Eyeglasses are the popular choice among near-sighted people because it is not only affordable, but also effective to correct near or farsightedness. However, what worst could happen if your eyeglasses are given wrong prescription? We shall take into account the causes and effects of wearing incorrect eyeglasses.
1. What elements can go wrong?
Anyone with vision problem especially near-sighted and farsighted people certainly will be familiar with these terms:
- SPH (Sphere) –measurements of diopters lenses.
- CYL (Cylinder) - the measure of astigmatism.
- AX (Axis) - the axis of astigmatism, astigmatism axis is measured from 1 to 180 No. 90 corresponding to the longitudinal meridian of the eye and the number 180 corresponds to the horizontal meridian of the eye.
- ADD - an increase diopter between long distance and short distance.
- PD - the pupil distance is mm. It is the parameter to measure pupil distance from right eye to left eye under natural looking condition.
category | sphere | cylinder | AXIS | add |
|---|---|---|---|---|
O.D (Right Eye) | +4.25 | +2.50 | 090 | +2.00 |
O.S (Left Eye) | +4.00 | +1.50 | 075 | +2.00 |
The above table gives you an idea of how prescription elements can go wrong. The Sphere level indicates 4.25 which means for people with farsightedness, their diopter is 4.25. The cylinder level of astigmatism is 2.50. The number of axis is 090 which means the astigmatism axis of the eye is 90 degrees, corresponding to the longitudinal meridian of the eye. And finally ADD 2.00 means diopter of far and near vision
2. What are symptoms of incorrect eyeglass?
When these parameters are deviated from the true index of your eyes, it will lead to the condition that the eyes must be regulated more regularly. As the result, your eyes will encounter from some following signal:
- Headache: due to the degree of incorrect glass, wrong pupil distance or aberration of poor quality lenses or lenses.
- Blurred vision: because the frame is too tight, improper shaft disorder.
- Visual discomfort: may be caused by incorrect pupil distance, new glass bottom curvature different from the size of the glasses worn or inappropriate frames (too heavy or too small).
- Distortion: due to improper use of glasses or disorder and improper frames.
- The distance at reading: reading distance is too far or too close, it also makes eye fatigue.
3. What are the main causes of wrong prescription?
Doctor’s skill is not qualified
Before any prescription eyeglasses are given, it must be diagnosed by a professional eye care. Having a low skilled eye doctor can lead to having an incorrect prescription. And as a result of that, your eyeglasses can be cut with wrong prescription. The consequences are not only you will wear a wrong glass for your eye but also suffer from other problems
No replacement of new glasses in time
We all know that there is a possibility that your diopter is not the same from time to time depending on many factors such as aging and health condition (especially diabetes patients). This is why you are recommended to visit an eye doctor regularly so that you can have properly adjustment for your correction. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends that everyone should conduct an eye check every one two two years between ages 15 and 30, two to four years between ages 40 and 54, one to three years between ages 55 and 64, and one to two years beginning at age 65.
Change of eye conditions
Your eye conditions are changed by many factors. In order to see things clear, your eyes must regulate continuously from time to time. This cause the eyes to be weaken and susceptible to many vision problem. Especially in children, at a young age, myopia can increase due to sitting in the wrong position, using in low light condition for a long time, etc. This can make the glass is no more longer suitable for the current eye condition.
Self- eye measuring
It is easy to find on the internet a lot of home-based eye measurement methods like Prescription Check, Personal Vision Tracker, Vision Check, PD Check to name but a few. However, the result might not be accurate, therefore, we need to see a professional eye care to have a proper eye examination.
One of the popular methods is known as Prescription Check. You can use your mobile device or a computer to check how your vision changes since the last time of your visitation to the clinic. This method can be used for people without a history of eye disease at aged of 18 to 40 or the nearsighted people with diopter from 0 to 6. The process takes about 20 minutes through a software and you will receive the result in 24 hours. However, this result does not reflect your eye condition accurately and mislead people to have their glass cut at this level.
Cutting glasses by the given diopter
This is common for people to be misled by the given diopter they measure themselves. Only an eye doctor can give you an accurate eye examination and diagnose your eye at the most correct level. So it is important to know that the first step to have a correct pair of eyeglass is to examine your eye at a professional eye care.
