How to Read Glasses Prescription

Trying to read your eye glass prescription can feel like you do need glasses. But eye glass prescription is just a simple shorthand used between opticians and spectacle makers to describe what glasses or contact lenses to issue you.

Refractive error means how much off the mark your vision is from true. Blurred vision happens when light is not fully focussed onto your photo-sensing retina at the back of your eye.

At the top of your eye prescription is a letterhead with the name of the optometrist / eye clinic and contact number and mailing address for queries.

In the middle of your eye prescription is the actual description of your eye correction.

How to Read Eye Glass Prescription (Eye Prescription Picture above):

• Vision Blue is the brand and color of lens.
• R or od (oculus dexter) means your right eye, and L or os (oculus sinister) means your left eye.
• BC stands for base curve which is how rounded the lens will be.
• Dia means the diameter of the lens i.e. how wide it is.
• Power means how strong the lens needs to be to bend light back into focus in your eye: minus scatters light out of your eye pushing the focus point farther back (used in nearsightedness (myopia) where the eyeball is too long), while plus lenses bend light in pulling the focus point forward in your eye (used in farsightedness (hyperopia) where the eyeball is too short).
• Cyl (cylinder) and Axis are two additional descriptions on eye prescriptions for persons with Astigmatism as they need additional light curvature to focus true .

And that's all you need to know to how to read a glasses prescription.

More Great Medical Secrets!

 

Print	Home
Search Site Doctor Secrets!