anybody remember getting glasses? - Page 2

The "3" is probably the middle number on his glasses prescription and refers to the diopters of correction for the astigmatism. 3 is a pretty strong astigmatism; he needs to wear his corrective lenses. Corrective lens prescriptions are typically written as three different numbers for each eye. For example, 0.75, 3.00 x 113 (OD or right eye) and 1.50, 3.75 x 81 (OS or left eye) is my current prescription. The first number refers to spherical correction in diopters (near or far sightedness), the second number, as I said, is the degree of astigmatism; this usually represents a misshapen cornea which causes vision to be distorted regardless of how close or far away it is, the third number refers to the axis or degrees which light needs to bend to focus correctly (prism-effect). Sometimes there is a fourth number which refers to presbyopia correction (bifocals for reading/close up work); it will be a while before your son needs that, but I am sure I will be needing it pretty soon.

Most of the time astigmatism can be corrected with either glasses or contact lenses. Don't believe anyone that tells you an astigmatism of 3 can't be corrected with soft contacts. I currently wear Durasoft Optifit Toric 3 by Wesley Jessen and have 20/15 in one eye and 20/20 in the other. They take virtually no time to adjust to (except for the "warped" effect). This might be an option to consider for your son if he plays sports; glasses can be a pain. The prescription will be slightly different for contact lenses as they sit on the cornea and closer to the natural lens of the eye.

When I first got them I only wore them to see the blackboard and that was in the 7th grade but gradually I had to wear them every minute of every day.

I was 5 when I first started wearing them. I'm not sure if I had to wear them all the time when I first got them (I probably did), but I was told to just wear them when I had to read at first to get the hang of them. I just put them on and didn't bother taking them off because it was easier one day. I think I kept leave them behind or something.

Ask your son's doctor if a gradual wear plan, like one hour the first day, 2 the second, etc... , or something like that, would be better. As was said, glasses don't hurt your eyes and the headaches/loss of balance/depth perception adjustment isn't that bad and is only for a day or two. Kids adapt fast anyway.

Your bigger issue is your son's resistance to wearing them, leaving them behind, and losing them. Maybe even on purpose. I'd bribe him through the beginning of the process with little thing. My parents for health freaks, so trips to McDonalds and Nintendo games worked on me.

Oh, and splurge on the slim, cooler, unbreakable glasses.