How to read your eyeglass prescription

Learning what all those signs and symbols mean is crucial so that you can take control of your eye health.

So, let’s start with a very brief explanation of what the abbreviations in your recipe actually mean:

overdose is dexterous oculus which means that you Right eye

BONE is sinister oculus which means that you left eye

HPS is sphere – the main part of your recipe. Indicates the strength of your prescription in diopters.

CIL is cylinder – indicating the strength of your astigmatism (if you have one).

AXIS is the cylindrical lens rotation (CYL) running in a plane of 1-180 degrees.

IS is airplane – which means no vision correction is needed (basically, you want frames equipped with clear glass lenses for fashion purposes).

YOU it means distance vision

Snowfall it means near vision – sometimes says NVO

ADD is short for additional value

database is the distance between your pupils or pupil-distance

WHERE just means both eyes

COMRADE stands for additive progressive lens and is the added value for your progressive lenses.

Balance means that one eye has a prescription and the other eye has no useful vision.

X is short for Axis.

Prism It happens when both eyes are not correctly aligned and need a prism to bring them back into alignment.

Base is the rotation of the prism. The recipe will say:

BO – base out

BI – based on

drank – bottom up

comic books – base down

Every doctor writes their prescription differently, so one really needs to take note of the abbreviations and calculate the meaning accordingly.

Note: numeric values ​​will always be written with a plus (+) or minus (-) sign in the SPH, as well as in the CYL and ADD. These signs are probably the most crucial of the entire prescription, as mixing them will determine how and if you can see.

As stated above, SPHERE (SPH) is the power of your recipe in 0.25 increments. Nearsighted (difficulty seeing) people will usually have a minus (-) sign on their dial, while farsighted (near-sighting) people will have a plus (+) sign on their prescriptions.

Your optometrist or eye doctor may also have written your SPH or CYL as +150, which equals +1.50.

For those with ASTIGMATISM, you will have a note on your prescription for your CYLINDER (CYL). Basically this is when your eye is curved and that curvature makes your vision blurry unless corrected. Some people may only have astigmatism in one eye, and many people may not have astigmatism at all, in which case, that field will be left blank. Alternatively, they will write SPH, 00, Plano, or DS, meaning you do not have astigmatism.

If you have a CYL, you’ll also have an AXIS, which tells you what grade that CYL lens should be made to. The axis must be between 1 and 180 degrees and will always be an integer. If your axis is written as “6”, it can be entered as 06 or 006.

The ADDITIONAL VALUE (ADD) is most commonly used for multifocal glasses, as well as single vision reading glasses. You should look carefully for these numbers, as your doctor may write them in the Near Vision (NV) or ADD sections, or simply indicate ADD on the side. There are times when your doctor will only write the ADD once, meaning it’s for both eyes, while other times (and more correctly), each eye will be given its own value. Distance single vision glasses do not require an ADD reading and this can only be omitted from your order form, although it is recommended for better vision. Those who require specialty glasses such as reading, progressive, or bifocal glasses MUST include this information to avoid manufacturing errors.

Your pupillary distance (PD) is usually not written on your prescription and therefore you should always check it before leaving your doctor’s office. The average PD is 62mm and most people fall within the 54mm to 74mm range. Measuring your own PD is complicated and should be done by a professional. It is never wise to guess this, otherwise the optical center of the glasses will not align with your pupils, giving you headaches and discomfort.

Your PD can be written in different ways, that is: 63; 32/32; 33/31; 30.5/33.5; 63/60.

If your PD is written as 63, just insert it as 63. If your PD is written as 32/32, you can add the two together and insert 64, or you can write each number separately. If your PD is written as 33/31 or 30.5/33.5, the measurements from the center of your nose to the pupil in either eye are not the same and you must insert your PD as written on your prescription. Not add the numbers.

Remember, with all this said and done, most reputable online eyewear companies will also allow you to email or fax your prescription to them so they can verify everything is correct OR so they can simply fill it out for you.