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Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to my inquiry about
needing reading glasses earlier than "normal."
Many people responded (about 25) - with lots of different comments and
information.

This was the best response and made me laugh out loud, "Same thing
happened to me...it may be from reading all those darn labels!"

About 10 people said they had also experienced a need for reading
glasses either in their 20s or early 30s and that their vision had
declined quite rapidly. But most of these people also made the
connection with activities such as computer work, reading or writing as
possible sources of eye strain and decline. - I think I fit into this
category. I work on a computer everyday and read somewhere between 2-5
hours a day (graduate student).

A couple of people said that reading glasses had nothing to do with age,
one said it was genetic. Interestingly enough, I was speaking to a
biologist today about eye sight, in general, and she told me that in
North America, humans have been evolutionarily selected for poor
eyesight, largely due to the loss of life during World War II. All of
the recruits for the war requried perfect vision (at least according to
this biologist). With the huge loss of life during WWII, the genes for
poor vision became more dispersed in the population, resulting in an
increase in poor vision.

Other people were interested in the idea that vision may be affected by
celiac, but nobody had any evidence to support a connection. One person
said it could be related to a fatty acid deficiency, someone else said
it might be connected to excess sugar and/or yeast.

A couple of people recommended eye exercises as methods to relieve the
strain and possibly improve vision. Some other people said, once they
retired or had children, their vision actually improved, mostly because
the use of their eyes changed, less reading I think.

Somebody else told me to accept that I had reached middle age and this
was what happened to people in middle age. Technically, based on the
life expectancy for females of 72 years, I still haven't reached middle
age, almost but not quite.

A couple of people gave websites to reference:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/celiac/messages
www.mercola.com - this one is about the fatty acid deficiency

Once again, thank you and I'm looking forward to getting my glasses so
that I don't have to strain anymore.

Have a happy day!
Gillian

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