A Precautionary Tale On Fashion Contacts
“Eyes are captivatingly beautiful. Not because of the color but because of the words they hold within them.” ~Unknown
Eyesight, so many of us take it for granted and without a second thought, in an attempt to change our appearance we’ll do things that are detrimental to our vision. Such is the case of a young woman who recently filed a lawsuit due to legal blindness from the use of cosmetic contact lenses she purchased at a flea market.
Colored contacts for cosmetic use are packaged under different names (decorative, Halloween, doll-eyed, theatrical, etc.) but they all change the appearance of the iris. Here in the U.S., all contacts (corrective or non-corrective) are considered medical devices and a prescription is required for their use.
The risks associated with cosmetic contact lenses are the same as prescription contacts. Some of these risks include corneal scratches, conjunctivitis, infection, decreased vision, and as in the case of the young woman in the article, blindness.
The link to the article is at the end of this post however, I want to share a few tips to keep in mind when using contact lenses.
- Always get a prescription for cosmetic contacts
- Wash your hands before handling lenses
- Never share contacts with another person
- Only use contact lens solution for cleaning and storing lenses
- Follow the doctor’s instructions
Article: Lubbock Woman Files Lawsuit After Blindness Caused By Flea Market Contact Lenses
Have a great Monday!!
Back before I had Lasik, I occasionally wore prescription contact lenses. I thought I was just having an uncomfortable day with my lens but discovered it had damaged my cornea. Great article.
Oooo that sounds painful Kerry. Unbeknownst to me at the time I’ve a inserted torn and in one case a contact that had a miniscule hole in it. It took me I don’t know how long to figure out it was an issue with the contact and not my eye.
I just thought I was over-reacting, as usual, but the cornea recovered. Thank goodness. After last year’s long recuperation after the cataract, I take greater care of soreness.
Nope, you weren’t overreacting at all. I’ve heard it said that the cornea recovers rather quickly but when it’s scratched it can hurt like a son of a gun.
Love the idea to start a radio station together Mr. Wheelies. And hey, I was ham radio operator (WA9PVD), so I’m good with the shortwave radio station – All Clarinet, All the Time. I think we’re on to something big. The audience may be a bit narrow, but it should grow on people. Let’s get together for a beer, brats and cheese in Milwaukee, or in Taiwan for whatever is indigenous to plan this out. We will not let or so-called disabilities hold as back. We are just abled differently than for me, those light-dependent people.
Best wishes from Milwaukee! Carla Ernst
I’m not sure how my name comes up. I’m George Rector, and I live in Clermont, Florida. I have MS with all its glory and am a T10 paraplegic.
As a pre teen I studied and was ready to get both amateur and the lowest class commercial licenses. My dad, an amateur, nixed the whole thing.
I now return the program to Steph.
Hey George I know you and Sandra are having a grand time doting on your little grandson. Love the pictures I’ve seen so far on Instagram.
Thanks, Steph. There are more in the blog, I think. Hoping for a couple new entries today if allergies permit.
Oh, cool. I’ll check them out. Hope your allergies settle down. They cause such misery.
As a journalist, I agree that something is not quite adding up in terms of the veracity of the story. Something just doesn’t seem right. It’s hard to imagine that contacts, even defective ones, would cause incurable blindness. Secondly, where is the girl in this story? I suspect the whole thing is driven by the lawyer and the potential to win a monetary settlement, but hey, what do I know, I’m trained as a clarinet player.
Yes, there are many unanswered questions.
I’m neither a lawyer nor a clarinet player, but I hear both on radio. What you say does sound like those lawyers.
Improper contacts can be prone to harbor bacteria and/or reduce oxygen to the cornea. Pseudomonas flourishes in the mouth but will destroy the cornea in hours, and there is no antibiotic that will stop it. The combination can destroy the eyes.
Oh my!! This sounds scary George. If I knew this back when I was wearing contacts I may have had second thoughts but I’m somewhat of a germaphobe so I was always extra cautious.
Well, I’m no lawyer or eye doctor—currently or retired, am just a blind chick in Milwaukee Wisconsin, so I trust you are right. So it certainly could be true. I’ll now have to get a radio show so you can hear me. I’ll look for a broken-boned, blood-clotted, blind-chick, all-clarinet, all the time radio network.
