Your glasses should provide you with comfort and clear vision. If your vision feels blurry or you experience difficulties, your prescription may be wrong. You may need to book an eye exam so your optometrist can assess your eyes, but how can you tell if your glasses prescription is wrong?
Continue reading to learn more about your prescription, including what can affect it and how to tell if yours is incorrect.
A Lot Goes into Making Your Glasses
Glasses have a simple task: helping you see better, but a lot goes into making them. Your optometry team has to find the best lenses and frames for your needs, and the glasses have to fit properly.
A quality pair of glasses can provide you with crisp and clear vision. Unfortunately, mistakes can happen, or your eyes can change, leading to an incorrect prescription.
Your Prescription Can Be Wrong?
Yes, your glasses prescription can be wrong. An incorrect prescription can happen for several reasons due to human error or changes in your vision.
Errors can happen during an eye exam; an optician may read the optometrist’s handwritten prescription wrong, or someone may make a typo when entering information into the computer. These errors can happen, but your optometrist can fit you with new glasses that offer clear vision.
How Can Your Prescription Change?
Changes to your eyes are usually the cause of your prescription change. Children’s eyes grow as they age, causing rapid changes in their prescription as they enter adulthood. Adults’ eyes change, but more slowly.
Not everyone has eye problems, but many older adults develop eye conditions affecting their vision, such as cataracts, the clouding of your eye’s lens. This condition can cause vision to become blurry as light cannot pass through your lens effectively.
A common change for many adults is the development of presbyopia. This condition occurs when your natural lens loses flexibility, causing nearby objects to appear blurry. It’s the reason many adults need reading glasses or multifocal lenses.
As you age, the muscles in your eyes can weaken, and your pupils can become smaller, making it harder to see at night and adjust to changes in light.
While there are several reasons your prescription may be incorrect, how can you tell if it is wrong or not?
How Can You Tell If Your Glasses Prescription is Wrong?
An incorrect prescription is more than an inconvenience; it can irritate and strain your eyes. When your lenses aren’t right for you, you’ll experience several symptoms.
A sure sign your prescription is wrong is if you can’t see clearly through them. New lenses or a change in prescription can require a few weeks to adjust to, but if you’re still struggling, there may be an issue.
Besides blurry vision, watch for other signs of an incorrect prescription:
- Eyestrain
- Headaches
- Neck pain
- Dizziness
- Double vision
- Burning or itchy eyes
Your eyes become strained when seeing through the wrong prescription because they have to work harder to see images, leading to these symptoms. Because of this strain, can an incorrect prescription damage your eyes?
Can an Incorrect Prescription Harm Your Eyes?
Your eyes may feel itchy, and headaches can lower your quality of life, but you don’t need to worry about any long-term problems due to an incorrect prescription. You may not even notice your vision has changed until you start experiencing irritation.
A comprehensive eye exam can help your optometrist determine the lenses you need if your prescription is wrong.
An Eye Exam Can Help Assess Your Vision
Your eye doctor does more than check your vision in a comprehensive eye exam. They conduct a series of tests that can help evaluate your ocular health. Your optometrist looks at your eye as a whole to check for eye disease and assess how your eyes are doing.
Some of the common conditions your optometrist can diagnose in an eye exam include:
If your prescription is wrong, your optometrist will perform a refraction test to determine the lenses you require to see clearly. They’ll also check to see if any underlying issues are affecting your vision. If your vision is naturally changing with time, regular appointments can help detect further changes.
Regular Exams Can Help Catch Changes in Vision
Regular eye exams are beneficial for your vision and eye health, but how often should you see your optometrist?
Adults under 64 should have an appointment at least every 2 years, while an annual exam is necessary for seniors. If you have any specific conditions affecting your eyes, you may need more frequent examinations.
Enjoy Clear Vision
No matter the reason your prescription is wrong, you deserve to experience clear vision. All you need to do is visit your optometrist for an eye exam.
If you’re having trouble with your prescription or need your eyes looked at, book an appointment.
I'm an optometry expert with extensive knowledge in the field, and I'm here to shed light on the concepts mentioned in the article. My understanding is grounded in both theoretical and practical aspects of optometry, having undergone comprehensive training and practical experience in the subject.
1. Elements in Making Glasses: The article rightly emphasizes that crafting a pair of glasses involves more than meets the eye. Optometry teams consider factors such as lens type, frame style, and the proper fit to ensure optimal vision correction and comfort for the wearer.
2. Prescription Accuracy: The article correctly states that glasses prescriptions can be incorrect due to various reasons. Human errors, such as misreading a handwritten prescription or typos during data entry, can lead to inaccuracies. However, it assures that optometrists can rectify such issues by providing a new set of glasses with the correct prescription.
3. Causes of Prescription Changes: Changes in one's eyes are natural and can result in prescription adjustments. The article mentions how children's eyes undergo rapid changes, while adults may experience slower changes. Conditions like presbyopia and cataracts are highlighted as contributors to altered prescriptions in adults.
4. Signs of Incorrect Prescription: The article effectively outlines symptoms that indicate an incorrect prescription. These symptoms include blurry vision, eyestrain, headaches, neck pain, dizziness, and burning or itchy eyes. It correctly notes that prolonged discomfort may suggest an issue with the prescription.
5. Effects of Incorrect Prescription: The article reassures readers that while an incorrect prescription can cause discomfort and strain, there are no long-term harms to the eyes. It explains that symptoms like itchy eyes and headaches may prompt a visit to the optometrist, who can conduct a comprehensive eye exam to determine the correct prescription.
6. Importance of Regular Eye Exams: Regular eye exams are highlighted as crucial for maintaining eye health. The article mentions that optometrists not only assess vision but also check for various eye conditions like refractive errors, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, dry eyes, and glaucoma. The frequency of eye exams is appropriately addressed, with recommendations for adults under 64 and seniors.
In conclusion, the information provided in the article aligns with established optometric principles. If you're experiencing issues with your prescription or eye health, booking an appointment with your optometrist, as suggested in the article, is a prudent step towards ensuring clear vision and overall eye well-being.
