Tuesday, November 20, 2007

An Introduction To Reading Glasses

Do you often have difficulty reading things or seeing things close to you but have no problem with your far away vision? Do you often find yourself keeping a book or any reading material a little further away from yourself, in order to see better? If so, then you may need reading glasses.

What Are Glasses For Reading?

People who have trouble with their near or close-up vision, usually keep reading material at arms length or try and squint to make out the words. Such people have compromised near vision and require glasses for reading.

Reading glasses have a kind of magnifying lens, which magnifies the words on a page so that you can see and read them better. Glasses for reading are mostly useful for reading as well as concentrating on things and items close to you. If you try to see in the distance with your reading glasses, then you will not be able to see things clearly as everything will appear blurry. Thus, eyeglasses for reading are not the same as the regular kind of eye glasses for distance vision correction.

Choosing Reading Eyeglasses

Reading glasses are usually available in two different types.

* The single vision eye glasses for reading with a full frame, meaning the complete lens in the eye glasses is as per the reading prescription.
* The reading glasses with half-eyes, in which the lower part of the lens is made according to the reading prescription, and the upper part of the lens is normal. Such reading glasses are those that sit lower on the nose.

If you need to wear reading glasses for short periods of time, then the full frames may be suitable for you. But, if you wear your reading glasses for long periods, then half-eyes can be considered, so that you do not have to keep removing your reading eyeglasses, every time you need to look into the distance.

Pre-fabricated And Customized Reading Glasses

To get a pair of eye glasses for reading, you do not need a doctor’s prescription. You can go to any store that sells pre-fabricated reading glasses and pick a pair. Such pre-fabricated glasses for reading have a kind of magnifying lens that helps you to see nearer items better. Pre-fabricated or readymade reading glasses are much cheaper than the customized version, and you can thus buy various readymade reading glasses instead of having only one. This can enable you to experiment with different styles and colors of eye glasses for reading.

Readymade reading glasses are essentially ‘one for all’ type of reading glasses. They are not made to your exact eye prescription and can thus give you some problems. If the glasses for reading are too far off from your actual prescription, then using such glasses will put extra strain on your eyes, which could lead to eye strain, head aches, and sometimes even nausea.

If you can afford the extra cost, then buying custom made glasses for reading is certainly the better way to go. With customized reading glasses, the lenses for both the eyes will not be similar and will be made exactly as per your reading prescription. The optical centers in the lenses will be placed according to your prescription and not in a random fashion. Thus, you will get reading glasses, which are optimum for your eyes and will not put any unnecessary strain on them.

Source : www.all-about-eyeglasses.com

How to polish the lenses of scratched reading glasses?

The lenses are make from plastic and no extra coatings to provide scratch resistance, it is that easy to scratch. If you want remover the scratch on plastic lenses, Abrasive cleaners should never be used on plastic lenses, don't use the toothpaste or car polish because it may make your lenses scratch worsen.

As suggest
If they are prescription reading glasses, take it to where you get a reading glasses they may get the scratches out for you. or clean with soft towel and only with recommended lens cleaner. The microfiber lenses cloths are excellent.

Microfiber lens cloth

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Are You Ready For Reading Glasses?

Are you at the point of not being able to read up close without straining?

Reading Glasses and Fashion

Many people find themselves in need of single-vision reading glasses. It's not a sin. In fact, reading glasses can be fashionable, colorful, and fun to coordinate with your wardrobe. There are full size, half-eyes, bifocals which are "plano" or no added Rx on the top so you can actually walk in them without getting dizzy, sun readers, and wallet readers which work great for restaurant menu reading.

Reading glasses can be custom-made for each individual through an optical dispenser, or they can be purchased "ready-made" at retail shops or online at stores. Ready-made readers became popular in the 1990s: three times more pairs were purchased during that decade than ever before, at an estimated rate of 30 million pairs per year. They are less expensive than custom eyewear, allowing you to own several pairs for a reasonably small amount of money.

