Wear bifocals, trifocals or progressives?
If you do, working overhead can seem impossible. You either have to tilt your back at an impossible angle to see through the bottom “near” portion of your glasses, or you have to work half blind while looking through the top “distant” portion.
Or you can keep a cheap pair of reading glasses on hand and switch to those. But who wants to go looking for a pair of glasses in the middle of a project?
Reader Sid Vance on Nova came up with an innovative solution:
If my ‘cheater’ (magnifier) glasses are not within reach, I finally figured out to just put my progressive glasses on upside down!! Now the magnifying part of the lens is on top and my line of sight to my project is straight on!!
I wear progressives, with a fair difference in the prescription in the two lenses. So I wondered if this would help me since it would switch left and right. It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough that I can see to do what I need to. Dave, whose eyes are much closer in their prescription, says it works very well for him.
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Carolyn Shearlock has lived aboard full-time for 17 years, splitting her time between a Tayana 37 monohull and a Gemini 105 catamaran. She’s cruised over 14,000 miles, from Pacific Mexico and Central America to Florida and the Bahamas, gaining firsthand experience with the joys and challenges of life on the water.
Through The Boat Galley, Carolyn has helped thousands of people explore, prepare for, and enjoy life afloat. She shares her expertise as an instructor at Cruisers University, in leading boating publications, and through her bestselling book, The Boat Galley Cookbook. She is passionate about helping others embark on their liveaboard journey—making life on the water simpler, safer, and more enjoyable.
Chrystal Lakeway Henthorne says
Good tip
Annette Cleckner Baker says
too funny!
Mike O'Quin says
Have a relative that is an electrician that is always working overhead. He has a pair of bifocals that are reversed. He loves them.
The Boat Galley says
That would be fantastic if you did a lot like that!
Maurice Lebowitz MD says
Years ago i had top (reversed) bifocals made to solve the problem. They drove me nuts. Constantly needing repositioning!
Several years later I needed surgery for cataracts. I chose “focusing” lens implants which I had to pay for out of pocket. I chose different ones for each eye allowing me to focus @ 18″ on one & 8″ on the other. Your brain sees both simultaneously so acclimating was easy.
I’m told that in Europe people are opting for the focusing implants electively to correct for presbyopia reducing the need for reading glasses post age 40-ish.
They really work and are a godsend. For prolonged reading (hours) I still use minimal magnification readers to avoid fatigue. But for everyday use at stores of 15 -20 minutes reading I go naked without problem.
Maybe Medicare will cover focusing implants.
Diana K Weigel says
I would never have thought of this!
Gregory Thompson says
Gregory Thompson says
I feel foolish too
Ron Dionne says
My brother taught me … it works. I also carry a bit more magnification. But it can be hard to read.
Diana K Weigel says
Brilliant! Both DH & I have bi focal and will try this!
Tom Herrick says
I fight with this all the time in the boat. Readers are kept “nearby” but sometimes… …you know…
Sandi Lisko says
Ever since I have had progressives, I have turned them upside down to work on overhead electrical boxes. Works great for me!
Becky says
Another idea for a weird way to use glasses: While reading and keeping an eye out while under way, I clip a set of sunglass “clip-ons” upside down on my glasses so I can look thru them toward the distance, then look thru the lower reading glasses to read.
Diana K Weigel says
Wish this would work for me. Unfortunately I have too large of a difference in each eye’s prescription. But this will work for hubby.
The Boat Galley says
I wondered if it would work for me, and it did but barely (I have a 1.50 difference between eyes).
Al Holliday says
Best friend was a union carpenter that did suspended ceilings work. He wore trifocals with close work magnification at the top of the lense
Diana K Weigel says
Al Holliday now that is a possible solution for me!
The Boat Galley says
I’d forgotten about it, but yes, you can get a pair made with the prescriptions reversed. Ask your doctor!
Al Holliday says
The Boat Galley they are not reversed. They still have the bottom magnification for reading/ close work. Auto mechanics that work with cars on overhead hoists use the same trifocals