How to Read Your Eyeglass Prescription

When you look at your prescription for eyeglasses, you will see numbers listed under the headings of OS and OD. They are Latin abbreviations; OS (oculus sinister) means the left eye and OD (oculus dextrus) means the right eye. Occasionally you will see a notation for OU, which means something involving both eyes. In general, the further away from zero the number on your prescription, the worse your eyesight and the more vision correction you need. A plus sign in front of the number means you are farsighted and a minus sign means you are nearsighted. These numbers represent diopters, the unit used to measure the correction, or focusing power, of the lens your eye requires. Diopter is often abbreviated "D."

For example, if your prescription says -1.00, you have one diopter of nearsightedness. This is a fairly mild amount of nearsightedness. If you are -4.25, that means you have 4 and 1/4 diopters of nearsightedness. This is more nearsighted than -1.00, and requires stronger (thicker) lenses. Similarly, +1.00 would be a small amount of farsightedness and +5 would be more.

For people who have astigmatism, there will be three numbers in your prescription. The general form for writing these numbers is S x C x Axis

The S refers to the "spherical" portion of the prescription, which is the degree of nearsightedness or farsightedness discussed above.

The C refers to the "cylinder" or astigmatism, and can be a negative or a positive number. It measures in diopters the degree of astigmatism that you have. The bigger this number, the more astigmatism you have.

The Axis is a number anywhere between 0 and 180 degrees. It reveals the orientation of the astigmatism It is not enough to specify how much astigmatism there is; you have to know where the difference in curvature is taking place.

Here are two examples of what prescriptions for eyes with astigmatism could look like:

-2.00 +1.50 x 180

+3.50 +3.00 x 45

The first prescription means that the person has 2 diopters of nearsightedness with 1.5 diopters of astigmatism. and an axis of 180 degrees.

The second prescription means that the person has 3.5 diopters of farsightedness, 3 diopters of astigmatism and an axis of 45 degrees.

Eyeglass Men's Frames

Today's styles show rectangles to be very fashionable for men. These shapes can be explored through many materials. The current technology can offer extremely light- weight and thin designs. The plastic frames offer a bolder look. Rimless styles are extremely popular. Titanium has broadened the choices in eyewear over the years. Its flexible strength has always appealed to men. Many of the rimless designs are made of titanium and are therefore much stronger than their predecessors. As with all fashion today, anything goes.

Most men enjoy contemporary styling in their eyewear but the classics still hold up. Aviator styles are still worn as sunglasses. Double bridge styles can still work on some men. Tortoise shell coloring works well on many men who desire a look with a statement. Work with a stylist or optician who can help you make an appropriate selection for your face shape and prescription.

Women's Eyeglass Frames

Eyeglass frames can truly enhance one’s appearance. Upswept shapes can literally add lift to a face. Color can be used to add attention. The smaller frames are still most popular. When choosing a frame remember it is to accent you, not take over. Today’s materials allow for beautiful color. There is anodized titanium which is thin, light- weight and delicately beautiful. Many of the rimless designs are made out of these materials. The small bits of metal join unframed lenses creating an almost not there look, which is extremely popular today. The rimless style or three-piece mount as it is called also allows you to shine through. These frameless styles offer every shape imaginable.

If your face is round you want a rectangular frame to counter balance the roundness. If you have an oval face any shape from the butterfly, upsweep, oval, round or rectangle are appropriate. Square faces do better with softer shapes. If your chin is very pointy an eyeglass frame can balance that out. Plastic frames are popular for women today. Plastics offer everything from a bright red little cat eye to a heavy tortoise shell rectangle. Many of the frame designers use laminates that allow layering of color for an extremely bold and rich look. Eyewear needs to be considered within the context in which one wears it. There are dressy delicate metal frames. Some designers even add small jewels to the frame. Eyewear follows the trends in fashion. Today you can wear what looks best on you whether it be almost invisible, heavy plastic, small, large and jeweled with upswept temples. Just remember; if it isn’t appropriate to your prescription choose something else. With the myriad of styles available today you with the help of your optician will fine the right frame for your prescription and face shape.

Types of visions

Last night i got an email,

I want "computer glasses" slighty altered from reading prescription for distance to computer display (18-30 in.) vs normal reading (12-18 in.) can my optometrist make such a prescription?

Types of visions :

There are three types of vision

1st distance.

2nd reading.

3rd mid vision.

Distance vision:

Distance glasses unlike reading glasses tend to spend a lot more time on your face. That makes sense since regardless of how strong or weak your prescription is you still need to have them on most of the time. So that means you want to make sure you get a pair that are comfortable and lightweight. Having glasses on your face for that long should seem effortless. The weight of your glasses is very important and luckily today's glasses are so technologically advance you can find a lightweight pair of glasses no matter what your prescription is.