Hey Carla! Perhaps we can start a station together. I’m thinking shortwave.
I like Milwaukee. For many years our family went to the Indiana University Alumni Camp on Elkhart Lake. A very close friend lives in Wisconsin Rapids. And my travel agent is in Wisconsin. Then of course there is beer!
Best wishes from a Floridian in Taiwan!
It’s good advice to be careful about contact lenses, Steph. I must admit, I never wear them, though, just my glasses. I can’t stand the thought of sticking fingers directly in my eye. Perhaps it reminds me too much of The Three Stooges.
You know, I thought the same thing about sticking something in my eye. It wasn’t until I reached my mid twenties that I gave contacts a try and I loved them. Part of the fascination with them was being able to see what I really look like without eyeglasses but if it’s possible my eyes even felt better with contacts. Of course this could have been in my head but I enjoyed wearing them 20 some years. My oldest son though wanted to wear them and had to opt for lasik surgery because he just couldn’t get past putting them in.
Perhaps someday I’ll pluck up the courage! 🙂
I was the biggest wuss in this area and it I could do it anyone can. Plus the folks who do the training were pretty awesome.
Very timely advice, Steph. I think sometimes young people don’t research the risks properly. Or do they imagine if something is for sale it must be safe – drugs are an example?
Yeah, I don’t understand it. On one hand the young people of today are so much further advanced than we were but on the other hand many lack critical thinking.
Reading through all the comments and replies, I find great thinking in every one of them.
I’d like to add something from personal and practice experience: Men are as vain as women.
Ordering: “I don’t care what color the lens is.” Looking in mirror: “Can this blue be made a little darker?”
Before ordering: “Any frame will do.” Looking in mirror: “The brown shading in this frame isn’t quite like the sample.”
Vanity, trust me! lol
Oh my goodness this is too funny. Whenever you get back to the states I’d like to see if you’d be interested in sharing some wisdom on vision from a physician’s viewpoint.
What a terrible story! As a long time contact lens wearer I can sometimes get lazy with proper handing and care. I’ve been lucky with only one minor infection. This is a sobering reminder of what can happen.
I’ve been away for almost a month (spending minimal time on the computer, which was nice) and now desperately trying to catch up so I haven’t been able to read all your posts. Cheers, Caroline
Hi Caroline, I can’t begin to catch up, it causes way too much stress.
I don’t remember getting any infections when I wore contacts but I wasn’t able to wear them when my allergies were acting up. But with scratching my cornea several times and putting them in inside out I consider myself lucky that I didn’t get any infections. I really enjoyed wearing them though.
When I began wearing them we had this little heaters to sterilize them in their case after using a little tablet to dissolve protein build up. That seems like back in the dark ages. I loved it when we went from multiple products to a multi use product for cleaning and disinfecting lenses.
What an interesting and enlightening post. Beautiful quote followed by a sad story. I think many of us take so much for granted ~ until we experience loss. Seems to be a human characteristic and flaw.
I used to use contacts years back, but found that they irritated my eyes significantly and were a pain in the butt. Happy to wear glasses.
Peta
Hi Peta. I agree with you that we take so much for granted up to the point of loss. I also think practicing gratitude and being intentional can help in reminding us not to take our bodies, or those we love for granted.
I loved wearing contacts and I only had a problem twice. One was with an extended wear contact that was way too flimsy. It was like a piece of saran wrap on my finger tip. The other time was a specific brand recommended by the optometrist which didn’t pan out. I remember being able to see so much better with contacts than with my eyeglasses but because my prescription was so high I always had to have my glasses on hand just in case.
I love the quote on top!
Great advice Steph. Hope you are ok and wishing you a lovely week.
XxX
Thank you Patty for coming through and commenting. I hope you are well.💖
Once a week I visit your blog and read your great posts. Don’t always have the time to comment, but enjoy spending time here. Yes, I am fine, thanks dear Steph. XxX
I’m so glad to hear that you’re doing well Patty. Thank you again because your visits means so much to me. I struggle in this area because and much as I tried to plan for the growth of the blog I didn’t figure in the importance of relationships. With more followers it becomes more challenging for all of us.
