11 tricks for myopic (or who pretend to be)
'Hipsters', 'gafapastas', flirty ... The lenses not only correct defects, but stand out as fashion accessories. Get to know them thoroughly, whatever your side
Behind all gafapasta (or gafametal , that there is everything) hides someone worried about his sight and overwhelmed by the countless vicissitudes that his short-sightedness forces him to face on a daily basis . Behind that more or less hipster façade , someone who suffers from a vision defect is often hidden. But at other times, it's an aesthetic choice.
Or both at the same time. In any, every time we are more we ask the following. How are the lenses looked after? Do I protect them from the rain? Hard or soft case? Luckily, there are a few tricks, well contrasted, that can make our lives easier.
1. Keep them clean with water and neutral soap
Forget miraculous ointments and magic solutions: the best thing to clean your glasses is soap and water. The water, better cold. "Heat is the worst thing for glasses. It spoils coatings like anti-reflective ones ", warns Juan Carlos Mora de Oñate, marketing director of Óptica Roma . And the soap, neutral. "There are abrasive substances, which are used to clean the house, which remove the shine of acetate," says Elisenda Ibáñez, coordinator of the Spanish Federation of Optical Associations (FEDAO) .
Acetate is what we call pasta."It is a very noble material and allows perfect adjustments of the glasses. The acetate ones are medium and high range lenses. The most economical ones are made of plastic and injection systems ", adds Ibáñez.
2. Dry them with the appropriate fabric
Those who have not worn glasses in their lives sometimes look strange to the myopic when they see them dry their glasses, vigorously and conscientiously, after washing them. That's because they have not heard of "the past", that trace that leaves the cloth on the glass.
To avoid this, the most experienced eyewear cleaners usually rely on hard cotton or canvas fabrics, with an old-fashioned sheet texture, which leave little or no vestige. The suede that gives the manufacturer has supporters and detractors; In any case, it's good because it does not scratch. "Toilet paper and paper napkins can cause incisions", warns Elisenda Ibáñez.
3. Watch the way to remove them (not everything goes)
Removing the glasses with the "good" hand is an instinctive gesture, but supposes that the rod on the opposite side ends up being deformed and opened, as Juan Carlos Mora emphasizes. "This causes the spectacle is not well adjusted, is out of square, and have a glass closer to the eye than the other.
Obviously, the vision will be uncomfortable, and can be harmful if you work with computers or you have to drive. " Using both hands to remove them, the glasses will remain aligned for longer. The professional also recommends buying lenses that have flex, "A spring that makes the spectacle is always well adjusted and adapted to the shape of our face".
When you go to bed, store them in the case. It will prevent them from falling to the ground as a consequence of our morning slaps to the bedside table. If we throw them, they will be inside the case and will not be damaged. An extra tip: apply a line of phosphorescent paint to the box in case you have to look for them in the complete darkness of the night.
4. Protect them from accidents or accidental footsteps
Of leather, upholstered with pictures, satin? Admit once and for all that the case of the glasses is not an aesthetic element: it is good for something. In particular, to protect and transport our instrument when it does not hang from the nose. The case generates a serious debate: the rigid ones shield, but they occupy a lot of space; the soft ones are thinner ... but try to step on them. Posts to choose between space and security, we opted clearly for the latter. "We love to see broken covers, that means they have fulfilled their function, which is to protect the glasses," says Juan Carlos Mora.
One extra tip: apply a line of phosphorescent paint to the box in case you have to look for them in the complete darkness of the night
5. Adjust the rods with a dryer (under your responsibility)
If you have just done glasses and after a few days detects that the rods do not adapt well to your ears, go to the nearest optician to be regulated. However, who, out of laziness or simple research, has not tried to modify them himself with a blow dryer? Bringing the acetate rods to a source of heat is the method used by professionals to adjust the shape; a technique that many have emulated at home using this small appliance.
If you opt for the reckless option, you should not go over the temperature (it could damage the glasses) or fall short (you could split it when you try to bend it). "Each material has a torsion temperature," says Elisenda Ibáñez. Give a medium heat and mold with your hand.
6. Move them away from their biggest enemy (the one with the lenses, not theirs)
The rain is - and since the built-in wipers do not exist - the staunch enemy of the glasses. A short-sighted one goes outside on a rainy day worried not by his hair or his shoes, but by his glasses. It does not matter if you have an umbrella: those three seconds that separate our exit from the car from the opening of the umbrella can leave the glasses soaked and blurred. Hence, an ideal protection against showers is the English-style waterproof hats, or hats. Anything with a visor is worth it.
7. Submit them to periodic controls
Do not wait for it to be offered in your optics. Go to the store once a year and ask to be checked. The optical staff will check if they need an alignment, if you have to tighten the screws and the condition of the crystals. Also, request a thorough cleaning. "With high frequency equipment, all the dirt that may be removed even in the bezel of the glasses is removed, where one does not usually arrive", explains Elisenda Ibáñez.
8. Learn to live without them
Do you need to see something urgently and do not have the glasses on hand? A sign on television, a sign in the distance? If you are in a hurry, there is an infallible method, according to the MinutePhysics science channel , with which there will be no blurry letters that will resist you: close your hand forming a fist, open it a bit like a spyglass and, voila! look through the hole. As happens when the opening of the photographic objectives is regulated to focus, when forming that small hole, the light arrives in only one direction and allows the brain to form a clear image.
9. Use technology
If you are myopic, you must know that new technologies are on your side. There are several applications to control its defect, most of them developed by ophthalmologists. Visual Test is an app that allows us to examine our visual acuity at any distance between 40 centimeters and 10 meters. ¿ You can see? and Visual Acuity Test submit to the classic panel of letters of different sizes. AmblyopiaVA is a novel visual acuity test.
MyEyes,instead, it is designed for those who spend the day in front of the computer: through simple exercises, its creators ensure that it prevents tired eyesight and relaxes us. Of course, none of these applications replace a professional ophthalmological review.
10. Turn on the extractor hood when cooking
It seems an unimportant detail, but if it does not, when it ends it will seem that an intense fog has gotten into your kitchen. It is due to the tiny droplets of greasy smoke that are deposited on the surface of their crystals. In case you were preparing a special dinner, it would be a shame to ruin your impeccable staging with smoked and sticky glasses.
11. Avoid the gym sauna with them on
Overall, what does one need to see in a sauna? In any case, if you make the mistake of getting into this warm room with glasses, on the way out you will see how they will slide through your nose: the heat will have deformed them, separating the rods and expanding the front. If this happens, you will always have point 5 to return them to your previous appearance. Myopic word.
