The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes: How Tinted Glasses Changed My Life

Picture yourself in a boat on a river

With tangerine trees and marmalade skies

Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly

A girl with kaleidoscope eyes

~The Beatles, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Seeing the world through Rose colored glasses. ~Anonymous

My glasses are a conversation piece. Children and adults notice them and think they’re fascinating. Often I’m asked two things: Do I see the world through rose colored glasses? Does it help me with my chronic migraines and photosensitive epilepsy? In case you are wondering, I don't see things in pink; for someone else, my glasses turn everything rosy. I see things as others do-to an extent. Call it color blindness. My brain sees color-and patterns more vividly. Since my diagnosis of epilepsy in 2003, the glasses became part of my world. They were added to help reduce the tension from stripes, polka dots, swirls, and my biggest issue, red and blue side by side. When I mention how the colors red and blue bother me, I get a puzzled expression. How can two primary colors be a problem? My brain sees red and blue always at war with each other. I can't focus on them both; I have to mute one or the other so they won’t clash. My neurologist suggested that I get the lenses in my glasses tinted. It would help me focus better. When I went to my ophthalmologist, he recommended the best hue. He pulled out an assortment of lenses in varying hues-greens, blues, yellows, and reds. I described my problems to him. I told him what my neurologist suggested; she had no idea which tinge worked best and said to consult the eye doctor about it. 

“I recommend a tint more on the red side," he told me. "Why red, but not blue?" I asked. He explained, "Blue increases the number of migraines and you won't find relief. Blue is fine-if you need sunglasses. Yellow hues like amber and honey tones won’t work for you, either. High definition televisions add a fourth color that differs from the standard color televisions. Old TVs have red, blue and green. High definition televisions add yellow for more clarity and precision. Yellow tinted glasses are awful if you want to avoid life in high definition. A red tone will reduce the tension and make things softer and easier on your eyes. That is what you need." I didn't want my life enhanced by yellow-tinted glasses. I had enough color augmentations by my brain. It is part of my epilepsy and migraines. I have a synthesthia where my brain takes colors, separates it to various tones and shades, and frequently adds scents and/or musical sounds to them. It sounds odd placing it on paper, but for me, this is my "normal." There’s never a day when my brain shuts it off. It’s tuned in every moment of my life. 

 When I picked out my frames, I had to endure the test of finding the best tint. It was a bit painful. My mom had to put a red and blue piece of paper side by side until I was able to endure that pairing. I found my tint-desert rose. I love that tint a lot! It eases the problem that comes with my migraines and epilepsy. Mornings go a bit smoother when I put on my tinted glasses. It is not a guarantee that my day is hassle-free, yet it takes a big issue out of my way. 

*For further information about tinted glasses and the effects of it on the brain, please visit the Irlen Institute’s website, https://www.irlen.org, or see their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/irlen. I hope it provides some help to anyone who has a migraine, or epilepsy or for those who are curious as to the purpose of tinted glasses. If you have any further questions or inquiries for me, please email me at info@purplicious.net.com. I won’t know all the answers, but I will do my best.