My eye prescription is -8. Am I going blind!?

Question

I have HORRIBLE eyesight. My prescription is -8! I am terrified that it is going to keep getting worse and worse and never stop. I am only 19 and know nobody else that has this bad of eyesight. Should I be worried?

Answer 1

No, it's not leading to blindness.  I was the same way at your age.  Not to cause you any more worry, but my eyes have gotten worse every year, but fortunately, with new advances in eyeglasses lens materials and contact lenses, I am still able to enjoy an accurate prescription and relatively clear vision.  The prescription just gets more complicated is all, so make sure you have a really good eye doctor that does more than just dispense corrective lenses...he should do an in-depth, dilated exam every year.  Persons with higher prescriptions are more likely to suffer from complications like retinal detachment, etc.

Even though my prescription is now -12 for contacts and -14 for my eyeglasses, my ophthalmologist insists that there is no reason to worry that he won't be able to correct my visit indefinitely.

It just bites, though...I hear ya!

Answer 2

Hello fellow four-eyes!  Really, though,  I have -7.50 and -8.00.  They have started going the other way (down in prescription strength) since I turned 35.  Technically, we are legally blind without corrective lenses.  I don't know about you but I can still manage to see REALLY big things without my glasses.  Kind of funny when people ask me to take off my glasses and ask me what COLOR something is!  I am NOT color blind, fool!  Anyway, I manage with a smaller frame and specialty lenses so they don't appear as thick on the sides (like pop bottles) and that works well.  Also, don't ask them to "roll" the edges, just polish them and the lenses will not look so thick.  

Answer 3

no, you're not going blind.  You just have a high prescription.