Another area which we do not look after at our peril is our vision. Too many of us take risks on a regular basis with our eyes. We handle chemicals, drill, chisel and take a hundred and one other minor risks without eye protection. In addition we don’t really get our eyes checked until we have to. We need to change this thought process.
The loss of an eye would be a major setback for any one of us, even now whilst we are not in a survival situation. Being totally blind is a disaster for any of us and a potential death sentence if in a survival situation unless you are in a solid community or family unit.
We should be looking after our vision as a matter of course. I like to read, I like to look at nice things and I don’t want to live in a world of total darkness so personally, I wear eye goggles for most workshop type tasks, eye protection whilst shooting and I’m wary of what I’m doing and wear eye protection unless I’m 100% sure of the task I’m performing will not damage my eyes. Erring on the side of caution is a good survival trait but makes a lousy hero or explorer. I’ll live with that. When I was much younger I temporarily damaged an eye whilst playing. Luckily, it was short term but since then I have been wary about eye protection.
So prepare for the future, even if it is not a survival one. Get eye protection for the times you need it. Goggles are cheap so you can stock up. It could be the cheapest protection you have. You should also get your eyes checked. Glasses are inexpensive at the moment and could mean the difference between reading the fine print and not. Make sure you have spares and again, don’t throw away the old ones, keep them. When your optician sends the reminders for a recheck in 6 months, go and have them rechecked. Finally, there are cheap glasses available at most stores. Simple glasses which are available for a couple of pounds each. It would be worth getting several of differing strength and sizes as you never know when they would come in handy.
I would certainly prefer to have glasses to aid someone’s eyesight than some of the things we think we need in a survival situation. Many things we think we need will prove to be wrong when we get down to it. Glasses and goggles are well worth the investment. Hopefully, you will never have to use them.
Consider that, if we do go into a survival situation glasses are not going to be easy to make, the lenses are difficult to grind and to make yourself a pair of glasses will be a skill that most of us will not have. I have tried grinding lenses when I was younger for a project. It was a long, boring and exacting task which is best left to machines and experts. You can buy lens grinding equipment if necessary. Buy one if you have everything else and can afford a tool you may never really use. If you do you could consider this as a marketable skill.