Computer, Distance, Reading – Just How Many Prescriptions Are There?

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If you feel like you've been accumulating vision correction prescriptions as you get older, you're not imagining things. Vision correction has really expanded as the needs of people change. Maybe you were nearsighted all your life only to develop issues with close vision, too, as you got older, and then your optometrist told you to use prescription computer glasses while at work. These all have their place, and what you need depends on your eyes and your lifestyle.

What These Prescriptions Are

Distance prescriptions are for nearsighted people, giving them clear vision when they drive or do other things that require looking at objects in the distance. There are also prescriptions for people with hyperopia, or farsightedness, that allow them to see things close to them as they go about their daily business. Reading glasses are made for the close-up environment of reading a book a few inches from your face, and computer glasses are meant to help protect your eyes from fatigue as you look at computer and phone screens. You don't need to have other prescriptions to need computer glasses. Then, there are prescription sunglasses.

Why These Are All Separate Prescriptions

Sometimes the difference between the prescriptions is obvious. If you're nearsighted but also have presbyopia (age-related farsightedness), for example, you need separate prescriptions for driving distance vision and close-up reading use. The difference between computer and reading prescriptions is not so clear, however; both are for use up-close, right? Almost. Computer glasses are not nearly as strong as reading glasses in terms of magnification, and computer glasses may have a special blue-light filter that you won't need on reading glasses.

What to Do If You Need More Than One

You always have the option of owning more than one set of frames with different prescriptions. You can also get bifocals and multifocals, which a lot of people prefer when they have more than one prescription they use often; these lenses allow them to switch prescriptions by just looking through another part of the lens, rather than changing frames. For example, most of the lens might have the person's distance prescription, for driving, and then a small section at the bottom of each lens for a reading prescription.

Still, many people prefer having separate frames for each so that the entire lens has just one prescription, and they don't have to worry about trying to avoid looking through a certain part of the lens while driving, for example.

Whether you need one prescription or three, contact a vision center to make an appointment with an optometrist. You want to see clearly no matter what you do.

For more information, reach out to a company such as Cohen's Fashion Optical.

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22 November 2021

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