r/AskAnOptician

I am currently wearing Zeiss SmartLife Individual Single Vision (1.67 index)

However, my new vision insurance only fully covers a local clinic that primarily carries Essilor lenses. I want to maintain the same level of premium personalization and visual comfort.

If I switch to Essilor, what would be the exact equivalent to the Zeiss Individual? Should I look into Eyezen Start Rx with the 'Fit' option, or is there another high-end personalized single vision lens I should ask for?

Any advice from opticians or anyone who made a similar switch would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I am getting a pair of aviator style prescription sunglasses

They have high impact polycarbonate-No index listed or high index 1.67

Um, for use, high impact would be advantageous for me

However, my prescription sph is -4.75 and -5.50 with axis 3 and 172 and I usually buy high index lenses.

How thick do you think it would it be to get the impact-resistant ones I want the high impact polycarbonate but

I'm worried it will be unwarably thick.

If it's gonna be unwearably thick, then I will go with high index.

I know on larger lenses it makes the outside edge thicker so thickness is even more of a problem on aviator style.

Thank you foe your help

I'm near-sighted and I've had the same relatively weak prescription for about 20 years. I've accumulated about a dozen pairs of prescription glasses and sunglasses in that time. Now old age is striking and I'm having trouble focusing on things up close. I got a prescription for progressive lenses and I noticed the axis measurements are quite different. My old prescription was OD 110/OS 100, and my new one is OD 180/OS 115. I want to continue wearing my old glasses regularly, and I feel like it will be hard to get used to a new pair with such different axis angles. TBH, I feel like that OD 180 measurement might even be a mistake, I'm going to see if I can duck in to double check.

That being said, does it make sense to order new glasses with different axis measurements, or will that just F me up when I'm switching between pairs of old and new? FWIW, the SPH's and CYL's are the same in my old and new prescriptions, the ADD is +1 in both eyes. Thanks in advance for your replies!

I have twice now received my new prescription lenses, and within a week they start turning yellow. Replacements did the same thing. What's wrong.

TLDR: Edit: I think I've got the answers now.

• Can an axis that's off by x5 (compared to the Rx) mess with vision? Or is that within the expected tolerance?
  • Edit: I figured out that's outside the tolerance. With a cylinder of -1.50, the tolerance is only 2 or 3 degrees
• Is it reasonable for someone's computer/reading progressives to be given monocular PDs that are each 1 mm less than those used for full (distance/middle/reading) progressives?
  • Edit: Yes, I learned that this is called "near PD" and is measured when one's focusing close up.
• Could that difference in PD explain why, with my computer glasses, I see best
  • with my right eye if I turn my head a little to the right and
  • with my left eye if I turn my head a little to the left?
  • Edit: I now think that the optician probably overdid the difference between PD and Near PD.

THE LONG VERSION:

The glasses I got 7 months ago have never seemed right, and I'd appreciate help figuring out what needs changing. While I realize part of the problem is low-set ears (and "pantascopic tilt"), that's not all. My suspicions are that the PD might not be right, and/or that the left axis being 5 degrees off of the Rx is causing a problem.

April 2025: I got the following prescription:

• OD -3.25, -2.25, x100, +2.00
• OS -3.25, -1.50, x50, +2.00

September 2025: I finally bought glasses -- one pair of full progressives and one of computer/reading progressives.

• For the full progressives, the optician used the following Monocular PDs:
  • OD 29.00
  • OS 28.50
  • BI 0.0
• For the computer glasses, the optician modified the Rx to be
  • OD Sphere -2.25, Monocular PD 28.00
  • OS Sphere -2.25, Monocular PD 27.50
• For comparison, my previous glasses, with which I could see well, had a combined PD of 57, which is a lot more than the combined computer glasses' PD of 55.50.

Last week (May 2026): I had a checkup and got the exact same Rx as before. The optometrist didn't measure the lenses of my computer glasses, but she measured my full progressives, and they matched the Rx except for the axis:

• OD Axis x101 (off by 1) <- I don't think I notice this
• OS Axis x55 (off by 5) <-- I do think I notice this in my left eye.

Optional reading -- way too much detail:

I see much better if I tilt my glasses -- my ears are a full centimeter below where these glasses expect them to be! I'll get foam pads to fix that.

I got these glasses at a brick-and-mortar Warby Parker store. If I can't get Warby Parker to replacde mine for free because they messed up, then I'll get my replacement lenses (and all future glasses) from an independent optometrist.

Also, I *now* know that this specific location of Warby Parker has a reputation on Yelp for making mistakes, such as writing down the Rx incorrectly. I checked and they wrote it down right, but it makes me suspicious of the PD.

(I should've taken the glasses back right away, but I had a family crisis, and then I figured I'd wait til I got my new Rx, assuming it would've changed.)

