Jan 12 - 17
New Glasses Distortion?
Why might glasses with the same prescription feel very different?This week a new patient brought in two pairs of reading glasses made from the same 2015 prescription. Pair #1 was made by a local Optician and pair #2 was ordered online. The patient loved pair #1 and hated pair #2... she was convinced that the online folks had messed up the prescription because pair #2's lenses were thicker and she found that their distortion was intolerable.
When I checked the prescription of both pairs, they were identical.... So why would the 'feel' of the glasses be so different? The answer is in the curves of the lenses. A lens is like a math equation e.g. If a lens prescription is +5.00... there are different ways to fabricate that prescription just like there are different math equations that can add to +5.00... 1+4=5 and 2+3=5 and 5+0=5. Our patient's problem was that pair#1 was fabricated with one lens equation and pair#2 was created with a completely different curve.
Now - This is generally something that a patient will get used to if he/she has one pair of glasses. However in this case, because she wanted to wear both pairs part-time... every time the glasses are switched there will be seom adaption required.
Questions about glasses? We can help! Dr.j