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10 Things You Must Know Before You Get Prescription Lenses
So, you must have just finished your eye exam. By then, the doctor has issued lenses prescription for you to get the right kind and grade of contact lenses and eyeglasses that your eyes need. If the numbers and symbols confuse you, consider these tips as a guide in getting the perfect fit that you can wear the soonest.
Contact lenses and eyeglasses are different and so as their prescriptions.
Basically, eyeglasses are worn 12 millimeters away from your eyes, but the contact lenses rests directly on the surface of your eyeball. Therefore, the anatomy of these prescriptions differ as well.
Terms may differ in the lens prescription from the eyeglasses prescription.
In a contact lens, you can find these symbols: OD which stands for oculus dexter (the right eye), OS for 'oculus sinister' (the left eye), the PWR that tells the Refractive Power function, BC for Base Curve,
DIA for Diameter, CYL for Cylinder, AXS for Axis, ADD for Add Power, Color for the color of the contact lenses and the Brand wherein one can find the Brand name of the lenses.
The eyeglass prescription, on the other hand, contains labels such as the Sphere, Cylinder, Axis, Prism, Base, Distance and Add.
The power in your contact lenses prescription may be different from the glasses prescription. Yes, both eyeglasses and contact lenses are made to give you the best vision and to correct refractive errors like myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and/or astigmatism. However, these two devices may differ on the 'powers' to treat the refractive error your eyes have.
Additional information and specifications can also be found in lenses prescription.
Information like the base curve, diameter, lens brand or material and expiration date are additional features that can only be found in the lenses prescription. You need these for the lens fitting after the exam.
Know when you are nearsighted or farsighted.
The numbers in the prescription have a corresponding value and meaning. For example, the A plus sign under the SPH (sphere) box means that you are farsighted and thus need glasses for farsightedness. Meanwhile, the A minus sign means that you are nearsighted and have trouble identifying things that are far from you.
Know when you have single or multi focal vision.
The ADD column in your eyeglasses prescription can tell if you need additional magnifying or not. If the doctor added a number in the ADD column, this means that he is designing lenses to correct refractive errors for near, far and intermediate range vision.
There are also other symbols to refer to astigmatism.
You know when you have astigmatism when there are three numbers in the prescription and is formatted like this: S x C x Axis. The C (Cylinder) is the determinant for astigmatism and may contain a positive or negative number. The higher the number, the more serious your astigmatism is.
People over 45 may look for information in the ADD column.
Yes, the ADD column provides more information as to how much correction needed to focus in close distances. This may also mean that you have a different number for distance and reading.
Know where to find the number to help you with double vision or headaches.
If figures are found in the PRISM column, it means that you need help in preventing double vision and headaches. The absence of these figures, on the other hand, means that you are not suffering from these symptoms.
Determine the strength of your required prescription lenses.
If you are long-sighted or near-sighted, you can find figures in the SPH (sphere) column. The higher the number is, like 6.00, the higher would be the likelihood that you are getting stronger prescription lenses.
Hopefully, these guidelines will help you in advance on how to interpret the figures in your lenses prescription. Aside from this information, consider the advice and options your doctor can give you with regard to the kind of frame for your eyeglasses or the presence of color in your contact lenses. Also, take extra care of your eyes after the exam for them to recover or become healthier as time goes by.
