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Hubby is ridiculously nearsighted. Has worn glasses since he was little & has always been very careful with them and protective of them. Diagnosed in 2010 with dementia & although now quite severe still always wanted his glasses. Lately will occasionally take them off & set them down but always welcomes having them put back on. A month ago he & caregiver were watching TV & caregiver looked over & saw him fiddling with something in his lap & it was his specs--he'd broken the frame & bent the temples all out of recognition & the lenses had fallen out. I had a spare pair & over the holiday was trying to figure out what the best way would be to replace them since we can tell by his behavior that he can see with them and can't see without them. (A couple of times he'd inadvertently rolled over on them somehow & bent them but they could always be fixed, but I saved the last 2 prescription pairs he had made so I'd always had a spare. We still take him to the ophthalmologist for glaucoma test & inspection but he's long past anything like a refraction test so I'm just using his glasses from 2010 and 2011.) Before I could do anything, though, he did the same thing to the spare pair with a different caregiver on duty! Both caregivers felt terrible but I don't blame them at all. Turns out the 2nd pair could be bent back into shape enough for him to wear although I think they should be inspected by a professional. I took the 1st pair to an optician & bought similar but smaller frames which they think can accept the existing lenses but can't be guaranteed. Our current solution is to take his glasses off after his afternoon nap & leave them off for the rest of the day. He doesn't seem to realize he isn't wearing them by that time of day, but in the morning he misses them and wants them. When the pair that are being replaced are done I'll take the current pair in for adjustment & repair if necessary. I'm not sure there is any "solution", I can't expect the caregiver to sit there and stare at him for 8 hours and never go to the bathroom! And he did it so FAST! Any suggestions would be more than welcome. I'm not ready to say oh well he doesn't know he doesn't have them on, because he was always so terribly dependent on them.

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It sounds like he is sundowning a bit and you have a great plan to protect future glasses.

If he doesn't notice them missing in the afternoon it is a great idea to keep them from him.

Well done!
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Did you know there are online companies that sell glasses very inexpensively? That may be the best option for you. Look into flexible frames and plastic lenses that will not break when he starts to mess with them.
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jacobsonbob Jan 2020
I've seen various ads for Zenni that claim to sell eyeglasses very inexpensively, but I have no other knowledge or experience with that company.
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Contact the LIONS club, glasses are their thing. They have helped millions over the years with the donation of glasses.
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Try giving him things to fiddle with instead of his glasses. There are many substitutes you could find. It's probable that his glasses are just what's handy when he gets restless.
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There are fiddle blankets. My daughter made fiddle muffs. You put things like zippers, buttons, shoe laces, etc. She crocheted hers. They can be sewn. Can do them like a blanket. Daughter made Mom one when she was in LTC. Activities director liked it so much she ordered 4.

https://www.alzstore.com/twiddle-muff-p/0209.htm
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Readers ( multiple pairs) at this point are the answer. Same thing happened to my Mom and the RX was too old; the eye exam was a fiasco.
Long story short, she broke the new glasses three times and then didn’t realize she didn’t have them any longer. I tried a glasses-holder lanyard, extra counseling for staff about protecting my $600 investment ( trifocals), and everything else I could think of. Just a few things that you might want to consider; I’ve been there/ done that.
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disgustedtoo Jan 2020
IF one can resort to reading specs, Dollar Tree is recommended. Theirs are $1 each, so you can have MANY available! Also, combine that with something he can "fiddle" with, as others have suggested. Mom only has reading glasses at this point, and is constantly "cleaning" them.
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have a nephew with Down Syndrome. He wears glasses with frames that are kind of rubbery. Surely someone makes glasses like this in adult size.
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Thank you, lealonnie1, Tothill and metoo111 for your suggestions. It helps me to sort out what to do. In order to get anybody to make new glasses for him I will need a prescription from his ophthalmologist. It will just have to be the same as the last prescription he had some years ago, because as I said he's long past having his vision tested. I'm sure that they will do that for us. Then look for strong, bendable, unbreakable, athletic frames and have the glasses made somewhere cheap! He's always been difficult to fit because he has a big head, typically we've had to choose frames which had long temples available. We're using a strap to hold them on right now but it doesn't really work. In any case, step one is to get the prescription! He has an ophthalmologist appointment on February 7, I wonder if I could just get them to fax me over a copy of his last prescription. Thank you again for helping me to THINK about this. Things like this are always hard to sort out because it takes me time to get over the sadness of the reality check...
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TNtechie Jan 2020
There's a scanning machine now that can detect/measure the eye's curvature and provide a prescription based on the scan. No participation required from the patient other than looking toward the scanner. My young nephew just had this scan during his physical instead of a traditional vision test. I asked the nurse how accurate the scan was and she stated most of the office staff had compared the scan to their prescriptions and found it was right on.
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I second buying from Zenni. Mine are not as cheap as needtowashhair's but for prescription glasses they are FAR cheaper than any other place I've ever bought from. I did a quick search on Zenni and if you type in 742823 it brings up a sports goggle style that is very strong looking. It also has an elastic strap. Hubby would have to work at damaging that style.
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Since the issue here is breaking eyeglasses, thus buying extra pairs of glasses only means more glasses to fiddle with and damage.

I agree with Geaton's post about purchasing indestructible eyeglasses. Those who are sport's professionals that need to wear glasses must be able to purchases glasses that don't break, such as those with titanium frames. They are expensive, but in the long run if they don't break, they probably run equal in cost to a couple dozen new regular frames.
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