How To Read An Eye Prescription (5 Items Simply Explained) (2024)

FAQs

What does +5.00 eye prescription mean? ›

A (+) symbol here indicates long-sightedness (hyperopia), whilst a (–) symbol indicates short-sightedness (myopia). The higher the number, the greater the prescription and therefore the stronger the lens strength required. For example, a prescription of -1.25 is mild myopia, whereas +6.00 is high hyperopia.

The sphere column is often abbreviated as SPH. This is the lens power needed to fix your vision. A minus sign (−) next to the number means nearsightedness (you see better up close and need distance correction). A plus sign (₊) indicates you are farsighted (you see better far away and need your near vision corrected).

Before we jump into what each section of how to read an eye prescription means, as a general rule, the higher the numbers on your prescription, the worse your eyesight is and the stronger your prescription will be to provide the necessary correction. Mild: -0.50 to -3. Moderate: -3.25 to -5.00. High: -5.25 to -10.

Eyeglass strength is measured in diopters. If your prescription reads -1.00, that means your eyeglasses need 1 diopter of strength to correct nearsightedness. If your prescription reads +2.50, your eyeglasses need 2.5 diopters of strength to correct farsightedness.

To find out how extensive your shortsightedness or longsightedness is, move to the numbers next to the plus or minus signs. For the shortsighted, the NHS suggests that: -0.50D to -3.00D is usually considered to be mild myopia, -6.00D and over is considered to be severe or high myopia.

What prescription is considered legally blind? Legal blindness is defined as 20/200 vision. 14 The prescription equivalent is -2.5. It is important to note that prescriptions for corrective lenses are different for each person, and measurements can be different for each eye.

Between . 75 and 2 diopters is considered mild astigmatism. Between 2 and 4 diopters is moderate astigmatism, and 4 or more diopters is considered significant or “bad” astigmatism. Generally, eyes with 1.5 diopters of astigmatism or more require correction.

How can I find out my eye prescription? A person should always request their eyeglass or contact lens prescription from the office that performed their last eye exam. If people cannot access their prescription there are several companies who can provide one if a person has an up-to-date prescription lens.

In general, bad eyesight refers to any vision less than 20/20. This is a general standard followed by most optometrists—any vision different than this often needs some kind of vision correction to clearly see the world and safely navigate the environment.

The numbers that appear next to OD and OS indicate how strong your nearsightedness or farsightedness is. A negative number in either spot suggests that you are nearsighted, while a positive number shows that you are farsighted. The more negative (or positive) the number is, the more serious a refractive error you have.

At what prescription should you wear glasses all the time? ›

The moderate to high myope

Your glasses prescription is around -3.00 to -6.00. Now most of these people will wear there glasses all the time because anything past 20-33 cm is out of focus.

So +1.00 and -1.00 are quite modest; your eyesight isn't too bad, as you only need 1 diopter of correction. On the other hand, +4.50 and -4.50 represent a greater lack of clarity; you'll need a stronger prescription, at 4.5 diopters of correction.

That depends on the age of the person being tested. A 3- to 4-year-old should be able to read the 20/40 line, and a 5-year-old the 20/30 line. Older children and adults should be able to read the majority of letters on the 20/20 line.

For example, a person who can read what people with normal vision can read at 20 ft (6 m) has 20/20 (6/6) distance vision. The larger the second number, the worse the vision. If vision is 20/40 (6/12), the person can read at 20 ft (6 m) what people with normal vision can read at 40 ft (12 m).

A “plus” (+) sign in front of the number means you are farsighted, and a “minus” (-) sign means you are nearsighted. These numbers represent diopters, the unit used to measure the correction, or focusing power, of the lens your eye requires. Diopter is often abbreviated "D."

Legal Blindness FAQs

They may also struggle to focus when they're in a group of people or when there isn't enough light. A 20/80 vision profile is commonly referred to as nearsightedness. Is minus 7 legally blind? A legally blind prescription is anything that's lower than -2.5, which is the equivalent of 20/200 vision.

You might also see the letter D, which stands for diopters, the unit doctors use to measure. You'll also notice that in front of the numbers that follow there are plus or minus signs. A plus sign (+) indicates farsightedness, while a minus sign (-) means that you're nearsighted.

A lens Rx for -14 Diopters tells us you have a very, very high degree of nearsightedness (myopia). This would be considered in the "severe" range. Of all the people who are myopic, less than 2% are worse than -10 Diopters.