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Is it time for Reading Glasses?


When you are no longer able to comfortably read up close, it is time to consider going to the eye doctor to get yourself an eye exam. There are two types of reading glasses that most people generally choose, full frames and half-eyes. Full frames have prescription lenses for the entire eye in the lens while half-eyes are smaller and sit lower on your nose.

Any choice is really all about user preference, however you should consider full frame reading glasses if you spend a lot of time looking or reading at a close distance. If you are reading a book and like to see the full page, these are the lenses you should go with.

If you spend a lot of time looking up and down, then half-eye would be a better choice. They are recommended for first time users who do not need vision correction for distance , but do need near correction.

There are different types of glasses to consider depending on factors such convenience and function. If you know you are going out to dinner at night and there will not be a sufficient amount of lighting for you to read the dinner menu, you may want to consider tiny foldable readers or magnifiers. The foldable readers are very convenient because you just fold them and store them in a pen sized case. If you prefer no case, magnifiers hang around your neck. If neither of these work for you, you can get a plastic lens which is mounted in a small holder and can be stored in your wallet.

You can also get reading glasses that have UV protection from the sun. If you spend a lot of time outside you may consider the sunglass bifocal which allows you have a non-prescription in the upper half of the lenses and a prescription in the lower part.

Going to an Optician for Custom Lenses vs. Pre-made Pharmacy Lenses


You can get reading glasses by going to your local optician and have him/her create custom lenses for you or you can go to a pharmacy and buy glasses that have already been made with the same prescription in both eyes.

Although ready-made glasses appear convenient because you don't have to wait for your lenses to be made, the vision correction is the same in both eyes, you may not need this. We recommend you spend an extra few dollars and get your lenses customized based on your vision needs and preferences. Ready-made glasses are one of those items that are labeled as one size fits all, your eyes are special and unique. Consider this, what if you have a different prescription in each eye or your optical center is located in a different spot for each eye?

You want to make sure your lenses are customized based on your vision needs in order to avoid problems later on such as headaches, eye strain, and nausea. Visiting your eye doctor for a customized reading glasses prescription will help you avoid these problems.

Please note that reading glasses prescriptions should not be used for computer eyewear. Reading a printed book versus reading an article on the computer are two different things. You are reading printed material at a closer range then when you are sitting in your office reading your computer monitor. It is important to invest in prescription computer glasses if that is what you need. You don't want to wear regular reading glasses and strain your neck by sitting closer to the monitor just so your prescription can work for you, the prescription should be adjusted for you, not the other way around while reading at the computer.

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