Yes, I totally get what you mean. So, I am glad we are able to connect every now 😉 Big hug, XxX
Sending virtual hugs back to you💗
Try brussels sprouts Stephanae, that might get your girls to grow. But it sounds like you’re ahead of the curve (so to speak) and have beaten your girlfriends to the bunch with your all-natural breast reduction—and with a much lower price tag. Although I too was a bit put off by the tone of the story, not just about the attorney’s viewpoint on blindness, but that of the newscaster as well. They both characterize blindness as a fate worse than death. I suspect the attorney was more so to emphasize the trauma his client had gone through, likely in an effort to maximize a potential settlement. The other odd thing about this story is that we never hear from the victim, the girl herself. For the newscaster, that hurts me more in that it’s to the detriment to the entire blind and visually-impaired community to imply that blindness is a horrific fate that no one would ever want to go through (“an even bigger problem here”) when it’s really just not like that at all, at least not for me. Not fun, a bit inconvenient sometimes, but I don’t feel at all like what my girlfriend said, who told me her three biggest fears in life are to 1) be engulfed by flames, 2) drown, or 3) go blind. I told her I just don’t feel like I am on fire or drowning. And the girl in the story—I’m not judgemental, but I have to ask who would get a decorative device to put in your eyes at a flea market? However, I really do feel sorry for her if she did lose her vision since her blindness was unnecessary and likely will be for the rest of her life. That idea even hit me this morning when I was trying to rush out the door (and blind people should never rush!) in order to get to my waiting van for my physical therapy session for my broken ankle. As I dashed around my massive one-bedroom apartment like a mad blind woman, I couldn’t find my cane! It turned out that I had left it in a different place than usual leaning on the front door and I didn’t see it there for some reason (most likely due to the total blindness). But at that moment, it got me a bit down for some reason realizing how dependent I now am on my cane, and that I can never ever go anywhere alone without my cane for the rest of my life. But I have no choice. It kind of hit me hard for a few minutes, but on the other hand, I realize how lucky I am to have a white cane, and appreciate how much freedom and mobility it gives me. But why have to go through all this for the rest of your life if you don’t have to? My three cents (due to inflation).
Hahaha.🤣 Sadly, the days of brussel sprouts for the purpose of breast sprouts has passed a long, long time ago.
As I was reading this my wheels began spinning and I’m thinking of writing a letter to the editor. There were similar type comments made by reports here in Philly on the Bill Cosby fiasco. They were more or less hinting that he cannot have vision problems because he was walking fine. I have to tell you it cut me to the core. Whether or not he is guilty of rape has little to do with his eyesight. My mother loves Bill Cosby and feels so sorry for him but my thing is if he’s guilty he needs to be locked up. It doesn’t matter if he can see or not, in my humble opinion.
It’s not surprising to me that people feel going blind is a fate worse than death. Before losing my sight I too was in that camp and of course it wasn’t until I lost my vision that I became enlightened. I think our fears can send our imaginations into overdrive when the reality is different because how we respond comes down to a matter of individual choice.
Setbacks are not uncommon, heaven knows I have them and I’ll continue to have them because I had setbacks before I lost my sight. As a matter of fact I don’t think I told you this but I was once crowned the Queen of Pity Parties, the highest honor one can receive for being all into their feelings.
Those are brilliant thoughts as usual Stephanie. You are so to the point and insightful. I was particularly moved by your powerful words “Before losing my sight I too was in that camp and of course it wasn’t until I lost my vision that I became enlightened. I think our fears can send our imaginations into overdrive when the reality is different because how we respond comes down to a matter of individual choice.”
I think this is so much about learning to live with blindness. People believe going blind is a fate worse than death. As a recently blinded woman, it wasn’t until I lost my sight that I became “enlightened” as you say, learning that blindness is a just a different way of perceiving—certainly not a death sentence. Although people think of me as being disabled since blindness can be such a visible disability if you’re out and about sweeping and tapping with your white cane, I don’t think of myself as being disabled on any level. I simply have a disability and am abled a little differently than sighted people.
