Many individuals over the age of forty experience diminished eyesight due to the development of presbyopia, a condition which can be solved using reading glasses. It is necessary to point out that the condition is very common and generally diminishes the ability of focusing nearby objects. The cause of the eyesight issue resides in the lowered flexibility of the eye’s crystalline lenses or the weakening of the muscles that are used to adjust its position. However, the diminished sight can be corrected with the help of the right pair of reading glasses. Now, this does not go to say that any pair of glasses can work miracles and restore the vision to its normal capacity.
It is true, OTC reading glasses may seem like the better alternative in terms of price, but are not capable of producing the same eyesight improvement as prescription ones. Therefore, a person who wants to correct his vision should first schedule an appointment with an optometrist who can measure the sight deficit, the causes of the eyesight impairment and determine potentially associated conditions. In other words, he can personalize the glasses to the wearer, so to speak. There are many aspects involved in choosing the right pair of glasses, as readers are about to find out.
First of all, most people have dissociate sight deficits for each individual eye, a problem that cannot be addressed by the OTC glasses which include lenses of the same magnifying power. Ophthalmologists warn that using glasses with inappropriate magnifying powers puts additional strain on the eyes, forcing the corrected eye to function beyond its normal capacity. At the same time, astigmatism, a condition frequently encountered by optometrists and ophthalmologists cannot be corrected using OTC reading glasses. Moreover, improperly managed astigmatism is often responsible for headaches or blurred vision episodes.
A further aspect to take into account is that the optical center of OTC glasses is not positioned according to the needs of the user, unlike their prescription counterparts. The alignment between the middle of the pupil and the focal center of the lens is critical, as otherwise, the glasses will force the eyes to glance through the lens at uncomfortable angles, placing additional stress on the eyes’ muscles. In addition, these problems also occur when the lenses in the over-the-counter readers have defects and distortion, which is something you are unlikely to encounter in professionally designed prescription lenses.
In closing, readers should also be aware of the fact that OTC reading glasses cannot solve nearsightedness visual impairments, because the lenses are plus powered by default. Since nearsighted individuals require negative powered lenses, it is easy to understand why prescription glasses constitute a superior alternative.
However, for certain visual impairments, the ophthalmologist will prescribe purchasing OTC readers, but only after he has consulted the patient and accurately diagnosed the problem. During the consultations, it is the patient’s duty to inform the ophthalmologist about whether he practices a profession or hobby that involves spending a lot of time on the computer or reading, basically anything that would intensively solicit the eyes.