What’s in a Lens?

As people have their eye examinations and find their prescription has changed, their next step is to purchase eye glasses to help them see their best. How do they know they are getting the best quality lenses available? What lens treatments are needed to help provide the clearest vision? How long will their lenses last before they scratch? What about getting rid of that annoying glare? Are all anti-glare coatings the same? What lenses will protect their eyes from sun damage the best? Does the type of lens material affect how light-weight the glasses feel? When you sit down to purchase glasses, understanding all your options may feel daunting and overwhelming. I hope to give you some added understanding about what goes into producing a high quality, visually clear lens that will meet your needs.

To begin, the right lens for you should be customized to you. What are your lifestyle needs? Are you in front of the computer or other electronic device for any extended period of time? Do you spend your time outdoors hiking, camping, running, golfing or playing pickleball? Do you have a hobby such as fishing or hunting, sewing or reading that may require a specialized lens? Are your eyes perfectly healthy or do you have any eye disease that requires extra protection? When it comes to lenses, there is no cookie cutter. Your lenses should reflect your lifestyle and health needs and to do that may require a different design, a different lens material, a different treatment than you would get at a retail outlet that limits your options to a few basic designs or options.

Lens materials range from glass and basic plastic to break resistant and thinner, lighter materials such as polycarbonate, Trivex and other higher index materials. Glass is heavy while plastics are light. If you are a child, you should have a break resistant material such as polycarbonate or Trivex.

If you have a high prescription, you will need a thinner and lighter high index material. Note: not all polycarbonate materials are equal. There are higher quality and lower quality polycarbonate materials that manufactures may use to create your lenses. This doesn’t necessarily equate to a difference in break resistance, but it will equate with differences in optical clarity.

Lens design is as much of a factor in adapting to the lens and seeing clearly as is any other piece of the equation. If you have a lot of astigmatism, you will need an aspheric lens design that flattens out the lens to limit distortion in the periphery of the lens. If you wear progressive lenses (no-line bifocals), you may struggle adapting to your lenses. There are thousands of progressive lens designs on the market. Someare easier to adapt to than others. Some progressive lens designs enhance the near ranges by widening out the near reading and computer zones while others are designed to increase side to side distance clarity say for truck drivers.

Lens measurements are key to ensure optical clarity and function. No matter how perfect the prescription is if the lens measurements are off, vision may still feel blurry. Critical lens measurements include measuring the distance between the pupils of one eye to the other. The optical center of each lens typically should be centered over the pupil. If you are wearing a bifocal or progressive lens, there are additional measurements such as measuring the distance from the pupil or lid margin to the bottom of the lens. This is called the segment height. If it is too low then you will be looking through the extreme bottom of the lens when you read requiring you to tilt your head back too much. If it is too high then it will interfere with seeing in the distance unless you tilt your head down. Perhaps you may have experienced a time when you presented to pick up your glasses and you struggled to read through the progressive near zone. The optician may have made some simple adjustments and everything became clear. What most likely occurred is they raised the lenses by adjusting the nose pieces or they increased the pantoscopic tilt which basically means they tilted the bottom of the lenses closer to your face. Lens wrap or the degree to which the frame is bent around the face may also affect the quality of vision.

Lens treatments such as anti-glare, scratch protection, UV protection and blue light protection are all “coatings” that can improve the quality of your visual experience and increase the longevity of your investment. This is where comparing the difference between glasses from one location to another may get difficult. Not all anti-glare treatments are made equal. Not all scratch protections are made equal. Not all UV protections are created equal. Not all blue light protections are equal. Back when I worked for a chain franchise in Arizona I purchased a new pair of glasses and the lenses were scratched within a week even though I carefully cleaned them and cared for them. That’s why, here at Paradise Canyon Eye Care, we recommend the best scratch protection available. In fact, we offer a two year warranty against scratching. The treatments we recommend are actually ingrained throughout the fabric of the lens material making it more durable and longer lasting rather than being a simple coating as you will find elsewhere which will wear off after so many cleanings. Plus, the anti-glare treatment we use offers the best clarity in the industry including the best UV protection. The UV protection blocks UV light that bounces off the back surface of the lenses and into the eyes. There are also various blue light filtering lenses to protect against damage from blue light (which is emitted by the sun and by electronic devices such as computers, tablets and cell phones). Blue light can damage the retina, putting a person at higher risk for macular degeneration.

Deciding which lens is right for you doesn’t have to be confusing or overwhelming. In fact, we make it easy. That’s why, after I complete your prescription, I will recommend a package option that simplifies the whole process and one of our team members will sit down with you and ask about your lifestyle so we can be certain we meet your needs and wants.