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Avatar universal

Odd condition with left eye

I have an interesting condition with my left eye. My optometrist actually could not give me an answer. I am 24 years old and I had this issue for as long as I could remember (I got glasses around grade 6 but realized it maybe a few years later). So here are the details: when looking at objects far away, it's near-sighted. As such my optometrist gave me a prescription of -1.5. However I notice when I look at close things, particularly books and computer screens, the glasses make it MORE blurry. I take them off and it's better, but still blurry. One day I looked through my dad's reading glasses which are far-sighted and I was amazed to notice it helped my left eye see close things clearer. But it's impossible to be both near and far-sighted? It sounds like presbyopia but I'm too young for that. I'll also just mention my right eye has the regular case of near-sightedness but at -3.5. I also have astigmatism.
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Avatar universal
Indeed I've been using my right eye for the bulk of reading for the longest time. I've accepted it as something I'm stuck with. It was only until my right eye got really tired one night from studying, that I smashed the left lens off my old pair of glasses. I declared it my reading glasses which helped shift the burden a bit.

I would like to ask if finding hyperopic glasses for my left eye helped was simply a coincidence as the lens merely magnified the image making it seem clearer but in fact my left eye is not hyperopic. I've had a wild thought of getting a designated pair of reading glasses in which the left lens is actually hyperopic and then switching to my regular pair for everything else.
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Avatar universal
If your left eye is 1.50 diopters nearsighted and your right eye is 3.50 nearsighted, that gives you a two diopter refractive imbalance. While both eyes might be clear with correction, using both of your eyes together may be limited to some degree. Your visual system may not rely on the left eye as much as the right eye when both are open. This leaves the left eye a bit underused, particularly when attempting to focus for reading. This imbalance may well have been present long before you had your first eye exam. Finding it challenging to use both eyes together, your visual system elected early on to depend on the right eye.

Unless you feel this is affecting your reading speed or comfort, don't be overly concerned. Otherwise, you may want to explore this  with an optometrist well-versed in vision therapy, i.e., a behavioral optometrist.
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Avatar universal
I don't think my prescription is over-corrected. I've tried on weaker glasses which also makes close things more blurry than without, but not as blurry as a stronger prescription.

I'd like to mention that far objects are still definitely clearer with any prescription.
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2078052 tn?1331933100
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You are too young for presbyopia, which is the age-related difficulty in near focusing which occurs usually after age 40.  If your prescription is over-corrected (more myopic correction than you need), this could contribute to your near symptoms.  I would perform a cycloplegic refraction, which is a refraction performed after your eyes are dilated with drops which prevent the focusing muscles from working.  This prevents over-accommodation from occurring, which will make the prescription more myopic than it should be.
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