Reading Glasses for Everyone

Reading glasses are available in many fun styles and colors. Individuals with Presbyopia can experiment with fashion, purchasing a somewhat outrageous pair of glasses without risking a lot of money. If your mood changes the style, you can always get another inexpensive pair with a more conservative look. Pre-made reading glasses also allow you to warrant keeping extra pairs in different locations such as; home, office, boat, car, cabin, and so on. It is commonplace for patients to own several pairs of readers.
Don't confuse reading glasses with computer eyewear. If you're using reading glasses to try to view your computer screen, it's probably not working very well. Reading is done in your "near" vision, and computer work is done in your "middle" range vision. I don't know of any ready-made computer glasses as of yet. For now, I suggest you see your eye doctor and local Optician.

Reading Glasses Are Still Glasses!

It is important to maintain good eye health by consulting an eye doctor when you need a change in prescription, or at least once every two years. The need for a new pair of reading glasses may be nothing more than the natural aging process at work, but it might also signal that there is a serious problem with your eyes that can be treated if caught in time. Glaucoma, for example, is a serious eye disease that has no symptoms at first but can steal your vision if it's not controlled with medication. A simple, standard test can detect it, but you'll need to visit your eye doctor in order to have the test.

Source : http://www.eyetopics.com/articles/108/1/Are-You-Ready-For-Reading-Glasses.html

Over the Counter Reading Glasses (OTC)

The demand for pre-made reading glasses is huge. The idea that you could pick your own Over the Counter (OTC) reading glasses for a fraction of the cost of those purchased through your doctor or Optician is appealing for many presbyope. But are they worth it?

For many they are. But they are not without their limitations. OTC Reading glasses do not take into account certain important factors such as astigmatism, prescribed prism and anisometropia (a condition were the refractive errors greatly differ for each eye). OTC readers are made in what we call spherical power.

How do you know if OTC Readers will work for you? Well the first and most obvious is to head to the drug store and try them out. But if they just don't work there may be a few reasons why.


1) You may not require magnification
If you look at your prescription it may look something like this:

O.D. -5.00 sph

O.S. -5.25 sph

Add 1.25


The 'Add' is the additional power that is needed to assist with near vision. This power is added to the powers above. It's important to note that add powers are always plus powers.

Now lets add +1.25 to -5.00 and we get -3.75 for the right eye and for the left we will get -4.00. In this case it's not the magnification that makes reading possible but the reduction of distance prescription that is needed for near vision.

A person with this prescription will find that a pair of OTC Readers will not work if purchased with a +1.25 power. Remember that the add powers tell the eye care professional how much power to add to the distance RX to get you reading prescription. It is not, by itself, the reading RX.

2) OTC Reading Glasses may not help astigmatic vision

Now many of us out there have an astigmatism. It's a condition in which the cornea or the crystalline lens is football shaped rather than spherical. OTC Readers do not correct for this. If your astigmatic correction is not very strong, you may get along with these readers just fine. However if it is rather significant such as a 1.00 or above you may experience some difficulty.

There are those out there that have certain conditions in which the eye begins to wander or there may be other ocular motor dysfunctions which can be corrected with the use of prisms. The prismatic effect is experienced any time one looks away from the Optical center of the lens. In the case of prescribed prism the doctor has determined that the optical center should be moved either up, down, in or out or any combination of these. OTC Readers do not account for this.


3) Both lenses on OTC Readers are the same prescription

Others with refractive errors don't have the same exact prescription in both eyes. In some cases the power difference is so significant that reading or near vision becomes an issue. This is called anisometropia. Each lens displaces an image either towards the center of the lens or towards the edge enlarging it.

If one lens displaces an image more than the other the experience is intensified as one begins to look away from the optical center, for instance while reading. This condition is often relieved with a lens that is called a slab off lens. In a slab off lens, the prism is ground into the bottom half of one of the lenses to relive the excessive prismatic effect.