I’m the same person I was a year ago before I lost by vision. I live in the same world. I do the same things I did before and even more. I’ve met many new friends due to my blindness, both in my community and all over the world. But what has changed is how people view me and how I perceive the world, now through my remaining four senses. I don’t have the super powers that people seem to think I possess, rather, I just pay way more attention to them. My perception is formidable and ever present, interwoven in a complex way constantly sending information to my brain painting an enhanced picture of shapes and sounds, aromas and tastes that provide a vivid map in my mind that’s different than eyesight, but as clear as it was when I had vision. Even though it’s only been a year, I no longer notice that I’m blind anymore. I’ve found that as I get better at paying attention and understanding my surroundings, new windows of perception open up to me every day.
When a friend recently pitied me and said she was so sorry I had to live in darkness all the time, I realized that my visible disability—revealed by my dark glasses and white mobility cane, mark me to a sighted person as someone who must be living a sad, isolated, unfulfilled and lonely life. I may have experienced those feelings at different times in my life, but not because of my blindness. If anything, it’s quite the opposite.
I do not live in “darkness.” Blindness is not like closing your eyes plummeting you into a world of terror and panic that sighted people assume that’s what it’s all about. It is profoundly different than that as your brain rewires itself to perceive the world in a very different way using your remaining four senses in a complex interwoven and profound way.
Blindness is simply not the problem it’s managing the people around you who assume you have a disability akin to a death sentence. Some will pity you due to what they see as an imaginable horrible condition, while others, due to my ability to function effectively in, and navigate the world around me, particularly when I take off my dark glasses and fold up my cane and put it in my purse have said, “Carla, you don’t look or act blind to me.” I’m not always quite sure how to respond to that subtly accusatory observation beyond saying, “Well, guess what, you don’t look sighted to me!”
Today, as I sit on a cushy bench in my nearby mall accessible to me by bus, waiting for my friend to rendezvous with me at our designated weekly location on the other side of the large mall to help me shop for new shoes, it’s hard not to be reminded that a year ago I could see all around me before I lost my sight.
But now being totally blind, I realize that before I lost my vision I was somewhat blinded by my eyesight, not paying attention to the very rich and wonderful world of sounds and touch, aromas and taste, that in some ways send information more deep into my mind and soul in a very profound way that I never realized when I had vision.
As I sit on the bench, I hear many diverse channels of sound around me that I listen intently to in order to decipher as it comes at me, engulfing me like a warm blanket of comfort and painting a vivid map in my head of my surroundings. I hear the packages and bags of tired women sitting near me taking a brief respite from their shopping sprees, loudly talking on their phones and telling their friends about the great bargains they found, regardless if they even needed the item or not, yet justifying their purchases since they were such great deals. Although my cane is out and visible, reinforced by my dark glasses (which I wear to protect my eyes from unseen branches, low stop signs and other hazards that could potentially injure my sightless eyes), no one talks to you, I think assuming your blindness is indicative of a profound disability affecting all your senses and heart, mind and body. Now my nose kicks in. I smell the aroma of mall food as it is quickly being consumed by my short-term bench-sitting neighbors taking their shopping spree lunch break. They then hurriedly wrap their unfinished hot dogs, pizzas and brownies (very distinguishable smells if not just overpowering for a blind woman) and get up and go, with coupons in hand, complaining of their sore knees, aches and pains, but undaunted in their quest to continue their shopping frenzy and getting more great deals.
With my surroundings etched into my brain, it’s now time for me to get up and work my way across the large mall to the other side for my quest of comfortable (but stylish and fashionable) shoes.
The tapping of my cane and the echoed sounds of voices unmistakably reveal the spacious size of the mall. In case I wasn’t sure where I was, the ever present bland mall music pumping continually from high ceiling speakers assures me I’m in a mall, making me wonder if anyone even notices this music apart from providing a distant inimitable non-ending background presence—if only to let people know they’re in a mall. Surprisingly apparent to me are the people scurrying around me on missions of commerce looking for stores and merchandise while talking with their friends on their cellphones. I can also tell that many have their heads down and glued to their phones, not that I can see that or hear their fingers punching out letters to provide important missives to friends letting them know they are in a mall, but they constantly bump into me or trip over my cane, then apologize profusely, adding that they didn’t know I was blind.
Rarely do people notice that you are blind, sometimes not understanding the meaning of a white cane tapping through the mall, often just standing in front of me as I trail along the wall, as I carefully try to make out with my left hand the doors and curves, pillars and posts protruding out at odd angles along the mall wall, along with the various floor objects such as wet-floor cones, plants and garbage cans that I’m sure are obvious to sighted people, but of course are unseen by me and hopefully detected by my trusty cane.
Each store has an intoxicating smell that clearly identifies its personality and temperament, whether it’s clothes, or fragrances, food or books—the aromas quickly tell me that they’re working very hard at trying to lure me in. Each store usually has its own music soundtrack aligned with the store’s particular brand, competing with the mall music, yet it crossfades as by the hand of a DJ from the mall music to the store soundtrack.
I continue my careful but slow journey across the mall. I hear more as I traverse down the long pathway to the other side of the mall, where hopefully the perfect shoe awaits me. I hear a mom chasing after her escaping child, a crying baby conveying to everyone in the mall she that she’s very hungry, business people conducting deals around me assuming blind people can’t hear. A security guard grabbing my arm and pulling me, telling me that everything is OK now, and he would take me to my destination. I thanked him, asked him to let go of me, and let me continue my journey on my own. A girl handing me samples of jelly beans, causing me to say how much I loved them, particularly the colors. I told her they were so colorful I could hear the colors, likely causing her to be dumfounded about the super powers of blind people. I enjoyed the ever hopeful tone of the young man handing me a flyer with a listing of the multi-theater cinema films, confident I would carefully read through the list of movies. Although I can and do go to movies aided by the wonderful Descriptive Video Service (DVS), a transmitter and headphone device that makes visual media more accessible to blind people with a separate narrative track describing the action and scenes between the dialog, I thanked him for the flyer but returned it saying someone else might better enjoy it. Particularly if they’re sighted.
My journey through the large mall was almost complete as I neared the department store at the other end of the mall where hopefully my seeing-eye friend would be, as well as the shoe department awaiting me with the perfect shoe.
Before I arrived at my final destination, I woman shouts out my name and says hello. I had to ask who she was, and it was Emily my former bank teller, who had moved to selling wireless phone services in the mall. Since she knows me, she was taken aback and expressed her deep sorry for me being blind, prompting me to give my now thirty-second, blind-woman elevator speech, in anticpation of my four common FAQs that include: What happened to your vision? (They don’t know); Can I see anything at all? (No. Not even blackness, sometimes causing me to elaborate and explain that it’s like trying to tell your brain to receive vision through your elbows which helps people get the idea of absolutely no vision); Will my vision ever be restored? (No); and, Are you sad/devastated/depressed about losing your vision? (No, I’m OK with being blind as it’s simply not the death sentence sighted people think it is. (Well, maybe that’s about 45 seconds to get all that out.) She gave me a big hug and said good luck to me, but I don’t really need any more luck than anyone else, but I accepted it anyway, and left somewhat relieved that she didn’t try to sell me a new phone plan.
Finally, the music, smells, mix of carpets and floor tiles and protruding sales signs changed again, this time to the very distinguishable sensibility of department store ambiance. As I tapped around the store with my cane and carefully caressed the countertops with my hands in order not to spill a pricy bottle of perfume, and accidently groping and apologizing to women engrossed in their shopping and clearly oblivious to me and my blindness, I did what I don’t like to do too much as a person with a disability—ask for help. It was remarkably hard to find it at the store. I eventually located a sales associate and asked her where the shoe department was. She said, “It’s over there,” likely pointing with her finger, then went back to her work. I told her I appreciated the fact that it was “over there,” but I needed more help, hoping she would note the dark glasses and white mobility cane wrapped in reflective red tape on the bottom, an international universal symbol indicating blindness. So she then paused and said, “Oh. It’s over there by cosmetics,” likely pointing again with her finger. So I took a deep breath, trying to remember that patience is a virtue. The only thing I could think of now, is that maybe she thinks I have a rare form of CCB (Cosmetic Counter Blindness) that I can only see cosmetic counters. So I thanked her but conveyed to her that I needed a little more help, and asked her to try to use more descriptive words that might actually be helpful to a blind woman, giving her examples such as left, right, straight, North, South and compass degrees, and if all that fails, just take my arm and drag me across the store like a dog. She settled with the left and right words and apart from a little more bumping into things, I easily found the shoe section on my own, as well as my girlfriend, and more importantly found the perfect shoe with the help of my seeing-eye girlfriend. They were very comfortable and my girlfriend said I looked hot. I would have been OK with just fashionable or stylish, but I accepted “hot” and she drove me home in my new shoes. That’s what it’s like to live with blindness.
