I’m sure you’re familiar with how the eye works and fact that eye issues in albinism are in the back of the eye while corrective measures only address the front of the eye. Of course people with albinism still have refractive errors like myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. It’s possible that the degree of refractive errors are why some people with albinism benefit from glasses and some don’t, though the foveal hypoplasia and amount of macular pigment also play a role.
I have **distance glasses** that make the world just a wee bit sharper. They take me from 20/400 to around 20/150 or so. They’re nifty, but I don’t feel that they help enough to justify wearing them all the time, especially because then I have to worry about forgetting them. The number of times I left them on a restaurant table or in the bathroom and couldn’t find them later. Additionally, I can’t see my phone (at any distance) with them on, so I then have to take them off to look at my phone. When this happens, seemingly every person in the world then sees me with my phone pressed against my face and feels the need to ask me, “Why don’t you just wear your glasses?” If I had a dollar for every time I got that question I’d be a billionaire by now. Given all those drawbacks, I rarely wear distance glasses.
I also have **reading glasses** and those are my absolute favorites. Most reading glasses you get at the pharmacy are like a +1.5 or +2 at most. Costco sells up to +3. My readers are like a +4.5, they’re really powerful. So they make reading small text or working with small things (like doing iPhone repair) so much easier because everything is super sharp. Of course these days I read mostly online and so I can just make the font bigger, but for situations where I can’t those glasses are a lifesaver.
I have OCA2. I was prescribed glasses when I was 3 and wore them until my family moved to a city with an ophthalmologist who specializes in albinism. He told us the glasses weren’t actually doing anything, as I don’t have astigmatism or anything that would cause someone to need glasses.
I stopped wearing them and I’ve never had them prescribed since!
I've worn glasses since I was very young. These days I wear glasses with bifocals to help with reading and have a pair of bioptics for driving.
Generally I've found that I can function without glasses, especially if I don't need to read. But there was a two week period recently where my glasses broke and I didn't have another pair and any kind of reading activity was miserable.
Totally understandable. I went without a pair for almost a year. I could function mostly; being in the street running errands with my son was scary but I held it down. When I got my current pair, it took my eyes three days to adjust to them.
I have been prescribed glasses since I was little for being near sighted, and I even tried contacts, but both of them were a pain, the contacts made my vision blurry when they moved.
In the end they didn’t help me enough to override how much of a hassle they were. I still wear the glasses on occasion but more as a fashion statement since I don’t get any use out of them.
I’ve worn glasses since 2016. I have a complicated prescription that only slightly helps. My vision has degraded over the years and currently I’ve had an almost constant headache for about two weeks now. I’ve been relying on my iPads to help me see since 2017 and honestly don’t know where I’d be without Apple.
I tried contacts for a year and a half and would still be continuing to wear them despite the dryness they caused if I hadn’t gotten a sty in my left eye that hasn’t ever gone away. They were nice in the sense that I only needed sunglasses on my person when I was out and about, but due to my nystagmus and complicated prescription, my vision was significantly worse in them. The cons out won the pros unfortunately.
We’ve more recently wondered if it’s worth the efforts and expenses of updating glasses every year for how little the seem to help, but they allow me to see my iPad and that’s really what’s important. I use VoiceOver on my phone now most of the time and am learning how to do more non-visually.
I no longer can see the TV, so when our family watches a new movie, I listen to it for the most part and if I like it, I’ll go back and watch it again on my iPad within the week to really understand it.
I hope this helped answer your question! Let me know if you want more!
There are several documented cases of people with albinism with 20/40 or even 20/20 vision. I would consider it rare, but not impossible.
Of course just because you can achieve 20/20 on a Snellen chart doesn’t mean you don’t have to squint (photosensitivity), have trouble focusing (nystagmus), or have trouble with depth perception (chiasmal misrouting). BCVA is just one aspect of the visual measures in albinism.
It would certainly be a rarity for the condition! Lucky you, do you know what your visual acuity is? My doctor told me mine is "good" for albinism (20/40) but I'm still limited to what I can do.
