Are Online Glasses Any Good?

We are living in the internet age. You can order almost anything online and glasses are no exception. And over the past decade, online glasses websites have revolutionized the way we purchase glasses. But is it right for you?

Ordering glasses online can work well for relatively simple prescriptions. If you have just a mild to moderate amount of nearsightedness, plus or minus a small amount of astigmatism, there isn’t a whole lot of complexity to your glasses prescription. Ordering glasses online can sometimes save money and of course comes with the convenience of all online shopping: never leaving the house!

After all, a prescription for eye glasses isn't too complex.

The Values in a Glasses Prescription

We’ve all been there; at least the most of use who need or needed a glasses prescription to correct and provide clear vision. Similar to most prescriptions, almost illegible handwriting is scribbled in what seems like a foreign language (although luckily most prescriptions are printed out nowadays). Let’s translate this foreign language!

If you review nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, you will learn the building blocks of what constitutes a vision prescription. These building blocks are thrown together to provide the complete picture. Your prescription may require a generous portion of myopia with a dash of astigmatism while your friend may have a light sprinkling of hyperopia with a tint of astigmatism. Note: myopia and hyperopia cancel each other out. It is impossible to have both at the same time.

_{Few numbers are needed to create glasses; Image by Mel Baylon on Unsplash}

The very first number in a glasses prescription tells us the myopia or hyperopia of the prescription. Very simple: if this number is positive, you have hyperopia. If this number is negative, you have myopia. If this number is large, you are very unfortunate since you really can’t see much without glasses or contact lenses; you have a high prescription.

The second number in a glasses prescription is the astigmatism. This number can be either positive or negative (for this purpose not as important). The more important part is the total amount of the number. If the number is high, you have a lot of astigmatism! Easy enough.

The last number is called the axis of the astigmatism. This simply tells the glasses manufacturer where to line up the astigmatism correction to create the “vision shaped like basketball”.

A glasses prescription isn't very complex. Those three numbers (per eye) and the distance between the two eyes (called the pupillary distance or PD) are all the information you need to order glasses online.

When Is Ordering Glasses Online Not The Best Solution

But there are a few situations where ordering online may not be the best solution. If you wear glasses all the time, you will want to match the pair of glasses to your face type. This can easily be done in person simply by trying on different pairs. The customer service in optical shops typically knows how to find glasses that look great on you! Unless you already know what you are getting, it is hard to replicate this experience online.

Another situation applies to those individuals who need to order progressive and bifocal glasses. These particular glasses have an additional level of complexity. Not only do the prescriptions need to be correct, but these glasses also must fit the face properly to work as expected. Different frames and different lens shapes can have large effects on how one can read or work on the computer with these glasses. A good optical shop can make sure that these glasses work the way you want them to.

Summary

Ordering glasses online has never been simpler. It is just important to understand when it can work and when you are better served having someone help you in person find the perfect pair of glasses.

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