Reading glasses

Reading glasses are prescribed to individuals that have difficulty reading at a normal distance. When you start stretching your arms out to read, you need to have your eyes tested and you may need reading glasses. Individuals that need reading glasses have trouble with their near or close-up vision. The reading glasses have a magnifying lens that helps the individual read the words on a page. Reading glasses do not have to be worn on a continual basis and are normally for seeing items close to you. Looking through reading glasses to see something further away will cause your distance vision to be blurry. This is why reading glasses are a different style from the regular eye glasses some people need to correct their distance vision.

There are several different styles of reading glasses. Full reading glasses allow a person to focus on things close-up. Generally individuals with full reading glasses spend a lot of time reading material or concentrating on things that are close-up, like a book or newspaper. Another style of reading glasses are the half-eye reading glasses. The half-eye reading glasses allow an individual to concentrate on things close-up and they can look up to see things that are further away. The other style of reading glasses are bifocals. The bifocals include a lens for close-up reading and another lens for distance vision.

Reading glasses are sold in retail stores and in some pharmacies for individuals that do not need a large prescription. The reading glasses can be small enough to fit inside a pocket, and they may even fold in half. Several people carry around a pair of reading glasses in their purse or pocket when they go out to restaurants and other places that require reading. Some reading glasses can fit inside a wallet and look like a credit card.

Another option individuals have with reading glasses is the ability to purchase tinted reading glasses. Tinted reading glasses have UV protection and are perfect for individuals that spend time outside. The sun does a lot of damage to eyes, which is why sunglasses need to be worn when you go outside. Tinted bifocal glasses are popular for many people because they allow the individual to see at a near or far distance and their eyes are still protected from the sun.

Each year around 30 million pairs of reading glasses are sold in department stores or pharmacies. The reading glasses sold in stores are less expensive than custom-made eyeglasses, because they are cheaply made and a generic "one size fits all" prescription. Over time the glasses tend to break and wear out, especially if they fold-up to fit into wallets and purses. The price for reading glasses is around $5.00 on up, depending upon the type of reading glasses you purchase at the store.

One of the biggest reasons ready-made reading glasses are so popular is because they come in a variety of styles and colors, allowing individuals to use them as fashion statements. Since ready-made reading glasses are so cheap, it is easy for people to buy numerous pairs and keep them in their car, purse, wallet, office, and anywhere that they might need the glasses.

The largest problem with the ready-made reading glasses is their inability to be custom-made for the eyes. Both lenses in the glasses will be the same prescription, making it difficult for some individuals that only have a problem in one eye. A lot of people experience headaches, dizziness, nausea, and eyestrain from the ready-made reading glasses. Another problem with the ready-made reading glasses is the little air bubbles that may be trapped inside the glass. Since ready-made reading glasses are mass produced, they do not undergo the same inspection process as the custom-made reading glasses.

Custom-made reading glasses are designed specifically for your eyes. The lenses in both eyes will be different for each eye and the optical center of the reading glasses will be placed where you need it. The optical centers need to be in a convenient area for your pupils. The ready-made reading glasses place the optical center wherever it is convenient for the manufacturing machine. If you use reading glasses a lot, you are better off paying the extra money to have custom-made reading glasses. Using ready-made reading glasses a lot will place extra strain on your eyes and may worsen your vision over time. Custom-made reading glasses will have some astigmatism correction that is fit to your eyes.

The custom-made reading glasses can be made specifically for your eyes and purchased at an optical store or doctor's office. Another benefit to custom-made reading glasses is the ability to choose your own frames and to find ones that fit comfortably. Most individuals will purchase two or three different pairs of custom-made reading glasses with alternating frames. Reading glasses are fashionable and come with various styles to suit everyone's taste.

If you think you might need reading glasses, you should contact your doctor for an eye exam. Individuals that simply do not have time to go to the doctor's office can purchase the ready-made reading glasses from the pharmacy or retail store. Here are a few tips to help you select the right reading glasses:

•     Ask the pharmacist for help in selecting the right pair of reading glasses. Most stores will have reading glasses with various lens powers. If there is not a reading sample close, ask the pharmacist for a reading sample.
•     When selecting a pair of reading glasses, start with the lowest power and work your way up if you still can't read. Reading glasses will have powers like 1.25 or 3.0. These numbers mean that you need to stand 1.25 feet away from the paper you are reading or 3.0 feet away from the paper in order to read it properly.
•     Find the glasses that fit your correction instead of looking for fashionable ones. After you have selected the proper correction, it will be easier to go to several stores and look for reading glasses that fit your fashion style.
•     Try on several pairs of reading glasses and decide which ones suit you. Some individuals prefer the half-eye reading glasses while others like the full frame reading glasses. The half-eye reading glasses normally sit lower on the nose so the individual can easily look up to see distance.

Some individuals may think they need reading glasses if they work with a computer all day. There are different glasses for computers and reading glasses normally blur the computer screen. The half-eye reading glasses may be helpful for reading the keyboard, however they will not help you properly read the computer screen. Computers actually place more strain on the eyes and it is harder for the eyes to read the words on a computer screen over traditional printed letters. Computer vision syndrome (CVS) is common for most individuals that spend more than 6 hours at a time staring at the computer screen.

Generally eye fatigue and blurred vision will come as a result of your eyes trying to stay accurately focused on the computer screen. Shifting your eyes from your computer screen to your keyboard will also cause blurriness because your eyes have to consistently change to maintain focus. Customized computer reading glasses can make it much easier on your eyes. The blurred vision will cease and you will be able to work at your computer for long periods of time without incurring a headache. Computer reading glasses normally come with a low prescription, .25 or less. Some retail stores sell computer reading glasses or you can order them online for around $30.00. Custom-made computer reading glasses can also be made with your eye doctor, but they will cost more money.

Individuals that wear regular eyeglasses or bifocals may need to purchase computer reading glasses because the computer screens are placed about 20-26 inches from your face, which is too close for distance vision and too far for near vision. Computer screens fall into the "intermediate zone" of vision. There are a few ways to tell if you need computer reading glasses:

•     You start leaning forward or tipping your head back to read the screen.
•     Your vision starts to blur after looking at the computer screen for a long period of time.
•     You get headaches when working at the computer.
•     You get a sore neck and back muscles after working at the computer due to moving your head forward and backward to read the screen.
•     Your eyes feel fatigued or strained after working at the computer.

Studies have shown that wearing computer reading glasses will increase worker productivity. The various font styles and sizes causes the eyes to constantly refocus, causing additional strain on the eyes, especially if you glance back and forth from the keyboard to the screen or from a paper to the screen. Computer reading glasses have a special filter to protect the eyes from the glare of the computer screen and to help the individual focus better.