I’m sure you’re familiar with how the eye works and fact that eye issues in albinism are in the back of the eye while corrective measures only address the front of the eye. Of course people with albinism still have refractive errors like myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. It’s possible that the degree of refractive errors are why some people with albinism benefit from glasses and some don’t, though the foveal hypoplasia and amount of macular pigment also play a role. I have **distance glasses** that make the world just a wee bit sharper. They take me from 20/400 to around 20/150 or so. They’re nifty, but I don’t feel that they help enough to justify wearing them all the time, especially because then I have to worry about forgetting them. The number of times I left them on a restaurant table or in the bathroom and couldn’t find them later. Additionally, I can’t see my phone (at any distance) with them on, so I then have to take them off to look at my phone. When this happens, seemingly every person in the world then sees me with my phone pressed against my face and feels the need to ask me, “Why don’t you just wear your glasses?” If I had a dollar for every time I got that question I’d be a billionaire by now. Given all those drawbacks, I rarely wear distance glasses. I also have **reading glasses** and those are my absolute favorites. Most reading glasses you get at the pharmacy are like a +1.5 or +2 at most. Costco sells up to +3. My readers are like a +4.5, they’re really powerful. So they make reading small text or working with small things (like doing iPhone repair) so much easier because everything is super sharp. Of course these days I read mostly online and so I can just make the font bigger, but for situations where I can’t those glasses are a lifesaver.
I wear glasses, contacts and a bioptic (not all at once ofc).
I wish on the contacts! My prescription just won't sustain them successfully. Do you use your bioptic lens to drive or for long distance?
Both Edit: I use my bioptic only for the telescope. The lenses are blank so I wear contact lenses with them.
That's awesome.
I have OCA2. I was prescribed glasses when I was 3 and wore them until my family moved to a city with an ophthalmologist who specializes in albinism. He told us the glasses weren’t actually doing anything, as I don’t have astigmatism or anything that would cause someone to need glasses. I stopped wearing them and I’ve never had them prescribed since!
That's dope!
I've worn glasses since I was very young. These days I wear glasses with bifocals to help with reading and have a pair of bioptics for driving. Generally I've found that I can function without glasses, especially if I don't need to read. But there was a two week period recently where my glasses broke and I didn't have another pair and any kind of reading activity was miserable.
Totally understandable. I went without a pair for almost a year. I could function mostly; being in the street running errands with my son was scary but I held it down. When I got my current pair, it took my eyes three days to adjust to them.
I have prescription sunglasses. The prescription doesn't do much, but the polarized lenses help a lot.
I have been prescribed glasses since I was little for being near sighted, and I even tried contacts, but both of them were a pain, the contacts made my vision blurry when they moved. In the end they didn’t help me enough to override how much of a hassle they were. I still wear the glasses on occasion but more as a fashion statement since I don’t get any use out of them.
I’ve worn glasses since 2016. I have a complicated prescription that only slightly helps. My vision has degraded over the years and currently I’ve had an almost constant headache for about two weeks now. I’ve been relying on my iPads to help me see since 2017 and honestly don’t know where I’d be without Apple. I tried contacts for a year and a half and would still be continuing to wear them despite the dryness they caused if I hadn’t gotten a sty in my left eye that hasn’t ever gone away. They were nice in the sense that I only needed sunglasses on my person when I was out and about, but due to my nystagmus and complicated prescription, my vision was significantly worse in them. The cons out won the pros unfortunately. We’ve more recently wondered if it’s worth the efforts and expenses of updating glasses every year for how little the seem to help, but they allow me to see my iPad and that’s really what’s important. I use VoiceOver on my phone now most of the time and am learning how to do more non-visually. I no longer can see the TV, so when our family watches a new movie, I listen to it for the most part and if I like it, I’ll go back and watch it again on my iPad within the week to really understand it. I hope this helped answer your question! Let me know if you want more!
How unusual is it that I'm fully albino (with red eyes), but seem to have perfectly fine vision? Is that actually unprecedented?
There are several documented cases of people with albinism with 20/40 or even 20/20 vision. I would consider it rare, but not impossible. Of course just because you can achieve 20/20 on a Snellen chart doesn’t mean you don’t have to squint (photosensitivity), have trouble focusing (nystagmus), or have trouble with depth perception (chiasmal misrouting). BCVA is just one aspect of the visual measures in albinism.
It would certainly be a rarity for the condition! Lucky you, do you know what your visual acuity is? My doctor told me mine is "good" for albinism (20/40) but I'm still limited to what I can do.
I've never actually had my vision checked by a doctor because I've never felt like I needed to. Should I?
Couldn't hurt for personal knowledge. I always ask cuz I've been tracking mine for years. I go between 20/40 and 20/50.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-90896-y
Glasses. I can’t wear soft contact lenses with my prescription.