Chapter 2 - Coping with being an Elderhiker
Vision
Our old eyes keep on changing, and not necessarily for the better. We noticed years ago that we needed stronger light to see and read easily. Glare, such as from oncoming headlights or the stark light and shadow of dappled sunlight, interferes more with our vision. We periodically need a different prescription for our glasses, and I need bifocals, and Helen trifocals in order to see things clearly. Hiking along a trail we find that our bifocals or trifocals just don't work very well. If we look straight ahead, the lower reading part of the lenses makes the trail out of focus. We can't clearly see the rocks in the trail or the breaks in the sidewalk that might trip us. If we look down to bring the trail into focus, we don't see anything but our feet, and miss the view.
We have found that we can help ourselves by doing two things. First, we formed the habit of quickly studying the trail or sidewalk or path for a good distance ahead. We have learned to anticipate rough spots. Second, we are careful to pick up our feet as we walk. We try very hard not to shuffle or to just slide our feet ahead. Many falls are caused by having your foot hit some obstruction as you are moving your foot forward for the next step. Stepping down on an obstruction is not as likely to cause a problem.
Several of our friends noticed the bi or trifocal out-of-focus problem, and came up with some different solutions. One wears contact lenses, and puts a different magnification lens in each eye. So, one eye sees clearly from the trail in front out into the distance, and the other eye and lens is used for reading. Apparently, the brain automatically selects the in-focus image and inhibits the other. Another friend, who wears trifocals, had a new pair of glasses made with the reading and close-up zones on the lenses dropped lower than usual, by about 1 or 2 millimeters. This was enough to make the trail ahead in focus much closer. You can try this idea to see for yourself how much more clear image you would get. Stand still on a sidewalk or path, and slide your glasses down on your nose a bit. You will be able to see that the top dividing line on your lenses moves down, and the position of the line on the path moves closer. However, remember that this is an experiment to see what a new pair of glasses would accomplish. Do Not try to walk with your glasses hanging down on the end of your nose! Another friend uses contact lenses for distance in both eyes, and puts on drug store readers to study maps or guide books.
One way or another, you can find a way to compensate for vision problems.
Topics covered next in the book:
Hearing, Loss of muscle strength, Lower back pain, Feet, Skin, Loss of sense of balance, Altitude acclimatization, Keep on exercising