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Laser Vision Surgery for Developers?
cyclops asks: "I have been contemplating about going for LASIK surgery for a couple of years. I want to get rid of my dependency on glasses or lenses because I really find them cumbersome. The main thing that is stopping me now is that like you, programming is my livelihood and thus I spent a major part of my day staring into the monitor. I have readthat there is always a certain percentage of patients not regaining 20/20 vision but it's OK for them since most of them don't need that sharp vision during work. I am about to consult with a LASIK surgeon but I would love to hear anecdotal evidence about your experiences, to hear if it works out for you eventually. (I have stable myopia of -5.50 and astimagtism of -1.00 for 3 years already)." Ask Slashdot has handled this issue in the past in two previous articles: this one from 1999, and a related article from 2000. With at least 2 years since the last time this question was posed, how has medical technology improved in this aspect? For those unwilling or unable to take advantage of Laser Surgery, have other viable alternatives arisen in the past two years?
Did you try to save some money on this week's weed?
My parents just bought me a really big digit alarm clock and if I squint just right I can usually make out at least two of the digits. It saved us thousands of dollars as an alternative to LASIK.
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They slice a flap out of your eye and flip it open to reveal the material underneath, which they "fix" with the laser. When the flap is closed, it heals almost immediately
Here's the catch: it NEVER heals completely. Think of a deep cut on your skin that looks like it has healed, but breaks open again. The trouble is this: Let's say that ten years after the surgery, you get shot right in the eye with a high-pressure water gun or fire hose or something. Or you get socked in the face in a barroom brawl. Or a ping-pong ball hits you pretty hard. Hell, all it takes is a good smack during a pillow fight. Before LASIK, your eye will likely hurt like hell and the vision will go white for a while, and you'll get a black eye and that sucks. But after LASIK, that flap can break off completely. Obviously, if that happens, you can kiss your vision in that eye goodbye.
And that doesn't account for errors during the surgery. What if the surgery machine runs Windows?
This is my point: BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT YOU HAVE. Many people cannot see jack. You at least can see, so yeah, it's a little blurry and glasses tend to fog up and contacts need to be replaced every few days, and it's a real hassle but WHAT IF YOU COULD NOT SEE AT ALL?! I'm sure you'd give give away everything you have to get vision that's half as good as what you have now. Do not be greedy because, yeah, the risks are low but do you really want to take them? I say f.u.c.k. that.