. I need to find out just how quick recovery time is, for work etc. (And yes, I’m slightly nervous and putting it off!)
Got a link to the glasses you got?
Get Zeiss Night Lenses at your optometrist. You can have them made with your prescription. They are truly a game-changer!
I had cataract surgery but unfortunately I have glaucoma which permanently damaged my vision, at 58, so disheartening in the winter to not drive after 4:30 - ughh! But! onward! The yellow tint glasses sound compelling :)
I’ll ask for those!
These are the ones I bought. I was wrong about the price! Only $12. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Q86KBKP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They were from my opticians, but they’re just neutral lenses, not prescription ones since I don’t need that for driving, so I guess you can get them anywhere
Yes, please--because the ones I tried were useless
The yellow lenses sound like a big help. I'll check to see if they have clip on versions to put over my Rx glasses.
I used them in MI during the winter to see snow-covered roads (the white on white was hard to differentiate) and now I find them quite useful in the night driving arena.
I'd love to know what kind of yellow-lense glasses you got? Were they from an optometrist, or just standard ones you could get on Amazon? Thank you!
I got mine from my opticians at the same time as my new prescription reading glasses. But as I don’t need glasses for driving, they’re just standard, neutral lenses so I guess you can get them anywhere.
How cool! What brand did you purchase?
I just chose the frames from my opticians… they offer prescription yellow lenses (which I don’t need for driving) or just neutral ones, which were free with the €30 frames.
Yes, I am 65 and had cataract surgery a few years ago and it helped my night driving immensely. It was like night and day, no pun intended.
Good one, even though unintended.
Just a PSA about cataract surgery: 70-yr old friend recently had both eyes done, two weeks apart. First eye was fine. Second eye developed what initially looked like a retinal infection within two weeks of surgery. Excessive watering, redness, soreness, feeling of pressure, and headache. Turns out a herpes simplex virus migrated to his retina (found in the retinal fluid). He'd never had any recognizable herpes symptoms, and post-surgery blood tests didn't show positive for HSV. Reading up on it, apparently it's fairly common after cataract surgery, and some surgeons are recommending pre-surgical testing, as well as consideration of higher risk factors for those who have had previous herpes outbreaks. The steroid drops prescribed after the surgery are known "activators" of the virus. Apparently, HSV types 1 and 2 (as well as the zoster shingles virus) can be dormant and hide in the spinal cord for decades, then become active again with surgery, immunosuppressant drugs, or even stress. None of the eyes docs or surgeon even mentioned HSV or HZV as risks before his surgery, or asked if he'd ever had an outbreak. Nor did they indicate that there could be elevated risk due to him having his spleen removed at a young age, which leaves a person more prone to infection. He was (quote) "just unlucky", and is now facing the possibility of retinal necrosis (blindness) or another risky surgery. This was a very popular and professional surgical facility specializing in cataracts, too. Don't cheap out on your future vision, folks - be sure to ask about the details of possible complications, and their frequency at the facility (or surgeon) you're choosing. They don't tell you if you don't ask, and the consent forms you sign are vague enough that they are protected from legal recourse.
Dang. Do your research, and ask lots of questions. The best surgeons have a pre-surgical steroid protocol for previous HSV/HPV infections. If they are dismissive about your risks, get a second opinion elsewhere. In fact, run away. It's not worth the risk, especially at your age. Once you get the virus inside your eyeball (retina), it's about 50% likely to recur in either eye. Not sure about the stats on having had it outside the eye, though.
I had cataract surgery and a few years later had lots of new floaters in the left eye. Fast forward to retina detachment. Surgery to repair =putting a “buckle” in my eye to hold it in place along with a gas bubble that blocks vision and takes 8 weeks to slowly dissolve. I had to spend one week flat on my stomach for 50 min out of every waking hour. Result: that eye is now near sighted (my cataract surgery had been to correct in favor of far-sighted and eliminated need for progressives. Now I wear progressives again)
My retina doc said it’s not uncommon for this to happen after cataract surgery. So, ask about risk. We’ve been led to believe cataract surgery is inevitable and beneficial.
Oy vey. Thanks for letting me know about this! Sorry it happened to you.
Oh, no. I've had shingles near my eye, three times...
1. Have the surgery-it will only get
worse.
2, Most people benefit greatly
3. Reward yourself with some
really cool new eyeglass frames
Three pair for $16 at Amazon. They help. I'm 84. Are we allowed to post links?
Here it is,
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLSC653L?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details
Thank you! Yes, I welcome links!
While I have no expertise in this area, car lights have definitely changed over the decades. Good luck with getting to the bottom of it
Thanks, Lyn!
My night vision was ruined by cataract surgery. Apparently, the whazoo “multi-focal” cataract lenses I got are the worst for night vision. Of course, NO ONE ever mentioned that.
