If you have ever received a copy of your prescription glasses and wondered what to do with it, you are not alone. Millions of Americans have turned to the Internet to buy glasses online, but many stop before buying, because the confusion is what their prescription really means. It’s not hard to take a guess from your recipe, but many people get lost during the first steps. Here are a few points you should know when reading a recipe.
Each doctor records his or her own prescription, but 99 percent of all prescriptions have several abbreviations to look for: OD, OS, SPH, CYL, and Axis. OD, in simple terms, means your right eye, and OS means your left eye. According to your recipe, even if you do not see OD and OS, you can conclude that your right eye will always be recorded as the top set of numbers, read from left to right, and your left eye is the bottom set of numbers.
The next set of abbreviations is at the top of your recipe, when you read from left to right. SPH stands for Sphere; CYL stands for cylinder; and the axis stands alone. Sometimes the axis will be shown with an “X”. instead of a word. Sphere means the amount of correction you need in diopters to help you see near or far, and the number is usually performed in quarter steps. The number in your sphere will always have a plus sign (+) or a minus (-) before the number itself. In addition, your doctor can leave the area empty, put two zeros (00), write the word flat Or write a sign of infinity - all this means that in this matter there is no recipe in the sphere for this particular eye. When you insert a recipe online, follow the recommendations of the site on how to fill this number.
Your cylinder and axis always go together, and they indicate that you have astigmatism. Not everyone will have signs in these sections, but if you have a prescription for correcting astigmatism, both CYL and Axis will be filled. Like your sphere, your cylinder will have a similar number filled. quarterly increments, and in front of him there is a plus or minus sign. If you have a number for your CYL, you will also have a number for your axis, and this number will always be an integer. CYL in one of your eyes may be empty, have two zeros, the word flat or an infinity symbol recorded on the spot. This means that one particular eye does not need to correct astigmatism. Your doctor may also write SPH in the CYL field - this is the same as saying flat ,
When you read your recipe, even if the fields are not labeled SPH, CYL and Axis, it is a safe assumption that your sphere will be first, then you are a cylinder, and then your axis.
Another thing to look for in your recipe is the PD distance or pupil. Pupil distance sounds exactly as it should - this is the distance from the center of one pupil to the center of another pupil. The measurement is made in millimeters and can be displayed as an integer, for example 63, or as a set of numbers, for example 32 / 31.5. It may also look like this: 63/61, which means that the PD for your remote recipe is 63 mm, and the PD for your nearest recipe (to see up) is 61 mm. If you see two sets of numbers for your PD, do not add them together! Simply paste them where prompted.
Understanding your prescription glasses is not so difficult, but a little extra knowledge can make the purchase and experience of your glasses a lot easier! Remember that if you are still stuck and confused, simply contact your customer service representative for help!
