Vuity Review: I Swapped My Reading Glasses For Magic Eye Drops

Like many people in their 40s and 50s, I have presbyopia, a condition that makes it difficult to see what is in front of me.The edges of text and characters look a little blurry, sometimes dazzling, like a watercolor painting with a soaked brush.

coloured eye lenses

coloured eye lenses
Now, in addition to my contact lenses since sixth grade to correct myopia, I also wear reading glasses to keep the world up close.I own a dozen pairs of shoes in different shapes and sizes, leaning towards large frames in primary colors – think Sally Jessy Raphael, Carrie Donovan and Iris Apfel.I hide my glasses in my desk drawer, sock drawer, and junk drawer, at the bottom of my bag and in my car, between sofa cushions and under a pile of mail, on my nightstand and overhead.Still, when I need a pair, I can never find one, and I’m never sure what strength I need.It depends on the brand, the quality of the lenses and the brightness of the room I’m in.I read for a living – I’m the editor of The New York Times Book Review – so I need to be able to see the words on the page!Clearly!
At 38, wearing reading glasses is a fun way to express my individuality and free spirit (or to evoke the free spirit I wish I had).At 48, I’ve become so dependent on them that they’ve lost some of their appeal.I often miss text messages and emails because I can’t see my phone when I’m on the go.Yes, I increased the font size, but sometimes I don’t want my kids to be able to read my screen from across the room.
So when I heard that Vuity is a new eye drop for people with age-related blurred vision, I couldn’t wait to try it.From a Times article, I learned that “a drop of Vuity in each eye improved subjects’ near vision by 6 hours and their intermediate vision (important for computer work) by 10 hours” , although everyone’s experience will vary.
After a quick eye exam, my optometrist gave me a prescription warning that the drops might not work because I’ve been wearing reading glasses for so long that my eyes are used to it.She said we could discuss options other than “liar” on our next date.(I try to avoid the term unless I’m referring to the scruffy half-glasses I wear while knitting; it gives me the impression of the “cargo pants” of the eye world.) All I know is bifocals, Progressive or single vision lenses, where you wear two different types of contact lenses—one for close-up viewing and one for distant viewing—allowing your eyes to find a middle ground.
Vuity isn’t covered by insurance because it’s not considered a medical necessity, so I paid $101.99 at CVS for a bottle about the length of my knuckle to my pinky.I swallowed a lot of prenatal vitamins.I stuffed the eye drops into the coin pocket in my wallet and drove home with my 18-year-old son, who thought my creative eyewear line was “very weird.”
I sat on the couch in the living room and put a drop on each eye as directed by the doctor.Nothing happened, which is not surprising.I know my eyeballs need a little time to marinate.Miracles take time.
About 20 minutes later, waiting for me in the parking lot outside my 14-year-old daughter’s dance, I got a text from my husband at home.It says, “Figs got your eye drops. I think I saved them, but I’m not sure.” Fig Newton is our incorrigible 12-year-old terrier mix who loves cardboard, plastic and non-drinking liquids.
I felt a double flash of annoyance and worry, and had an epiphany: I was reading my text without my glasses!In a dark car!I can see the full emoji palette, right down to the stripes on the zebra and the holes in the swiss cheese.

contact lens design

coloured eye lenses
This isn’t the moment Fluffy Rabbit realizes he’s real, but it still feels important.
That night, in the bright and warm dining room, I realized that my words were blurred again.I know the drops go away within a few hours and you can only use it once a day.But I’m still holding my phone, then a book, arm’s length away, exacerbating my double chin and not wanting to surrender to the glasses.I felt like Charlie in Flowers for Algernon, slowly returning to his old self.
To make matters worse, the whites of my eyes were pink.Imagine Campbell’s Tomato Soup when you add an extra can of milk.My 20-year-old daughter assures me that I don’t look tall: “But your bags are bigger than usual,” she says.
The next morning, as soon as I woke up, I dripped the medicine.This time, I waited the recommended 10 minutes before my contacts popped up.I couldn’t read the micromanipulation instructions on the first retest, so I missed that detail.For someone who is nearsighted like me (my lens prescription is -9.50 per eye) and wears an outdated pair of regular glasses, the extra time is worth it if Vuity works as promised.It doesn’t.
In the five days I used the drops, not only did my eyes remain bloodshot and bloodshot, but my near vision never improved significantly enough to make reading glasses redundant.Water droplets also burn as they enter.I’m not talking about a soreness, more like a whip in your eye, but still unpleasant.
Vuity really came in handy when I walked through the Fig within a few hours of taking my medication.I can stop in a corner and peek at my phone and see what I’m seeing without having to fumble for a pair of glasses in my pocket that fog up as soon as they hit my skin.
But overall, these drops aren’t enough to justify spending about $3 a day for 30 days of supply.And they certainly don’t provide the extended clarity I need as I read.I kept giving the drops a shot until I realized I would never re-use the toothpaste that made my bad breath or the moisturizer that made me itchy.
One of the greatest benefits of middle age is insight: whether they’re right in front of you or not, you can see what they’re supposed to see.Wisdom provides the gift of clarity, even if your corneas and pupils aren’t behaving the way they should.That gray hair, those bags under the eyes?They are my streaks, acquired with the help of time, worry, tears and smiles, plus a little push from genes.For now, I’ll go ahead and decorate myself with the biggest, brightest, weirdest glasses I can find.


Post time: Mar-24-2022