Be careful with Cataract lenses and make sure to get the lens that will work FOR YOU, not the lens that your eye surgeon is pushing for the company that is paying him to sell their product.
If I could get the lenses I have replaced, I would!
Interesting. Thanks.
My mulitfocal turned out to be monofocal. I wear one contact on the other eye and reading glasses.
I am almost 45 and have struggled with night driving for it seems like forever. Like you, I struggle with depth perception and all the lights feel extra blinding, add in rain and it’s a nightmare experience. There are events I don’t go to, like at my local bookstore, if they happen when it is too dark because of this. I’ve asked my optometrists and he says it is because of my astigmatism. He has also suggested the special glasses but says that only works for some of the issues. I do know, at least in my case, it is genetic. I recall my aunt refusing to drive at night because of the same issues. My mother is no longer alive so I can’t ask her—but I don’t recall her complaining about it—but that doesn’t mean much, as she hardly ever voiced a complaint and kept most things inside of herself. My father just had cataract surgery in both eyes and I haven’t asked him about night driving but I know the typical cloudiness from cataracts is now all gone and his daytime vision is restored. Because cataracts and glaucoma and macular degeneration all run in my family, I get checked more in depth for all that and so far my only so-called issue, besides my near-sighted need for glasses, is the astigmatism, which apparently has never been bad enough to need it corrected for in my glasses or contacts. I think in my head I’ve resigned myself to reaching a point where I don’t drive at night but if there is some magic answer out there to fix it I would sign up for sure! Right now, I still drive at night but only short distances (within 15 mins of home) and if I can I use backroads even if it takes longer to avoid high speeds and lots of headlights or construction lights. Like you, I love the summer months when it stays lighter longer and go to ALL the things inside the evening then.
I think it started for me in my late 40s, too.
I have pretty much stopped driving at night. I'm 77 and hail and hearty in all other respects. I find the transition from light to dark and vice versa the most difficult. I have had cataract surgery which helped some, but did not alleviate the problem totally. I can drive at night on highways and can do short distances in areas I know well. Driving in the rain at night is a nightmare! I've tried those yellow glasses to assist with the glare, but find they are a little use. At this point in my life, I avoid activities that make me drive in the dark. Luckily I have friends who can still drive at night and family members who are willing to accommodate my disability, if you can call it that. One of the worst things( and I think you'll find a lot of people with this complaint) is the new ultra bright headlights. They are a danger to everyone on the road, and I would hope at some point would be banned. But that's for another day..
I'm 68 and I am with you, Sari. This is from an essay I wrote in 2005 (when I was just 48!!!) Though I now wear glasses, night driving is still SO challenging!
"It has been gradually, then rapidly, becoming apparent that I am heading toward blind-as-a-batness....Last month, driving in an unfamiliar neighborhood in the rain, and the dark, I had to get out of the car twice to walk over to the street signs to read them. When I can read signs at all, I comically misinterpret them. In my hazy world, 7-11 advertises for 'overweight cashiers,' and Hertz offers a great rate on 'dental cats.'
There is really is no plausible reason for my letting my vision slide to this degree. Me, who cries over beautiful sunsets (or did back in the days when I could see them). Me, who loves to read almost more than anything else. And what’s with me endangering other people as I grab those car keys and speed away, in which direction I can’t quite tell?
So it’s off to read that goofy eye chart. Strangely, I’ll miss my myopia, though. Miss the gentle blurring of the rough edges of life. But I do believe it’s high time I began to see."
Thanks for letting me know you really get this, Elise.
I’ve begun misreading stuff too. I thought it was my lack of attention, not vision, issue though.
Hertz dental cats really made me laugh! 😸
67 here, had cataract surgery this year and it's been fantastic. Sorted out any concerns I'd started to have driving in low light conditions. I do wear "top up" glasses for driving and they are treated for glare reduction - very effective. Highly recommend it.
Where did the glasses come from? Did you get them from your optometrist?
Yes I did. They referred me for surgery and managed all the check-ups. Very convenient. I'm in the UK - in case that's relevant. I can ask them what the proper terminology is for the glare reduction feature if that helps?
Very relevant. Glasses from eye doctor's office very expensive in US and generally not covered by insurance,
Young or older, led headligths have an impact on night driving.
I’m 67 and yes, driving at night sucks especially when it’s super dark (I live in northern Michigan) and people use their brights. I think cataract surgery is in my future. I did have those glasses and promptly lost them.
Seems like people have forgotten that you're supposed to turn off your brights when in close proximity to other cars...? So many cars and trucks with their brights on lately!
i thought folks were driving with their "brights" on, but noticed it usually was just the normal LED headlamp (at least that is my perception). they are just so much brighter!
I'm curious. Is this something that affects women more than men? I'm not seeing them respond here?
I wouldn’t be surprised if estrogen depletion makes this worse for women…