Surviving the Apocalypse with Poor Eyesight

Have you thought about surviving the Apocalypse with poor eyesight? Imagine waking up one morning only to discover that you’re now living in a world that’s abruptly been taken back to the dark ages. And for kicks and giggles, I’ll let you pick any apocalypse scenario you want, whether it’s nuclear war, an EMP attack, or a hurricane that’s completely decimated your entire community.

Whatever the case, not only will you be relying on your emergency survival gear to get your family through, but you’ll also be required to be at your very best as well, which includes your vision.

Are you someone who depends on glasses or contact lenses to make it through each day? If so, what would you do if your glasses were to get lost or broken during the event or if you were unable to track down your extra contact lenses?

You’ve probably never thought about it, but your poor eyesight could wind up being your greatest downfall. Keep reading to find out more about surviving an apocalypse with poor eyesight.

Think about getting some inexpensive readers if you can read with them. Reading Glasses

Surviving the Apocalypse with Poor Eyesight

How Long Will Contacts Last?

As long as you clean and store them away properly at night, your contacts should give you little to no problems for up to a month. But a month isn’t that long of a time, especially if it takes months or years to get society back up and running again. An eye doctor will tell you at most, you might be able to stretch them up to 3 months, but that may be pushing it during the apocalypse.

That’s because you’ll likely be dealing with a dusty new environment and wearing contacts for a longer period of time can increase your chances of getting a serious eye infection.

If you decide to still go the contacts route during this type of scenario, make sure that you always keep your hands clean before you put them in and that you’re not using contaminated water when you do so. Using unclean hands and contaminated water can cause a serious eye infection like Acanthamoeba keratitis, a single-cell organism that can dig away at your corneas causing your vision to deteriorate quickly. Yikes!

Of course, there are different kinds of contacts and some are designed to last a long time and not have to be replaced each day or each month. Mark wore his “hard” contacts for over 18 years with very little loss of vision correction. He took them out each night, cleaned them, and put them in the cleaning solution until the next morning.

Always Have a Spare Set of Glasses Available

Glasses also come with their disadvantages. Not only can they break easily during an emergency situation but they also tend to be very sensitive to fluctuations in temperature like when you go from a warm building out into the cold. The last thing that you need is your glasses fogging up on you while you’re forced to evacuate a building and can’t see what dangers may be right in front of you.

That’s why it’s always a good idea to have an extra set of glasses nearby, just in case your first pair breaks. You can either keep them stored away in your bug-out bag in a protective eyeglass case or you can keep them tucked away safely at home.

If for some reason they get lost or broken during the event, at least you won’t be left completely helpless. Just make sure that these spare glasses are also up-to-date with your current prescription so that you don’t strain your eyes during a disaster event.

Cleaning Contacts During an Apocalypse

Clean water will be a lot more difficult to come by when you need to wash your hands before you put your contacts in. As always, soap and water are your best bet. But if you’re in a pinch and not able to find quality water, you could always use an antibacterial handwash to get your hands clean. Just be sure that you wait until all the traces of alcohol are completely evaporated before you go to touch your eyes. Failing to do so could cause irritation and your eyes to burn, defeating the entire purpose of cleaning them, and it could cause extended damage.

I have written dozens of posts about the need for quality water during any emergency. You not only need sufficient supplies but also the ability to apply water purification steps to make sure the water stays safe for an extended period. Check out my archives for ideas you can apply now, and when a disaster hits, you’ll be glad you did.

Water treatment doesn’t require some kind of special medical device to prevent viruses, bacteria, and other contaminants to spoil your water. Big Burkey and PortaWell are two companies I can recommend you research and buy products from based on your family’s specific needs.

You don’t want your survival to be based on good luck, preparation is critical and you should start now if you haven’t already. It seems like human nature to put off what might take time and effort, but quality water is a “must-have” that improves your everyday life now, and your survival chances with things get tough.

Consider Laser Eye Surgery

Maybe you’ve never really noticed, but many first responders like firefighters and police officers don’t wear glasses or contacts. Why is that? Well, they deal with harrowing situations almost daily and have no time for finicky contact lenses or trying to keep glasses on or from fogging up.

Instead, they’ve decided to get Lasik laser vision correction surgery so that all of the problems that come with glasses or contact lenses are no longer an issue for them during stressful situations. Dealing with the situation at hand is improved with the convenience of this type of vision correction.

You can bet that during an apocalyptic situation, you’ll need to be at your best when it comes to seeing road signs clearly or being able to deter your family away from any hurdles off in the distance caused by the traumatic experience.

Another thing to think about is that people may go out of their minds enough to set boobytraps and ambushes that you would only be able to notice if you had 20/20 vision.

I can assure you, getting a laser eye surgery procedure done before a disaster takes place will take a lot of stress off of you. And even if an apocalypse never happens, you’d never have to reach for your glasses or have to worry about eye infections again, possibly for years!

Having perfect vision is a goal for each of us and that’s why we should visit our optometrist at least every two years. As we age, we tend to require more checkups as our vision changes, particularly after age 40. Staying on top of your prescription lens needs can make you feel more confident that you can deal with things during an emergency situation and increase your chance of survival.

Ways To Improve Your Vision During The Apocalypse

Finally, if all else fails and you’re unable to obtain any sort of eye protection during the apocalypse, there are still ways that you can improve your vision.

• Eating a diet rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, two powerful antioxidants that are found in fruits, vegetables, and eggs can help to reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration.
• In addition, foods high in Omega-3 fatty acids like salmon, tuna, walnuts, and flaxseed oil have all been shown to lower the risk of developing glaucoma as well.
• It’s also important to make sure that you’re getting enough sleep every night since lack of rest can contribute to poor vision.
• If you’re unable to get a full 8 hours each night, due to the dangerous conditions outside or if there is constant light pollution, then try to take a quick 15-20 minute power nap during the day. This should help wake you up and improve your vision so that you can keep going.

More End-of-the-World Survival Tips

• Hygiene Tips for the End of the World
• Best Vehicles for Surviving the End of the World
• 13 Things You’ll Regret Not Having When SHTF
• Emergency Prepping with Honey Bees

Final Word

Don’t let poor eyesight be your family’s downfall in a world that’s come crashing down around you. With the right precautions in place, you can still survive an apocalyptic event regardless of whether or not you need glasses or contact lenses to see. Can you think of any other tips that would be useful for those that have poor eyesight during an apocalyptic situation? Surviving the apocalypse with poor eyesight may be difficult, but you can do it with these tips. May God Bless this World, Linda

Copy Images: Eye Glass and Contacts Depositphotos_191536614_S, Colorful Eyeglasses Depositphotos_74091501_S.jpeg