Reading Your Eyeglasses Prescription

January 21, 2021

Trying to read your vision prescription can feel like trying to read something written in a foreign language, especially if you’ve never had to read it before. We are here to help you understand the different parts of your glasses prescription and provide an example that you can reference if you’re ordering glasses online.

Prescription Terms

  • OS – Refers to the left eye.
  • OD – Refers to the right eye.
  • OU – Refers to both eyes.
  • Nearsighted – Dictated by the use of a minus sign (-) in front of the number.
  • Farsighted – Dictated by the use of a plus sign (+) in front of the number.
  • Astigmatism – Most often caused by a cornea that is shaped more like an almond than a circle.
     

Prescription Example
If you do not have astigmatism, your prescription will typically be only two numbers written as S x C. People with astigmatism will have three numbers in their prescription written in the form of S x C x Axis.

Prescription example

If you have questions about your prescription, please contact your provider. 

Use your Surency Vision benefits to virtually try on and order glasses at Glasses.com.

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