How to Read a Vision Screening Summary

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If yous wear glasses, it's useful to be able to read your prescription – peculiarly if y'all want to order new specs from an online retailer. While your optometrist or eye doctor is required by law to give y'all a copy of your prescription free of charge, information technology's upwards to you to be able to understand the information on your prescription and use information technology correctly. Learn to decipher the abbreviations and numbers on your prescription, and find out how to get your pupillary altitude fifty-fifty if your vision provider won't give it to you lot.

1. 1

   Look for O.D. or O.S. to make up one's mind which eye is which. Most prescriptions will include at least two rows of numbers, one labelled "O.D." and the other labelled "O.S." O.D. is short for "oculus dexter," which is Latin for "right eye." O.S. is curt for "oculus sinister," which is Latin for "left middle."

   • Occasionally, yous may meet a prescription with a line labeled O.U., or oculus uterque, for both eyes.^[ane]
   • Some prescriptions may apply R.E. and L.E., or simply "right" and "left," instead of O.D. and O.S.

2. 2

   Check the "SPH" cavalcade if you are nearsighted or farsighted. SPH stands for "spherical." The numbers in this column indicate how strong your lens must be to right for nearsightedness or farsightedness. The numbers correspond diopters, a unit of measurement used to describe the cosmetic force of a lens.^[2]

   • A negative number, such as -2.00, indicates nearsightedness (difficulty seeing far away).
   • A positive number, like +one.50, indicates farsightedness (difficulty seeing upwards close).

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3. 3

   Read the "CYL" and "Axis" columns to observe astigmatism corrections. Astigmatism is a blurring of the vision acquired by an irregularity of the lens or cornea.^[three] The lens strength needed to correct astigmatism can be institute in the CYL ("cylindrical") column. The axis column contains a number that corresponds to the angle of your astigmatism.^[four]

   • The numbers in the CYL cavalcade will be either positive (due east.k., +3.00) or negative (east.k., -0.50) depending on whether your astigmatism corresponds to farsightedness or nearsightedness.
   • On some prescriptions, there may be no axis cavalcade. Instead, the axis may be preceded by an x and written right after the cylindrical measurement (e.g., +2.fifty x30).^[v]

4. 4

   Check for an "Add" row if yous demand bifocals. If your optics need both near vision and distance vision correction, your prescription will have two rows of spherical corrections. Many bifocal prescriptions list near vision corrections in a row chosen "Add." Others will separate most and distance vision corrections into N.5. and D.V. rows, with "add" written in to bespeak that bifocals are needed.

5. five

   Observe eye alignment corrections in the "Prism" and "Base" columns. These corrections are for heart alignment issues, such every bit strabismus, crossed eyes, or "lazy centre." Prism correction is written in partial "prism diopters" (eastward.g., 0.5 or ½). The base cavalcade indicates the location of the prism on the lens, i.e. "upward," "down," "in," or "out."^[six]

   • Virtually prescriptions do non include prism or base information, as these types of corrections are non peculiarly common.
   • If your prescription has no "Prism" column, your prism diopter measurement may exist labeled "p.d." or preceded past a triangle.
   • Base position may be written as BU ("base up"), BD ("base down"), BI ("base of operations in"), or BO ("base out").

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1. i

   Ask your eye doctor for your pupillary distance if you lot don't listen paying. Your pupillary distance (P.D.) is the horizontal distance between your pupils, in millimeters. The optician who crafts your lenses needs this information in society to position the optical centre of your spectacles correctly. While your vision provider is non required past police force to release your P.D. in most places, some may be willing to do so, either complimentary of accuse or for a fee.^[7]

   • If your vision provider charges a fee to release your pupillary distance, yous may be able to get a refund from some online retailers.

2. ii

   Buy or print out a pupillary distance ruler for a elementary DIY measurement. If your eye physician won't release your pupillary distance, you can measure it yourself with a P.D. ruler. Buy a directly edge or digital P.D. ruler online, or download a free template to print and cut out. You lot can also measure your P.D. with a regular ruler using the metric edge.^[8]

3. 3

   Measure your own pupillary distance with a P.D. ruler. To measure your P.D., stand in front of a mirror and place the notch on the ruler (marked with a 0) over the bridge of your nose. Close your left center, and read the number on the ruler directly over your right pupil. Reverse the process to detect the measurement for your left pupil. Add the two numbers together for the total altitude.^[nine]

   • The average P.D. for adults is 54-74 mm, and 43-54 mm for a child. If your P.D. results are far outside that range, you may have measured incorrectly.^[x]
   • Measure out your P.D. three-4 times to ensure authentic results.
   • If y'all utilize a regular ruler, place the 0 mm marking direct over your correct pupil, and measure out from there to the number directly over your left educatee.

