Prescription Glasses

Understanding Prescriptions

Before getting into the prescription process; we need to understand how these prescriptions are written. Usually, people who experience eye issues visit ophthalmologists and optometrists to have their eyes checked. If their eyes have any disorder, these professionals will provide prescriptions in accordance with eye condition.

Prescriptions are written by specialists according to the eye exam. The prescription is made for vision correction. Prescriptions outline the corrections that your eyes needs in order to see as clearly as possible. Every prescription may look different and they may change according to the patient’s eye disorders.

There are four categories of vision correction:

• Emmetropia: Emmetropia is perfect vision. This term defines eyes that see perfectly and eyes that refracting the light onto the retina correctly without requiring any correction.
• Myopia: Myopia is also known as near-sighted vision and it develops when the eye has difficulties or blurriness in seeing objects in the distance. To correct Myopia, your optometrist needs to prescribe minus lenses to push the point of focus backwards to align the light onto the retina. Myopia is the most commonly seen eye disease within patients.
• Hyperopia: Hyperopia is the complete opposite of Myopia in which the eyes have difficulties or blurriness in seeing near objects and see the distance clearly. Even though Hyperopia is not as common as Myopia, it is also frequently present.
• Astigmatism: Astigmatism is an eye health condition that develops slowly and occurs when the retina and the lens don't curve equally. As a result, light doesn’t bend properly on the retina.

There are some terms that optometrists and ophthalmologists use when writing prescriptions:

OD and OS

Optical professionals use abbreviations like OD, OS, and OU when writing a prescription for eye conditions, glasses, contacts and eye medicines. OD and OS are abbreviations of the Latin words Oculus Dexter which defines the right part of your eye, and Oculus Sinister which defines the left part of your eye. The term Oculus Uterque comes from the Latin language, and is used to describe both eyes.

Understanding other terms in your prescription:

• Sphere (SPH): Sphere shows the quantity of lens power needed to correct your Myopia (nearsightedness) or Hyperopia (farsightedness). When you have a minus sign (-) on your prescription you have Myopia and when you have a plus sign (+) or any sign you have Hyperopia.
• Axis: Axis is the indication of astigmatism’s direction. In the case where the axis is 180 degrees, we can claim that you have horizontal astigmatism.
• Add: Add shows the extended power added to the rear of multifocal lenses to correct presbyopia. This number typically has an added power and will remain the same for both of the eyes.
• Prism: Prism is to compensate for eye alignment problems, a very small percentage of prescriptions include a prism. There are some abbreviations used to define prism direction: base up (BU), base down (BD), base in (BI), base out (BO).

The Importance of Regular Eye Test

Eye tests are important at every age to maintain stable and healthy eye health. Your eyes should be regularly checked to make sure you see as best and clear as possible. During these regular eye tests, optometrists will also check for potential eye disorders and diseases and diagnose them in the earlier stages. Vision and eye health has a crucial role in learning and development, therefore, we strongly suggest frequent eye exams for children as well as adults.

Eye tests are also critical as many vision threatening eye problems such as macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma have minimal symptoms until the disease has progressed. In these cases, early diagnosis and treatment is important to stop or slow down the progression of the disease and save your eyesight. During a comprehensive eye test, your optometrist will look for initial signs of these and other diseases. If there are any problems with your eyes such as red eyes, eye allergies, dry eyes, eye swelling, eye pain etc make sure to visit an eye doctor.

The type of eye test you have will change depending on your needs. You will be asked a series of questions before your test about your eye health and about any hereditary issues for certain conditions. Your vision will then be tested to see if you need glasses or if your current prescription needs to be improved. The health of your eye will be checked via these tests.

Regular eye examinations are crucial in terms of:

• Improving the quality of day-to-day life
• Detecting certain eye conditions
• Your optometrist being able to spot the signs of some broader health conditions with symptoms that affect the eyes
• General eye care

Prescription Glasses for Everyone

Dresden offers a comprehensive eye test with experienced optometrists and opticians. The teams in both Australia and Canada will help you to find the best lens fit according to your prescription. If your prescription changes, you can always stop by the stores, shop online or contact our call centre to update your prescription and pick up your new pair of prescription glasses. Dresden has lenses for almost every prescription, even though some prescriptions are more complex than the others. For less complex prescriptions, Dresden can often make your glasses on site, while you wait. Dresden produces affordable, sustainable, durable and colourful glasses for everyone, at any age. You can always book an appointment to get a comprehensive eye test from our experienced specialists and then mix and match your glasses to your mood!

What are OD’s and OS’s?

You may have come across these letters when looking at your prescription, but what do these mean? When creating a prescription for eye diseases, glasses, contacts, and eye medications, optical specialists abbreviate their words using letters like OD, OS, and OU. The Latin terms Oculus Dexter, which refers to the right part of your eye, and Oculus Sinister, which refers to the left part of your eye, are abbreviated as OD and OS. Both eyes are referred to as Oculus Uterque, a phrase from the Latin language.

Understanding other terms in your prescription:

Sphere (SPH): The sphere displays the amount of lens power required to treat either hyperopia or myopia (farsightedness). Myopia is indicated by a negative sign (-) on your prescription, whereas hyperopia is indicated by a plus sign (+) or any other symbol.

Axis: Axis is a direction indicator for astigmatism. The axis must be 180 degrees in order for us to say that you have horizontal astigmatism.

Add: The extra power that was added to the back of multifocal lenses to treat presbyopia is shown in Add. For both eyes, this number will remain the same and often have an increased power.

Prism: A very tiny percentage of prescriptions contain a prism to correct issues with eye alignment. Prism direction is denoted by several acronyms: base up (BU), base down (BD), base in (BI), and base out (BO).

What are the categories for vision correction?

Here are four categories of vision correction:

Emmetropia: Emmetropia is perfect vision. This term defines eyes that see perfectly and eyes that refracting the light onto the retina correctly without requiring any correction.

Myopia: Myopia is also known as near-sighted vision and it develops when the eye has difficulties or blurriness in seeing objects in the distance. To correct Myopia, your optometrist needs to prescribe minus lenses to push the point of focus backwards to align the light onto the retina. Myopia is the most commonly seen eye disease within patients.

Hyperopia: Hyperopia is the complete opposite of Myopia in which the eyes have difficulties or blurriness in seeing near objects and see the distance clearly. Even though Hyperopia is not as common as Myopia, it is also frequently present.

Astigmatism: Astigmatism is an eye health condition that develops slowly and occurs when the retina and the lens don't curve equally. As a result, light doesn’t bend properly on the retina.

The importance of regular eye checks

Every age requires eye exams in order to maintain stable and sound eye health. To ensure that you see as clearly and optimally as possible, have your eyes tested on a regular basis, the usual required timing is every 2 years. Optometrists will also look for possible eye illnesses and diseases during these routine eye exams in order to detect them early. We highly advise both adults and children to get regular eye exams because vision and eye health play a critical part in learning and development.

Eye exams are important since many vision-threatening eye conditions including macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma don't manifest until the disease is too advanced. Early diagnosis and therapy are crucial in these situations to halt or delay the disease's course and preserve your vision. Your optometrist will search for early indications of these and other disorders during a thorough eye exam. Make sure to see an eye doctor if you experience any eye issues, such as red eyes, allergies, dry eyes, puffiness, discomfort, etc.

Your needs will determine the sort of eye examination you receive. Before the exam, you will be questioned about your eye health and whether you have a family history of any particular diseases. After that, a vision test will determine if you require glasses or whether your existing prescription needs to be adjusted. These tests will evaluate the condition of your eye.