4. Can your eye get worse with incorrect eyeglasses?
Yes. Wearing a wrong description eyeglass means the diopter on your eyeglass does not match the actual index of your eye condition. Therefore, many problems might occur such as:
- Wearing glasses that are not suitable for your eyesight will make you uncomfortable and make your vision unclear, or worse, it may cause amblyopia or known as lazy eye – a disorder of sight occurred when your eye and brain are not working accordingly.
- Wearing glasses with diopter higher than the actual index your eye condition can cause eye aches or disorders such as headache, eye pain, dizziness ...
- When the frame is too narrow, it will press on the temples and cause uncomfortable feeling. Skewed frames also cause discomfort or blurred vision
- When glasses are too short, they will hook into the ears causing pain and fatigue. The two sides of the nose pads must be properly calibrated, otherwise it will create a sense of pain and leave an indentation imprint on your nose
5. How to deal with Wrong Eyeglass Prescription?
Choose a reliable eye clinic
A qualified clinic equipped with proper and advanced facilities not only offer you a great service but also ensure that you will have a proper care for your eye. Moreover, only professional and experience eye doctor can diagnose accurately and give the best prescription to your eye
Exercise and diet is a key
Many vegetables like carrots, cucumber, papaya which contain high beta-carotene (pre-vitamin A) are beneficial for the eyes. In addition, fruit juice is also another source of protein you can benefit from. Eye tonic products also that contain powerful antioxidants are also recommended.
Have a good rest
Your eye is the most used part of the body. Therefore, it needs to rest properly and relax after working. Insomnia is one of the factor that affect or deteriorate your vision. Staying up late at night should be avoided as well
Try not to focus too long
Some certain job requires long working on the computer screen. We cannot avoid using computer everyday but we can easily make time to break for the eyes. Break is recommended every 30 or 40 minutes and during the break, you should look at a recommended distance of at least 20 meters for 30 seconds. Blink your eye regularly is also help to lubricate the eyeballs and prevent dry eye
Practice message on the eye
Regularly massage your eyes by rubbing your hand palms together fast until they become warm, then place your palms on your eyes entirely. During the process, you should breathe comfortably. This eye exercise should be done for at least 1 minute or longer.
Wear sunglasses
In many circumstance, you will need to have eye protection if you work outdoor an expose to the sun, or go to swim in a public swimming pool. In this case, swimming goggles or sun glasses are the best options. When you are swimming, goggles protect the eyes from chlorine, salt and other chemicals in the pool environment. Sunglasses can protect your eye from harmful ray of the sun
Having a regularly eye checked
Even if you always think your vision is perfect, regular eye checking is also very important because they are likely to be sick without your knowledge. Never be too confident that your vision is in perfect condition all the time, even if you never have any problem historically. Vision problem can happen at any time to anyone and especially get worse quickly once you already have one of the vision problem. Many eye diseases such as glaucoma can be treated if it’s diagnosed at early stage. Many vision problems have very subtle symptom, failed to have a routine eye checked will not only cause you to miss the sign, but also to delay proper care to the eye
Have regular eye exam
People with a family history of eye problems should visit eye doctor to have a routine eye exam. People with diabetes and high blood pressure also need to check their eye if you are not yet near-sighted or farsighted. But if you are already, visit a doctor to make sure that you are using the correct type of glass. Children also should have their eyes checked several times a year because of this time the eyes are still developing.
Do not test your eyes at home
The eye examination at home maybe convenient and save you a lot of time but there are many things need to consider. The test is not accurate and you will not be able to determine your vision condition correctly. Eye examination must be conducted at an eye clinic by a professional eye care
Have some knowledge
You don't have to be an expert when it comes to glasses. You only need a basic understanding of the types of glasses you need. Remember, not all type of lenses apply the same eye index. Each type of glass is different and using the wrong glass can weaken your eye in many ways. To measure the level that your eye need correctly, go to a specialized hospital to check. And last but not least, choose a suitable frame glasses. The frame must fit on the eye to prevent the glass from falling down so that the center of focus of the image is correct to the retina.
Nice article!