4. 4

   Get a friend to measure your P.D. If y'all'd rather not have the measurement yourself, ask a friend to help y'all. Have them crouch merely beneath your field of vision, and focus on something x-12 ft. (3-3.vii m) away while they take the measurement with a P.D. ruler.^[eleven]

   • Go on your eyes still and don't look at your friend while they take the measurement. Moving your eyes or focusing on your friend will skew your results.

5. 5

   Use a pupillary altitude app for a quick and easy digital measurement. If you have a smartphone with a camera, you can go a reading of your pupillary distance with an app like PD Meter by GlassifyMe. Many online spectacles retailers, such as Warby Parker and FinestGlasses.com, also offer free P.D. measurement tools that allow you to upload photos or utilize your webcam to determine your P.D.^[12]

   • Most of these tools require y'all to include an object for scale in the photo, usually a credit card with the signature side facing the camera.
   • Note that this method may produce inaccurate results, since it forces yous to focus on a close-up target (your telephone photographic camera or computer screen). Your pupillary altitude becomes narrower when y'all are looking at something close-upwards.

6. half-dozen

   Mensurate your P.D. more accurately with focus points on your glasses. With your electric current pair of glasses on, focus on an object in the distance, at least 20 ft (6 meters) abroad. Close your left eye, and use a washable felt-tipped mark to place a dot on your right lens so that it directly covers the object you are focusing on. Shut your correct heart, and repeat on your left lens. Then, measure the distance betwixt the two dots in millimeters.^[13]

   • If you lot are trying to find your P.D. for virtually vision glasses, focus on something close-upwardly (like a book at normal reading altitude) instead.

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Add New Question

• Question

  How practice I know what measurement I demand for reading glasses?

  

  Dr. Kara Hartl is a board certified Ophthalmologist and the Founder and CEO of Mountain View Centre Center in Fairbanks, Alaska. Dr. Hartl is a blue lite expert and specializes in studying the furnishings of natural and artificial light on people'due south eyes and bodies. She received a BA in Biology from Harvard University and earned her Doctor of Medicine (MD) from The University of California-San Diego Medical School. Dr. Hartl also trained at the globe-renowned Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. She is passionate nigh incorporating engineering into the futurity of eye care and has started a public education initiative to inform everyday LED screen users about the effects and the easy means to protect themselves while standing to apply their devices. Dr. Hartl also founded the international not-profit, Gift of Sight, which is dedicated to curing blindness across the globe.

  

  Board Certified Ophthalmologist

  Expert Answer

  Honestly, I'd just recommend trying a few different pairs out. I call back +1.fifty is expert for the computer, and +2.50 is mostly a solid choice for reading, merely information technology doesn't actually matter if y'all're not using the nigh optimal set with the perfect size.

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• In the US and UK, your vision provider is required by police force to give yous a copy of your prescription, free of charge. If they refuse to release your prescription, telephone call the FTC at i-877-382-4357 in the US.^[fourteen] Register a complaint with the NHS at 0300 311 22 33 if you are in the U.k..^[15]

• Don't endeavour to use information from a contact lens prescription to guild eyeglasses. Contact lenses are synthetic differently, and then the measurements will non exist the same.

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Things Yous'll Demand

• Your current eyeglasses prescription.
• Pupillary distance ruler or regular ruler with a metric edge.
• Mirror.
• Pair of spectacles.
• Felt-tipped marker.

About This Article

Article Summary Ten

To read an eyeglass prescription, look for the labels "O.D." and "O.S.," which stand for right middle and left eye respectively. If you're nigh-sighted or far-sighted, bank check the "SPH" column to find out how stiff your lenses need to be. Additionally, read the "CYL" column to find the strength of lens you need to correct astigmatism. You should also await for the "Add" row if you demand both nearly and far-sighted corrections. For tips on how to locate middle alignment corrections on your prescription, go along reading!

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