short sighted

polod

hi ...i am short sighted and wear contacts ....i think i read some where if you are short sighted you cannot join the gardai is this true ? or could I just stay quiet and hope they would never find out ?

It's definitely true. You will have to get laser eye surgery...and hope they lift the ban on recruitment

C-J

I used to be -2.75 in both eyes, just scraped the medical on that basis but got laser surgery nearly 2 years ago to be on the safe side. If you are referred for laser, you must have it done at least 6 months before undertaking the garda medical. The details are a bit hazy at this stage but I remember posting info on it in a thread somewhere on here before! Also if you fail the medical just on eyesight i think they will refer you on and will give you time to get it done, so it's not a total fail. Hope this helps!

polod

haha jays that unreal apart from the recruitment ban now...but like i nearly feel im being pushed aside because of something small like that ...whats lazer eye surgury like is it not kind of risky no ?

Goonerdee

polod wrote: »

haha jays that unreal apart from the recruitment ban now...but like i nearly feel im being pushed aside because of something small like that ...whats lazer eye surgury like is it not kind of risky no ?

The biggest risk with laser eye surgery is your eyesight returning to pre treatment levels very fast. A guy who got his eyes done a few months before I did is back to wearing glasses most of the time. My eyesight is still perfect thankfully. We went to different clinics so I don't know if that might be a reason.

I got both eyes done at the same time, I was worried about that, but I wish I'd got it sooner, it was my eyesight that was the only thing holding me back from applying, now I have perfect eyesight and they initiate a recruitment ban.

polod

Goonerdee wrote: »

The biggest risk with laser eye surgery is your eyesight returning to pre treatment levels very fast. A guy who got his eyes done a few months before I did is back to wearing glasses most of the time. My eyesight is still perfect thankfully. We went to different clinics so I don't know if that might be a reason.

I got both eyes done at the same time, I was worried about that, but I wish I'd got it sooner, it was my eyesight that was the only thing holding me back from applying, now I have perfect eyesight and they initiate a recruitment ban.

yeah unreal aint it....hmm im not sure if i would go through it now im just a small short sighted -1.50 in both eyes....is there any pain to it ? did it take long for your eye sight to improve after the operation ?

Goonerdee

polod wrote: »

yeah unreal aint it....hmm im not sure if i would go through it now im just a small short sighted -1.50 in both eyes....is there any pain to it ? did it take long for your eye sight to improve after the operation ?

I did suffer some pain as the anaesthestic wore off, which was made worse by the fact it had brought tears to my eyes, salty tears, OUCH!!! But I went home, went to sleep and when I woke up the pain was gone. The moment the operation was finished I could see clearly, before the anaesthetic wore off of course, your eyes are supersensitive to light that first day, you have to wear sunglasses a couple of days afterwards and you get eye drops to put in for a month afterwards.

Don't worry about the pain, you might not even suffer any, some told me they didn't have any, so it must have been the tears caused mine, plus I am a bit whimpish when it comes to my eyes and teeth.

polod

Goonerdee wrote: »

I did suffer some pain as the anaesthestic wore off, which was made worse by the fact it had brought tears to my eyes, salty tears, OUCH!!! But I went home, went to sleep and when I woke up the pain was gone. The moment the operation was finished I could see clearly, before the anaesthetic wore off of course, your eyes are supersensitive to light that first day, you have to wear sunglasses a couple of days afterwards and you get eye drops to put in for a month afterwards.

Don't worry about the pain, you might not even suffer any, some told me they didn't have any, so it must have been the tears caused mine, plus I am a bit whimpish when it comes to my eyes and teeth.

Thanks for the info goonerdee.....they have to cut your cornea with a knife or scaple thats the only thing kind of putting me off it ....im whimpish 2

Goonerdee

Thats only if you go for the £395 per eye treatment, I wanted the best risk free treatment, so it didn't cost that. You get the anaesthetic eye drops, then you go in. They put a wee loop over your eye to hold it in place, you feel pressure on your eye at this stage, but no pain. Your lying down the whole time, so they put one machine over your eye, thats the laser that cuts the cornea, then they take it away and put another machine over your eye and thats the laser that reshapes your eye to give you good vision. You never see anything cutting your eye. It is worth it, trust me.

polod

Goonerdee wrote: »

Thats only if you go for the £395 per eye treatment, I wanted the best risk free treatment, so it didn't cost that. You get the anaesthetic eye drops, then you go in. They put a wee loop over your eye to hold it in place, you feel pressure on your eye at this stage, but no pain. Your lying down the whole time, so they put one machine over your eye, thats the laser that cuts the cornea, then they take it away and put another machine over your eye and thats the laser that reshapes your eye to give you good vision. You never see anything cutting your eye. It is worth it, trust me.

cheers goonerdee sound fella

ondarack

Any of the following examples of medical conditions may be a bar to passing the medical exam:

Defective Vision: the vision standard required of a Garda trainee is not less than 6/18, 6/18 (correctable to 6/9, 6/12) unaided by glasses or contact lenses, with normal colour vision.
Varicose veins
Being overweight
Albumenuria
Dental Caries
Defective Hearing
Hypertension''


This is from the website, hope it helps