I recently went to the optometrist for the first time, and left with a prescription for glasses:

OD: sphere +0.75, cylinder -0.50, axis 120
OS: sphere +0.25, cylinder -0.25, axis 80

They have been working great for reading/close screens (way less headaches and aye strain), but anything more than 2m away blurs enough to be uncomfortable.

I’ve noticed that it takes a bit more effort to focus on details at a distance without the glasses - like i need to consciously put effort into focusing my eyes. Because of this, I have been having some difficulty in class when I need to switch between the board/projector and my notes, since I can’t wear the glasses during lessons. I imagine this would only get worse when I start university in the fall, considering how the projector for the lectures will be at an even greater distance.

Is this something worth going to the optometrist about? It would be pretty expensive for me to go, especially if they wouldn’t have an effective solution

I took my 4.5 year old son for an eye test at Specsavers. The machine initially measured him at around -2.5. They then did the eye drops and repeated the machine test and it came back around -1.25.

The optometrist then tested him using shapes and pictures. My son could read some lines with the glasses on, but then he was also reading some of the same sized lines without the glasses, which seemed to really confuse the optometrist. He manually examined his eyes and said he definitely does seem short sighted, but he kept saying he was confused about why there was not much improvement with the glasses and why my son could still read the line without them.

He spent quite a while humming and haaing and eventually said we should go with the prescription anyway because otherwise his myopia could worsen. He recommended the myopia control lenses.

On the way home though, my son kept saying the glasses actually made it harder to see compared to without them. We ended up spending about $700 and now I am really worried because I did not feel the optometrist seemed confident in the prescription at all. I am now wishing we had gone to a paediatric optometrist or somewhere more specialised as soon as Specsavers first mentioned myopia rather than continuing there.

Has anyone had a similar experience with young kids? Would you get a second opinion before the glasses are made?

I'm experiencing eye strain / CVS symptoms and would like to get computer glasses ASAP, but can't get in to see an eye doctor for months, so I'm coming here in the hopes someone can answer my question. I currently wear glasses and my prescription is -0.50 cylinder for both eyes, no sphere value or ADD value (I only have astigmatism). I'm on eyebuydirect and selected intermediate reading glasses, but am unsure if I should be putting anything for ADD value. I've seen online that for computer distances (30 inches away in my case) a good ADD value is somewhere around +0.25 to +0.75. Would this basically just add some magnification to my existing prescription, or would it screw up my prescription if I added an ADD value without getting evaluated for that at the eye doctor? Any recommendations for what specific value to..ADD? In addition to magnification I'm getting anti-glare, but am leaning towards no blue-light filtering since I've heard it doesn't do much and I've already turned down the blue light in my screen settings.

Thanks!

Hello optical professionals, I have a question for those who know better than me in regard to a specific request my work has received.

Context:
I work at a lapidary/jeweler shop, and got a request for custom .925 hand fabricated frames, with Smokey quartz lenses. These sunglasses are cosmetic. The lenses have been made in house using a faceting machine. Obviously, since we are a rock shop we don’t have the specialized equipment to make real lenses, these are for fun. We did disclose that we don’t recommend wearing just plain Smokey quartz glasses outdoors because they will not protect your retina, and potentially harm it.

In lieu of settling for that, right now we want to figure out if there is any way to treat the lenses we’ve already made with a UV protective coating similar to optical lenses, for our customers protection and our peace of mind lol.

I’ve found some stores near us with in house labs, but it’s the weekend so gotta wait to ask them. So out of curiosity, is this something that’s possible to do? Or are there other solutions that come to mind? Thank you so much!

I want to return my new glasses but I wanted to know what is making my eyesight worse up close and if I should go back to my old prescription, or do a mix of both?

I see better further away, but the difference to the old prescription is not as significant in that aspect than it is up close, in which I see quite a bit worse (but maybe it appears that way because I use my computer more often) with the new prescription.

But if I get really up close, with my phone or a book, I see better without any glasses (even though it's not perfect by any means).

Also, I wanted to add that in the new prescription they didn’t give me any Axis values, so I used the old ones. Is that very impactful?

2023:

| Spherical | Cylinder | Axis :---|:--:|:--:|---: OD | 0.00 | -1.25 | 100 OS | 0.00 | -0.50 | 80

2026:

| Spherical | Cylinder | Axis :---|:--:|:--:|---: OD | -0.25 | -0.50 | 100 OS | -0.25 | -0.75 | 80

Is the new spherical making my vision worse up close, or the new OD cylinder?

EDIT: I don't know why the Axis doesn't show up on mobile, it does on desktop. Anyway it's 100 and 80.

I assume I’m suppose to use a microfiber to clean my glasses. But there’s always still a smudge or film on my glasses. I’m assuming the cloth gets it built up on it? Should I hand wash it? I usually throw it in the washer. I don’t use any fabric softener or dryer sheets. I just can’t seem to get my lenses crystal clear.