If the prescription varies greatly from one eye to the other, OTC Readers may not be a good choice considering that they only come in the same powers for each eye.

If you are one of those people who can get by with OTC Readers, they are well worth it. But as I mentioned earlier, the best way to find out if OTCs are right for you is to try them out.

Source : http://www.eyetopics.com/articles/106/1/Over-the-Counter-Reading-Glasses.html

Friday, November 9, 2007

No line bifocal reading glasses.

The mention of bifocal glasses can cause one to build a mental picture of an old person, possibly Grandma or Grandpa. The idea that you need bifocals may seem damaging to your ego - you might feel like you are getting old and everyone will notice. This is just not true anymore. New innovations in lenses have produced a new no-line bifocal.





The No line bifocal lenses have three prescriptions:
1. for objects at distance,
2. for mid-range (computer distance) and
3. near area for reading.




Reading glasses often become a must for those over forty due to a natural condition called presbyopia. Presbyopia is a hardening of the eyes lens that decreases its flexibility, causing problems with nearsightedness. People who do not wear glasses for other vision issues will correct the problem by buying a pair of reading glasses. If you wear glasses normally your doctor will suggest adding a bifocal to your normal lens. Bifocal lenses have a small section of the lens made in a different prescription specifically for your reading needs. The older style of bifocal lenses had a visible line separating the two prescriptions. New no-line bifocals offer a solid lens with no visible distinction between the two prescriptions. Discreetly adding a bifocal to your regular eyeglasses is easy and undetectable with no-line bifocals.

The use of a bifocal lens can really be helpful as reading glasses. People add bifocals to their regular glasses to aid in reading, but for some people who do not normally wear glasses a bifocal lens may still be the answer. Full size reading glasses with a no line bifocal added to a non-prescription lens are a good choice for someone who has to see close-up and at a distance often. Reading glasses with no line bifocals help to reduce the fatigue of taking reading glasses on and off repetitively. They are also a plus for the person who doesn't like the look of half size reading glasses, but still desires the convenience of being able to go from near to far easily.

The option of no line bifocal reading glasses is helpful for those who wear glasses for other vision issues as well as for those who do not usually wear glasses. The invisible line allows for a more natural line of vision and transition between reading and distance vision. No line bifocal reading glasses may be the answer you are looking for when reading starts to become difficult.

Mini reading glasses

For someone who has never worn glasses, carrying around a pair of reading glasses may seem clumsy. The hassles of trying to fit them in a purse or pocket can be troublesome and lead some people to avoid using them when they are away from home. Mini reading glasses offer a lightweight and small option in reading glasses.

Mini reading glasses are small sized reading glasses that fit in the palm of your hand. These tiny glasses offer the same strength as their full size counterparts, but with much less weight. Their light. small style let them be easily tucked in a pocket or purse for ease in transporting them. Mini reading glasses are a good option for someone not used to wearing glasses because they do not sit heavyily upon your face. They are also great for people who only occasionally need to use them. For people that need to do both reading and distance work at the same time, mini reading glasses are small enough to look over the top without vision distraction. Mini reading glasses have the lightweight, compact qualities that make them great for people not wanting a complication each time they need to use them.

When looking to buy mini reading glasses there are a couple considerations that need to be made to ensure satisfaction. Before buying a pair of mini reading glasses make sure to try them on to see if they cover your field of vision. Sometimes the small lens size will not work with a way a person uses their eyes. If you will be taking your glasses on and off frequently look for mini reading glasses without a lot of moving parts. Moving parts, like hinges on foldable reading glasses, increase the chance of breakage or excessive wear. These two factors may affect which type of mini reading glasses you buy to ensure you are happy with your purchase.

Mini reading glasses solve the bulk issue associated with full size reading glasses. Their light weight makes them easier to wear and carry. Always try them out mini reading glasses before buying to make sure they will work for you. Mini reading glasses can solve some common issues people new to wearing glasses may have.