Wow!! “before I lost my vision I was somewhat blinded by my eyesight, not paying attention to the very rich and wonderful world of sounds and touch, aromas and taste, that in some ways send information more deep into my mind and soul in a very profound way that I never realized when I had vision.” Now this is profound. I’ll need to share this one with a photo Carla. I’ve never developed super powers I think I’m too much of a scatter brained person or as my son says “mom you have ADD.”
First i offer a disclaimer: I am a retired eye doc who had to give up practice due to MS. I have no vested interest in vision care.
The eye is a beautiful thing in itself. Its varied colors of dark brown, almost black, bright blue, green, or almost colorless make no difference. Each is a marvel and is unique. Whether they are accented with a bit of makeup or left au naturale, whether they see or not, they are us. Some see better than others.
It is sad that a person would feel that they need to wear something from a flea market to enhance their beauty. There are prescription lenses with natural, enhanceing colors that can be worn safely and comfortably if one desires.
I have MS and the things that go with it. Also paraplegia. As was pointed out, neither are a disaster that cannot be worked around. Nonetheless, I think we all agree that blindness, paralysis, etc. are things that we don’t want unnecessarily.
Nice post with enlightening comments. Thanks for letting me share my thoughts.
Thank you George for your input. It’s always a pleasure to hear your thoughts especially with your background as an eye doctor.
I’m still trying to understand how or why anyone would but contacts anywhere but from a medical facility. Typically it’s recommended to get eye examinations every two years but as a contact wearer I had to get mine checked every year not only for the prescription but to ensure the fit was right.
When I was still in school back when hard contacts were the “in” thing (maybe this was prior to soft ones?) I remember seeing a classmate or two either putting them in or taking them out and I knew then there was no way on earth I was putting anything in my peepers. It wasn’t until I was in my 20s that I finally began wearing soft contacts and even then the facility trained first time wearers on how to put them in and take them out. If you couldn’t do it then you left without contacts.
😳 what? In case you can’t see the emoji I picked, it has wide eyes and raised eyebrows. I’m with you…why are contact lenses being sold at a flea market? And why would you buy gen there??
Them*
Gottcha😉
I know and there’s so many unanswered questions. Obviously there are a number of people who buy these types of illegal contacts but I’m wondering how anyone could reach adulthood without ever having seen an eye doctor. Also the article said she lost her job and I wonder what type of work she was doing because firing someone who has a disability is also illegal. I don’t think this story is as cut and dried as it may seem. Too many unanswered questions.
Right. I always have to remember that the news doesn’t always tell the whole truth and sometimes makes up stuff. My friend was recently featured in her local newspaper and she said that the story was a wee bit off.
You’re right. I remember when I worked for the management company of our airport airmall, our president was misquoted numerous times. It’s one of those things that’s so frustrating because it’s about what sells rather than the truth. Oh how I long for the days when reporting was unbiased and focused only on the who, what, where, when, and why.
Yes…that would be so nice.
This happened right here in our city. Such a sad situation.
That’s awful. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the contacts being sold at a flea market.
I know! I wouldn’t be buying something like contacts at a flea market. So sorry for the girl, though.
Yeah, I feel bad for her as well. It’s a costly lesson learned.
I don’t know why the human race, especially females, feel the need to use artificial means to make themselves feel more beautiful and desirable, or acceptable. Not just the eyes, but dangerous weight loss pills and diets, cosmetic surgery (all surgery has risks), etc. But, it has been going on since time began, so I guess it probably isn’t going to stop. Taking as many precautions as you can, and being vigilant, is definitely necessary.