Reading vision:

Today there is a wide range of reading glasses to choose from. Some are even foldable to fit in small, handy, attractive cases. The frames available are interesting and flattering. You can get these in stainless steal, gold or silver rimmed or even in trendy plastic, in a variety of shapes and colors. If you are looking for something exclusive, choose handmade frames. Accessories like magnifiers to read really small print, or even in dim light are also available.

Mid vision:

Mid vision is use for computer glasses. If you want only single vision glasses for computer purpose only then send your complete prescription, I will let you know your mid vision prescription via reply.

Eyeglasses for computer use

It has been discovered, sitting in front of a computer screen not only makes you a pain in the neck and causes a creak in your backside, but it gives you eye problems as well.Even if you are currently wearing eyeglasses,you may want to purchase yourself a pair of computer glasses.

Computer glasses are specially made. In regular prescription glasses, including bifocals, you usually find help in seeing better at near ranges or far ranges.

If you spend long hours in front of a computer, you may want to get computer glasses, whether or not you have to wear corrective lenses. Computer Vision Syndrome can cause a multitude of symptoms, leading to loss of productivity. CVS can cause headaches, blurred vision, neck and shoulder pain, loss of focus, tired, burning eyes, and double vision.If you do not wear a eyeglasses, then you may want to get computer glasses anyway, as they also help with the glare from fluorescent lights.

The simplest pair of computer glasses you can order would be the single vision lenses. Their modified power helps keep the general user from some of the discomforts associated with CVS. For people with presbyopia, the occupation progressive lens, would probably work best. The transitions zone is much larger than your typical progressive lens and can even do some distant vision for you. They have improved computer vision near and far as well as the middle zone.

For some people it may be beneficial, even if not strictly necessary, for them to get an occupational bifocal. If you need reading glasses, this could be a good option. A portion of the lens is dedicated to close up work and the other portion to mid-distance work for working on the computer.

What is Prescription? and How To Read An Eyeglass Prescription?

When ordering prescription eyeglasses on

line, be sure your eye doctor writes your pupil distance (PD) measurement on your prescription. T

his ensures the optical center of your lenses will be exactly in front of your p

upils.

sample of a prescription:

How To Read An Eyeglass Prescription:

When you have your eye exam and the doctor gives you a copy of your eyeglass prescription, do you know how to read it? What does OD, OS, and OU mean?

An eyeglass prescription is written in a standardized format with standardized notation so it can be interpreted worldwide. Let’s look at one and break it down:

-2.00 -1.00 x 180. The first number (-2.00) tells us the spherical refractive error (farsightedness or nearsightedness). In this case, because there is a minus sign in front of the 2.00, this patient is nearsighted. A plus sign would indicate farsightedness.

The second number (-1.00) is the astigmatism. If there is no astigmatism, we generally write the letters DS or SPH after the first number to let the optician know that we didn’t just forget to write in the astigmatism.

The final number (180) is the direction (AXIS) of the astigmatism. Astigmatism, a football-shaped eye, can be measured in any direction around the clock. We use the numbers from 90 to 180 to indicate the orientation of the football shape.

There may be additional numbers in a glasses prescription. For instance, if the basic prescription is followed by a small number with a superscript (1^) it indicates prism correction. There may be more than one set of prism numbers for each eye.

Lastly, there can also be numbers denoting the amount of near reading strength needed (bifocal or progressive). They usually go from +0.75 to +3.00, depending on age and visual need.

The letters OD and OS in front of a prescription let us know which eye each string of numbers is for. OD (Oculus Dexter) stands for right eye and OS (Oculus Sinister) for left eye, while OU (Oculus Uterque, Oculus Unitas or Oculus Uniter) means both eyes.

Sphere: This number measurement reflects the extent of the nearsightedness or farsightedness.

Cylinder: This number measurement refers to the amount of astigmatism (an irregularly shaped cornea which causes blurring) in the eye.

Axis:This number measurement describes the astigmatism in degrees from the horizontal (most left and right eyes have the same axis in astigmatism) axis.

Kids Eyeglass Brands

There are some specific prescription eyeglass brands that focus on making frames for children. For the most part, these brands are great for helping kids ease into wearing glasses, making them more comfortable. Kids' eyeglass brands can make having to wear prescription eyeglasses seem fun, while making the fit easier to achieve. Some popular kids' eyeglass brands include:

- Barbie 
- Captain America (by Marvel) 
- Childs View 
- Disney 
- Dora the Explorer 
- Fairly Odd Parents 
- Fisher Price 
- Garfield 
- Hershey's 
- High School Musical 
- Incredible Hulk (by Marvel) 
- Jimmy Neutron 
- Kool Kids 
- Rugrats 
- Scooby Doo 
- Spongebob 
- Whiz Kid