Reading Glasses: info sought

I think this counts as a factual question, not opinion. Feel free to move as appropriate.

I’ve been wearing glasses for reading since I hit the magic age of 45. I have my current optical prescription in front of me, and it has zeros for everything except PD Near = 32.5 and Sphere = +2.75, same for left and right.

Now I assume the “+2.75” is on the same scale of measure I see on those generic glasses you can get anywhere?

Given the other measurements such as Cylinder and Prism are normal, is there any reason why I need to get real prescription specs (at $100-200 at shot) if I can find the cheapies of the right strength? I ask because despite my best efforts I’ve now lost or destroyed a pair about every 6 months, and I just can’t afford to keep replacing them.

And if I can find only +2.5 or +3.0, which should would be best - slightly over-correcting or slightly under-correcting?

Sorry, I’m not an optometrist, so I can’t address your technical questions. But I can address your “Why should I see an optometrist?” question.

A. Because an optometrist will screen you for glaucoma.

B. Because an optometrist will screen you for loss of peripheral vision, which may be an indicator of an impending detached retina.

C. Because an optometrist will point out, after your exam, that you might benefit by having bifocals now that you’re over-40 (which I did need, and which made a world of difference in my life, I’ll tell ya).

Also, there’s more to the numbers on lenses than simple magnification. There’s also (the technical term eludes me) “bend”, which is where you need one or the other lens to bend the light differently as it comes into your eye. Which I need in one eye but not the other, so besides the fact of their not being bifocals, OTC reading glasses just don’t work for me.

You think you can see okay now, but you might be amazed at how well you can see with your new $200 glasses. You get what you pay for, and sometimes a $200 pair of glasses is worth it. I would say, “Why settle for either over-correcting or under-correcting, when you can do it right and not have to have substandard vision in the first place?” You may be missing a lot of Life through not being able to see it. :wink:

Also, most optometrists will sell you a warranty-against-breakage-during-the-first-year package; mine costs $12 a year. My son went through glasses like popcorn when he was in junior high, and that warranty paid for itself several times over. If you really do break your glasses every six months, that would be a good thing for you to investigate.

It’s also possible that the reason you break your glasses so frequently is because you know subconsciously that they’re only OTC cheapies, and so you toss them around. But if you had paid $200 for them, you might take better care of them, and so the problem of frequent breakage would disappear.

[channeling your mom here]

:smiley:

IANA Optical Professional. My advice would be to go to your local Dollar Store. Most of them carry reading glasses for the price of (surprise!) $1.00. Try on a few pair with various strengths, starting with 2.75 and then go to the 2.50 or 3.00. See how they feel to your eyes, and how well you can read with them. Buy a couple of pair and use them for a few days.

If they work, great! If they don’t, you’re out 2 or 3 bucks, and your eyes will have no permanent damage.

After this trial, you may decide that the “Dollar Specs” are not stylish enough for you, and you can go to your local grocery or drug store and get a little more style for a few more dollars.

The last time I saw an optometrist, he told me that those over the counter reading glasses contributed to worsening vision.

A very good reason to see an optometrist is that the prescription he gives you will be specific to you, and more importantly, specific to each of your eyes. The OTC glasses have the same magnification in both lenses & that’s all they are: magnifying glasses. FWIW: I’m currently using OTC ones, but I’ll be seeing the doctor to get some real glasses now that I can afford them (living in Korea where the real glasses are cheap!).

Hmm, perhaps I’ve not been clear. I have seen an optometrist, which is how I got my prescription. My question was not “Why should I see an optometrist?”, it was “why should I continue to pay them for glasses (I believe) I can get for 1/10 the price elsewhere”.

I believe my script shows that in fact all I do ned is simple magnification, I was just after confirmatin of that.

As I said, I’ve had several pairs of $200 glasses, and they are good and I do need them. I just want to know if there is any optical difference between them and the generic glasses, in my case.

My main problem has been losing the glasses or dropping them on the lens, neither of which are covered by warranty.

Like my mom, you haven’t been listening to me! I have been using the $200 glasses and they are the ones I’ve been losing.

Well he would, wouldn’t he :slight_smile: I believe my script shows my eyes do have the same problem as each other, so I suspect OTC ones will be optically identical to his ones, just be made of cheaper materials.

[QUOTE=FatBaldGuy]
Try on a few pair with various strengths, starting with 2.75 and then go to the 2.50 or 3.00. See how they feel to your eyes, and how well you can read with them. Buy a couple of pair and use them for a few days./QUOTE]
Right, yes, I was just wondering, assuming there isn’t a +2.75 model available, whether it would be better to go down or up. My feeling is down, to +2.5, and make the eyes work a little.

Plastic lenses are quite satisfactory.
Cheap glasses are cheap glasses, not as well finished optically.
As to dropping or loosing them a neat little chain attached to the ends of the ear pieces will put a stop to both anoyances.

You’d think so, wouldn’t you. I couldn’t face wearing the little-old-lady chain but I did make a leather loop to wear around my neck, it has a knot that the earpiece of the glasses had to be forced through so it couldn’t fall out. It did, or I lost them some other way, maybe put them down without thinking.

Don’t you take that tone of voice with me. :wink:

From your OP:

Parsing this, what you are saying here is that you have been wearing cheapie glasses since age 45, and that the glasses that you have been wearing–and losing–are the cheapies.

And asking, “Is there any reason why I need to get prescription specs?” logically means that you do not now have prescription specs.

And saying that you have your prescription in front of you means that you have a printed prescription in front of you, not a pair of prescription glasses. Possession of a printed prescription does not automatically imply the possession of a pair of prescription glasses.

As I am not your real mom, I cannot read your mind. :wink: