Choosing Ready-Made Reading Glasses
This page explains how to interpret your prescription and how to choose ready-made reading glasses. The second section also gives some general information about when ready-made reading glasses are suitable, and when we would recommend you consider purchasing glasses made to your exact prescription.
Interpreting Your Prescription
As your prescription changes over time, it is important to get an up-to-date prescription before buying new glasses. For most people, a prescription that has been issued within the last two years is suitable. A typical optical prescription looks like this:
|
|
SPH |
CYL |
Axis |
Prism |
Base |
Add |
|
Right Eye |
-0.50 |
|
|
|
|
+1.50 |
|
Left Eye |
-0.50 |
|
|
|
|
+1.50 |
To work out the correct power you need for your reading glasses, you add the Sphere (Sph) power to the Reading Add (Add) power. In this case:
-0.50 + 1.50 = 1.00
So for this prescription, you would need lenses for reading with a power of +1.00D.
No Prescription?
If you don't have a prescription from your optician, but you can see clearly in the distance and only require glasses for reading, you can use the table below to estimate the lens power you require, based on your age
|
Your Age |
40-45 |
45-50 |
50-55 |
55-60 |
60+ |
|
Recommended
Lens Power |
+1.00D |
+1.50D |
+2.00D |
+2.50D |
+3.00D |
Are Ready-Made Reading Glasses Suitable For Me?
Ready-made reading glasses provide a very economical solution for many people. However, they are not suitable for everyone. There are three situations where we would recommend that you consider choosing reading glasses that are made to your exact prescription, instead of buying ready-made glasses:
If your two eyes require different prescriptions
The ready-made reading glasses we supply come with lenses in fixed powers, from +1.00D to +4.00D, in steps of 0.50D. In each model, both lenses are the same power, however, people rarely have exactly the same prescription for both eyes. If the different between your eyes is more than 0.50D, reading made reading glasses are unlikely to be suitable.
If you have an astigmatism
Also, if your prescription includes values in the Cylinder (Cyl) sections, this indicates that you have an astigmatism - if this is more than 0.50D, you may not get very good vision with ready-made reading glasses.
If you have an usually large or small head
When reading glasses are made, the lenses are aligned to suit someone with a average PD (Pupillary Distance) of 63mm - PD is the distance between the pupils of your eyes. However, there is no such thing as an average person and normal PD measurements can vary between about 55 and 75mm. If your face is wider or narrower than average, or you know that your PD is significantly greater or smaller than 63, you may have problems using ready-made reading glasses.
Any questions?
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