I’ve tried regular reading glasses to help with the readability of computer text, but the glasses I’ve tried require you to be at book’s-length to the text, which is closer than typical computer work. Do reading glasses exist for mid-range reading, like that for the typical distance to a laptop screen?
Most optometrists call them ‘computer glasses’ or a variation thereof. You can also get trifocals that include a mid-range for computer work, if you like.
I have variable focus lenses, top for correcting my basic vision (very nearsighted) middle for the computer distance, bottom for close reading. Works for me.
I’ve had both the multi-focal ones, which I hated and could never get used to. Now I have a pair of glasses just for the computer and also for practising on the piano, because the distance involved is about the same.
I think that the prescription is slightly less than my regular reading glasses but the optometrist worked it out for me. They’re great; I doubt I’d be able to spend as much time on the computer as I do without these specs.
Just tell the optometrist approximately how far away from the computer screen you sit. Your correction can be optimized to that distance. I use my computer glasses for reading as well. They’re terrific.
I took the reading adjustment figure from my basic prescription, and went down to the local cheapo store and tried the reading glasses with less correction (I am near-sighted), until I found one that worked at my approximate computer screen distance. I put them on over the top of my regular glasses (admittedly a bit awkward), and all is well.
My optometrist more or less forced me to get variable focus lenses, which I insist are useless. I’m very near sighted, and have no trouble reading or using a computer screen with my glasses off, which is what I do. I don’t want to read through the BOTTOM of my glasses, fer crying out loud. If anything, I position print I’m reading at the TOP of my visual field. I’ve always read both books and computer screens by practically sticking my nose up against them, sometimes to the amusement of coworkers. I just found that when I got older, I could no longer do that with my glasses on, so I started taking them off. If I try to read something from a “proper” distance it annoys the hell out of me. If I try to read with my stupid variable focus lenses, I find myself preferring to read over the top of them, rather than through the bottom part.
I got my computer glasses from Family Dollar for about eight bucks. They’ll probably last about a year and then I’ll go get another pair. Cheap at twice the price!
I’ve tried the drugstore reading glasses for years. They work ok when I’m reading a book or papers, but not for computer work, and I need a stronger adjustment in one eye than the other, so they were never perfect. I went to the optometrist specifically to get a prescription for computer glasses.
Many places now will offer tests just for this, the place I went had a machine that simulated a computer screen, and we tested at various lengths/lens strengths to get it right. The prescription I have is not very strong, but it’s just right for me and has made all the difference. Also, my glasses have an anti-glare coating that really helps cut down on eyestrain. It wasn’t super cheap, but neither was it that expensive. I could have gotten a cheaper pair of frames and walked out of there for under $100, but I felt like splurging on some fashionable frames instead.
Yep - I have a pair set just for computer distance. They’re better than my distance glasses for reading, though not perfect for that (I need to get a specific reading pair soon too… thank Og for large purses :mad: )
Most of the time I can get away with my distance glasses for nearly everything but as the eyes age, that’s less and less successful.
Same here. I hate them. He just tells me I need to persevere. I can’t believe the huge amount of $$ I paid for them and they spend most of the time in my pocket because I don’t need them for walking around, just for the computer and reading.
Regular (drugstore cheap) reading glasses are great for computer use.
But you have to find a low magnification. I like +1.0 but many stores seem to start their reading glasses selection at +1.25, which like you say makes you get closer.
Just keep checking each store rack to find the lower numbers, as somebody will have them in your area. I got my latest at a hardware chain.
Mid-range glasses are weaker “plus” than your reading glasses. If you buy OTC readers, try a pair that’s not so strong (I advise patients to try them on in the drug store or wherever and grab a box or magazine with appropriate sized print and hold it where they want to see). If you need prescribed readers due to an imbalance between the eyes or astigmatism or something, your optometrist can pretty easily modify your Rx.
***Just a note for those of you who felt pressured into variable focus lenses. I can only assume you mean progressive lenses, like Varilux or some such.
Please know, you do have a window of opportunity during which you can return them and insist that they be remade into something you CAN wear. Most opticians refer to it as a “nonadapt”, which simply means that the patient couldn’t get used to the lenses. We don’t get full credit back on the lenses, but the labs will usually give partial credit or remake the lenses at a lowered cost.
Also, you should never be pressured. I actually had to tell a woman yesterday to not let me sell her something she didn’t need. She liked something about my glasses, but didn’t express a need for it. She seemed interested in it only because I had it. I don’t ever want to send a patient out with something I’m not sure they’ll like having. For instance, if you don’t ever wear your glasses outdoors, do not pay for Transitions!
Oh yeah, optometrists sometimes don’t know as much about the glasses themselves as one would think they’d know. I have the good fortune to work with an OD who will actually tell the patients “that’s something the optical department can answer better than I can”. Many ODs will work as opticians while in school, but some there are plenty of doctors who don’t understand that some things just can’t be done with eyewear.
I was 
when my optometrist said he could give me computer specs to give me 14" - 20" of vision or specs which could give me 28" to 48" or so but that I couldn’t get ones to take me from 14" - 28". Or something like that. Point is my computer can be either nearer than I like or farther than is practical but not at exactly the distance I want it.