The Importance of Health Checks

3 Important Tips for Buying Prescription Eyeglasses

19 July 2016 by Roberta Craig

Good eyesight is vital to maintaining quality of life, which is why it's important to see a qualified optometrist if your vision is failing. Your eyesight can be corrected through the use of visual aids like contact lenses or prescription lenses/eyeglasses. It's important to remember that eyesight continues to deteriorate based on factors like age, illness and environmental exposure. This is why timely intervention is necessary to slow down the rate of this deterioration. If you need prescription eyeglasses, the following are the most important things to consider before buying them:

1. Get a current prescription

Don't visit the eyeglass shop with a prescription from three years ago. Generally, eyeglass prescriptions are valid for two years, while contact lens prescriptions are valid for just one year. Children should also get annual prescriptions. One eye could have deteriorated in the time since your last prescription, with the other eye compensating so that you vision isn't affected. Prescription lenses are an investment, and a current prescription will ensure that your vision deficiencies are properly addressed so you get maximum value from your purchase. Also, you cannot use a contact lens prescription for eyeglasses or vice versa.

2. Size is important

When getting prescription glasses, functionality must always trump style. For instance, if you have presbyopia, an age-induced stiffening of the eye lens which makes focusing on close-vision tasks difficult, you may need multifocal lenses (e.g. progressive, bifocal or trifocal lenses). This is almost impossible to do with smaller lenses. Talk to the optometrist about the shortest height the lens can be while still maintaining efficacy. Only then can you start choosing frame styles and other aesthetic features.

3. Choose the right material

While eyeglasses are still so called, the lens material used today is actually very high-quality plastic, which makes them thinner, lighter and less breakable when dropped. Depending on your budget, you have several choices regarding material. They are as follows:

• Basic– low-cost CR-39 lens that can have additional treatments such as UV treatment, anti-reflective (AR) coating etc.
• Mid-index – these are lighter and slimmer, and are better suited for additions such as AR or photochromic treatments. If you have a strong prescription, however, you may need much thicker lenses, limiting your frame options.
• High-index – thinner and lighter and, hence, pricier than the above. They usually include UV protection and anti-scratch coating. These lenses are more reflective, so an AR-coat is advised.
• Polycarbonate – lighter than the CR-39 ranges above and more impact resistant. These are ideal for active adults and children.
• High-definition – these are the latest in the range and are custom-made from your eyes' digital scans. They allow you to see clearer, sharper and more vivid images. They are the most expensive of the bunch

Find out what treatments you really need to keep your costs down. Don't just go for all special treatments because you think they will help, unless you can afford to.

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