If you don’t understand your glasses prescription, then here’s an easy explanation. Your glasses prescription is a sequence of numbers to describe what lens each of your eyes needs to correct your vision with glasses. The same numbers can be used for programming the laser for laser eye surgery and for ICL lens implant surgery. Different numbers are used to calculate lens implants for lens replacement and cataract surgery. But your contact lens and glasses prescriptions are still helpful for evaluating your eyes for lens surgery.
The prescription is divided into right eye (OD) and left eye (OS) sections. For each eye, it specifies:
– Sphere or power (SPH / PWR): This indicates the lens power needed to correct near-sightedness (-) or farsightedness (+), measured in dioptres (D).
– Cylinder (CYL): This corrects astigmatism. Some people don’t have astigmatism. It’s also measured in dioptres (D) and is usually negative.
– Axis: This specifies the orientation of the cylinder correction for astigmatism, measured in degrees from 0 to 180.
– Add: Some people need bifocals or reading glasses, and the add indicates how much additional power needed for near vision.
Other elements that may be included:
– Prism: Corrects eye alignment issues, measured in prism dioptres.
– PD (Pupillary Distance): The distance between your pupils, used to centre the lenses.
The prescription uses abbreviations like SPH for sphere, CYL for cylinder, and AXIS. Higher numbers indicate stronger corrections. A minus sign before the sphere number means you’re nearsighted, while a plus sign or no sign indicates farsightedness.
The latest surgical techniques, including laser eye surgery (LASIK, LASEK or PRK, ICL or lens replacement surgery) can correct almost all eye focus errors. To find out if you’re suitable for vision correction surgery and if so, which technique is best for you, you can do our 2 minute self-test or contact us for an appointment in Birmingham. And please bring your glasses or contact lenses prescription for your consultation. We look forward to hearing from you!
