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Reading glasses: How they help with up-close vision

Lori Steigerwald sees reading glasses from a unique perspective: She wears them and sells them.

Steigerwald has worn reading glasses for about 25 years. As national sales managing director for retailer I Heart Eyewear and wholesaler Ron'south Optical in Livermore, California, she has sold hundreds upon hundreds of pairs of reading glasses.

As such, Steigerwald understands the importance of donning a pair of high-quality reading glasses if your up-close vision isn't what it used to be.

"Consumers demand to know what differentiates a good pair from a pair that, over time, tin can cause headaches," she says. "Knowledge is what makes everyone a ameliorate consumer. When it comes to your eyes, y'all should not fool around."

Nosotros're not going to fool around, either. We're hither to give y'all valuable insights into reading spectacles — what they are, when you need them, how to pick the correct pair for your eyes and face, what the alternatives to reading glasses are, and what some of the common myths are virtually reading glasses.

What are reading glasses?

Reading glasses, available in over-the-counter or prescription versions, meliorate the ability to read something up shut, such as a book or a estimator screen.

Alabama optometrist Dr. Samuel Pierce, by president of the American Optometric Association, says over-the-counter reading glasses — which can be purchased at drugstores, department stores and other general retailers without a prescription — are designed for short-term clothing, and are all-time suited for people who have the same lens ability, or strength, in each heart and don't have astigmatism, a common condition that causes blurred vision.

The Vision Council, a trade group, says the lens power of over-the-counter reading glasses typically ranges from +1 to +4.

Over-the-counter reading glasses are an adequate option for people who accept proficient distance vision (farsightedness), says Dr. Ming Wang of Wang Vision 3D Cataract & LASIK Heart in Nashville.

Still, if y'all endure from computer eyestrain or double vision, then it's wise to explore prescription reading glasses, Wang says.

Prescription reading glasses are meant to exist worn for extended periods, Pierce says, and are ideal for people with astigmatism, myopia, serious heart disorders or diff prescription forcefulness in each eye.

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When do you need reading glasses?

Just about anyone in their 40s and beyond will, at some point, need reading glasses (or another blazon of near-vision correction), Wang says.

Reading glasses assist compensate for diminished vision related to presbyopia, the normal age-related loss of the ability to focus on upward-shut objects, such as words in a volume or a text message on a smartphone.

Dr. Michelle Andreoli, an Illinois ophthalmologist and clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, says you typically realize the need for reading glasses if you encounter trouble reading small print when y'all're tired and when lighting in the room is dim, or if yous observe that information technology'due south easier to read something when you pull it a fiddling further abroad from your face.

How do I option the right reading glasses for me?

Before selecting your reading glasses — fifty-fifty the over-the-counter kind — visit with your centre intendance professional person. Experts recommend a yearly eye exam to check for problems similar glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration, even later you've gotten reading glasses.

For figurer work, most people can become by with low-power reading glasses (+i.25 to +1.five), Wang says. For reading things that are closer, stronger spectacles might be in order (+two.0 to +2.v). As you historic period, the power you need likely will increase.

Wang notes that some people crave one lens ability for general up-close reading and some other power for extended reading like computer employ — meaning that merely 1 pair of reading glasses might not do the trick.

Pierce warns that headaches, eyestrain and even nausea can upshot from putting on reading glasses that don't take the proper lens ability.

Once yous've determined the right power, and then focus on glasses with high-quality lenses and sturdy frames, Wang recommends.

Depending on the quality, a pair of over-the-counter nonprescription reading glasses can cost anywhere from $one to $50 or more; a pair of prescription eyeglasses easily tin can toll $200 and up.

"Lower-quality, less expensive reading spectacles may be fabricated with low-quality lens materials, which can cause vision distortion, color distortion or glare. This tin contribute to difficulty focusing when reading. It is worth spending a picayune extra to get improve visual quality," Wang says.

When shopping for over-the-counter reading glasses at a store, Andreoli recommends:

• Grabbing a greeting card from the greeting card aisle.

• Heading to the rack where reading glasses are sold.

• Trying on glasses as you're holding the greeting card at a comfy distance.

• Selecting the spectacles that let y'all clearly and easily see the greeting card.

• Making an engagement with your eyecare professional person if you're unable to decide on a pair of glasses.

From a style perspective, Steigerwald, the eyeglass sales manager, suggests choosing glasses that all-time fit your face shape and your style sense.

You might prefer smaller, more than traditional reading glasses, she says, while someone else might opt for larger, mesomorphic, exterior-the-box frames.

You might even maintain a collection of glasses, as Steigerwald does, so you tin can switch your look whenever the mood strikes you.

If you're torn about which spectacles to purchase, solicit an honest assessment — in person or via texted selfies — from a friend or loved ane almost whether the pairs you're considering are flattering.

 "Yous merely have to notice the perfect pair for your face," Andreoli says. "And I recollect that with the perfect pair on, most faces await better in glasses than not in spectacles."

What are the alternatives to reading spectacles?

Among the alternatives to reading glasses are multifocal glasses, multifocal contact lenses and surgery (including monovision LASIK and refractive lens exchange), Wang says.

Of form, you can just try to wing it without reading glasses, just that puts you at run a risk of eyestrain, which can trigger headaches, double vision and other bug.

What are some common myths virtually reading glasses?

One of the virtually common myths: Wearing reading spectacles will cause your eyes to weaken. That's non true, Wang says.

Even so another myth: Undergoing cataract surgery will set your eyes, meaning you lot can ditch your reading glasses. That'due south also not true, Wang says.

Andreoli notes that you might have underlying vision issues that tin't be corrected with reading glasses.

Then there'southward the notion that reading spectacles make the wearer look former. Centre care professionals dismiss that equally an old style of looking at reading glasses, especially considering that more than 150 million Americans article of clothing vision-correcting eyeglasses.

"I like to remind people that studies evidence that many people feel that someone wearing reading spectacles is often perceived as more intelligent than someone who does not," Wang says.

READ NEXT: What are bifocal reading glasses?

Page published in February 2019

Folio updated in February 2022

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Source: https://www.allaboutvision.com/reading-glasses/

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