A consumer here, seeking general feedback. I got my first pair of glasses around the first of the year and I'm not entirely happy. But since this is my first pair I don't really know what to expect. That's what I'm hoping you folks can help me with.

The phrase in the subject line--"reflection fog" is (obviously) one that I coined myself, but it's a pretty accurate description of what I am experiencing. The lower third or so of my lenses (the part I need the most, for reading) are foggy, almost as if they were badly smudged. But they aren't smudged--I see this even immediately after I've cleaned them thoroughly, when no contamination is present from a close visual examination.

This "fog" seems to be caused by glare. I'm not sure about that but it seems to be the case. I've searched these and other forums and have not seen any mention of this phenomenon (though perhaps I haven't searched on the right terms). But it's such an annoying thing--it really does obscure the words on the page in even moderate light (not completely but significantly)--that I would be surprised if I'm the only one experiencing it. Surely this wll-known?

The result is that I'm ambivalent about the glasses; sometimes I choose to close one eye and squint rather than wear them. Choose your poison: presbyopia or glare?

I don't know what specific lenses I have, or what my prescription is. I can see "Varilux Comfort" on the glass in certain light, but I don't know WHICH Varilux Comforts they are.

Please note that my query is general--I want to know what others have experienced and what professionals know about this and how it might, in general, be fixed. But for completeness I'll mention that I scheduled a followup appointment with my optometrist, who didn't look at the glasses or do any additional examinations. We just talked, and he tried (successfully at first) to convince me that this is what wearing glasses is like, and that I should just try to get used to it. As time has passed, however, I've become convinced that these things should work better than this.

Thank you.

Jim Austin