When the time comes that tasks including deep concentration become more difficult, it may be a sign that your eyes need to be rechecked. You may need to get prescription eyeglasses – or possibly, just reading glasses. If you are having trouble reading recipes while cooking, or checking your emails, simple reading glasses may be your answer. If you’ve never worn glasses before, you’ll need to understand the difference between prescription eyeglasses and reading glasses. Furthermore, there are several other options you may need to know more about when you start to depend on vision-correction utensils, like: bi-focal and multi-focal glasses, or just simple readers.
While it is now common to see “readers” available for purchase in your local pharmacy or convenience store, these are not exactly the same as actual prescription reading glasses. If you can see perfectly fine at a distance, but up-close tasks are getting harder, you will need something to correct your near-vision, like reading glasses. Readers, like the ones listed above, do not need a specific prescription and can be sold to anyone needing near-vision correction as they are basically just a magnifying glass inside glasses lenses. There are different levels of magnification that the lenses are available in, and you can choose what you need accordingly. Prescription reading glasses – which your doctor would probably advise in place of simple readers – not only have those magnifications, but also specific measurements for your eyes and face, as well as any additional information needed, like a possible astigmatism. Also, reading glasses and computer glasses are not necessarily the same thing either. Reading glasses are made for very close near-vision correction, while computer glasses are used to help near-vision that is about twenty inches from your eyes. While this could make a difference in the actual magnification needs, the difference in glasses would be more effected by the measurements of your face – as your eyes won’t be in the same positions for these two different needs.
When needing to get eyeglasses, multi-focal glasses are another type that you should know more about; they are used when you need both near-vision correction, as well as distance correction. Classically, the bi-focal lens system involves two vision corrections within one pair of glasses, in which the distance need is on the top, while the near-vision correction is on the bottom of the lens. Modern optical technology has continued this idea without that gaudy line separating the two for a more pristine look; these are typically called progressive lenses.
When it comes time for you to invest the future of your eyes into some sort of vision-correction, now you will know the complex optical industry a bit better. Therefore, when your doctor hands you your new eyeglasses prescription, you’ll have a better understanding of exactly what you need – as well as what is out there. Whether you need progressive lenses or a pair of cheap eyeglasses, like handy readers, you’ll be set! So if you feel like you’re having any sort of strain on your eyes, make sure to get them checked at your earliest convenience; you might need glasses!
Hillary Glaser is the Director of Marketing and Special Projects for GlassesUSA.com – the easiest way to buy glasses online. She over sees day-to-day operations for all marketing and promotions of eyeglasses for the company.