Need Your Eye Prescription Explained ?

After an eye test your optometrist will present you with an eye prescription, this will indicate the amount of long or short sight you may have and also whether you have any astigmatism.

A typical example shown below:

Here's what it means.

Distance is the strength of lenses required for your distance vision.

RIGHT refers to your right eye (RE),

LEFT to your left.(LE)

SPH (sphere)

The strength of lens required to correct your eyesight.

Plus (+) lenses are used to correct long sight/hyperopia

Minus (-) lenses are used to correct short sight/myopia The higher the number, the stronger the lens required.ie:the more short or long sighted you are.Note it is possible to be short sighted in one eye and longsighted in the other.

CYL (cylinder)

Amount of correction to remove any astigmatism caused by an irregularly shaped cornea .

AXIS

The axis direction between 0 and 180 degrees that the cylinder will be built into your spectacle lenses to correct your astigmatism.

PRISM

Any correction to help balance your eye muscles so they work as a pair more comfortably will be written in this box

BASE

The direction that the prism if required (up/down/in/out ) will be built into your lenses.

ADD Inter

The amount of correction if needed to be added to your distance lens strength to enable you to cope with intermediate distances, such as working at a computer .

ADD Near

This is the amount of correction added to your distance lens strength to enable you to see close objects clearly, eg:reading a book (usually for presbyopic patients over 45yrs of age)



If you need your own eye prescription explained just drop me a line at our contact page with a copy of your prescription and any question

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