"Eye Damage (Is there a Doctor in the House?)" Topic

Greetings all! Hope your weekend is/was great. Okay, I'm overweight, mid forties, and type 2 diabetic. I take my meds, I watch what I eat (mostly), and my blood pressure and cholesterol are fine. What has gotten worse is my eyesight. Part of that may be related to diabetes, genetics (only one in my family who wasn't wearing glasses until this year), and part of it may be plain old getting up in age. Here's my concern. I know that painting miniatures can lead to eye strain and tired eyes. We all need to take a break after a session of painting too long. But can we actually CAUSE long term damage or worsening eyesight by painting minis? Should I (or anyone in the same boat) drastically curtail painting? Both medical and/or anecdotal advice welcome. Thanks.

But can we actually CAUSE long term damage or worsening eyesight by painting minis?

Probably not (unless you repeatedly poke yourself in the eye with the butt end of the brush). Nor by reading in low light. Nor by certain other activities common to young, lonely men.

Free medical advice on a wargaming forum is worth what you pay for it.

Funny you should ask this question. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and it does not fun in the family, nor am I overweight by more than 15 lbs. it's all in the gut, which is not good for the heart.

Anyway, I asked about the eye stress. I see letters stacked on top of eachother. Like a shadow effect on the words. It was caused by a number of things. All my work is done close up. Sculpting, painting, computer use at work. But the biggest cause is my smart phone. If I read or surf the net on my phone for say, five minutes, when I look up, everything is blurry for a while.

I wear reading glasses now to paint and sculpt. Things look a lot better.

As I get older, I can not sit and paint as long as I use to. The back needs more of a break than the eyes.

Everything in moderation. What works for you may or may not work for others.

According to my eye doc, NO, it doesn't cause long-term damage.

BUT, three things to be aware of:

1. Diabetes definitely causes problems with eyesight. Google "diabetic retinopathy."

2. As you've noticed, as we get older, our eyesight deteriorates. In particular, eyes tend to flatten front-to-back, which leads to far-sightedness. Harder to focus close up. Which means harder to see to paint little guys. It's also the reason you see older guys holding letters and things at arms-length to read them.

3. Then there's presbyopia, which is stiffening of the eye lens. The effect is similar to age-related far-sightedness. This is different from Presbyterianism, which has no discernible impact on eyesight.

4. Also, as we get older, the muscles that control focusing weaken. That means it takes longer to shift focus from close up to far away.

5. Finally, you need to start worrying about cataracts, too.

I strongly recommend that everyone see an optometrist or ophthalmologist at least yearly, especially if you're over 40. Eye problems are easier to treat if you catch them early.

You might get screening for cataracts and macular degeneration…
second jpattern..

Fundus photos are important for all patients but particularly for those with diabetes. Baseline photos are compared with those taken at subsequent check ups where they look for changes.

As jp2 stated above problems caught early are better addressed and the fundus photos help in early diagnosis.

DM

Yes, I agree, eye strain has no known clinical link to long term eye damage. Like a lot of muscular strain things, yo will find that things get worse the longer you push them, as does your eye strain, the answer is…limit the time you spend unbroken at any task, and use proper eye aids and GOOD LIGHT. These measures will all help.
Do keep going to check ups to monitor the conditions you mention, it really helps to catch things early.

I've got Type 2 diabetes, but my eye-checks show no damage from diabetes (so far), thank goodness.

See an eye doctor, he can check you out.

In my case and others I suspect, she can check you out.

Agree with Herkybird about GOOD LIGHT. I am in my ( very) late 60's, generally or etc healthy and have been wearing spectacles for presbyopia for about 20 years, yet even now I can read reasonable sized print (say 14 point) in good daylight, but cannot manage the same indoors. I rarely paint for more than an hour or so, not because of strain on my eyes, but I have carpal tunnel and find I can't hold a brush for much longer than this.
I think one of the key things when painting, or doing anything else requiring near vision, is to regularly look at something a long way from you, to keep the eye muscles exercising.