I’m sorry to hear this tragic story and I feel for this girl. But on one level, I’m somewhat disturbed to see blindness portrayed as being a horrible consequence of using cosmetic lenses, since as blind woman myself, I know that blindness is not a death sentence and I’m sure this girl will eventually come to terms with her vision loss. On the other hand, I agree with the comment here that as a woman, I feel it’s fun and exciting to accentuate our inner sense of beauty with fashion and style—further bolstered by a bit of bling and makeup, but I’ve always felt reluctant to ever “go under the knife” unless a medical procedure is required. I also feel that unless a woman feels more confident with medical enhancements on any part of her body, then, by all means, go forth, but work with a board certified medical professional under all circumstances. Many of my girlfriends have successfully done all kinds of uplifting procedures, and nips and tucks making them feel better about how they look and how they feel about themselves. I also feel that as women, we have the prerogative to wear all kinds of attire, shape our bodies to whatever contour we like, push up and out any female part that needs more pronouncement and finish off with colorful cosmetics, adorning jewelry, accessories, and of course cool (but comfortable) shoes. And no matter what we spend on fashion and style, it’s much more cost-effective than any type of medical procedure, so for me, that is the way to go. That is one thing I love about this blog, https://boldblindbeauty.com/, a great site that offers a lot of great tips, techniques and trends about fashion and beauty for any woman, sighted or not, as well as great insights empowering visually impaired woman to be fashionable, regardless of ability to see the same way other women do. For me, I feel confident knowing I look well put together, and am proud that I can put myself together—whether it’s my clothes, makeup, jewelry or accessories—totally on my own. It may take me a little longer than my sighted girlfriends, but I just say “I can” and I do. Thanks for this great site!
I could just hug you Carla and my feeling are similar to yours. To each his own although personally surgery is never appealing to me so to do so for cosmetic reasons just wouldn’t work for me. I remember as a teen being so self conscious about my small breast size but I eventually got to the point I really didn’t care anymore. Now it’s I have a few friends who eventually had to do breast reduction surgery for health reasons, this will never be a problem I’ll experience. I was a little put off by the tone of attorney’s viewpoint on blindness. If it was coming directly from the young lady, that, I could understand. But the attorney made it sound like her life is over when in fact it isn’t.
When it comes to elective surgeries my thing has been to each his own but I don’t understand a massive restructure. Then there are those who are seem to be addicted to surgical procedures but I’d imagine there’s probably much more going on inside for anyone to go to such lengths. When it comes to something as sensitive as an eye I wouldn’t consider putting non-prescribed contacts in my eyes. But I’ve always required corrective lenses and my prescription changed every year for most of my life. So I was trying to imagine what would prompt someone to not to take such a chance with their vision and the only thing that makes sense would be someone who who has never h
I think my comment sounds much more controversial than I meant for it to. I have no problems with us accentuating “our inner sense of beauty with fashion and style—further bolstered by a bit of bling and makeup,” as CarlaAnn said so eloquently stated. However, our culture does seem to push us to fit into a particular mold that is often unrealistic. That’s what I don’t like.
I didn’t think it was controversial, you were just stating your opinion after reading a piece that was sad because this young woman’s loss of sight was totally preventable. We live and learn but the lesson here was too high of a price to pay for vanity and I don’t mean to sound harsh but there is such an emphasis placed on external beauty which in the end fades anyway.
Thank you for those kind words. I was worried. I totally agree with you. External beauty does fade, no matter how hard you try to stop that from happening. But, inner beauty is forever.
Amen. And it’s so sad that as young people so much pressure is place on the external when the focus really should be internally. There was a woman several years ago, who incidentally was very pretty, who had a number of surgical “enhancement” procedures and she ended up committing suicide. While we will never know the total story, it was reported that she still felt inferior but she was gorgeous.
That is so sad.
Personally I don’t understand it but to each his own. But if it were me I’d have to draw the line when it comes to my eyes. I remember way back when I was in school being warned about not sharing eye makeup and such so wearing non-prescribed contacts wouldn’t be a consideration. When I began wearing contacts it wasn’t too long after that when the color changing ones came on the scene but even then they were prescribed. I thought it was an interesting concept for those so inclined to wear them but it wasn’t something for me. And you’re right we have to be vigilant and become our own healthcare advocates. Unfortunately when it comes to beautification it seems like health goes out the window.
Totally agree.
🙂