Vision Central : Corrective Lenses

It is crucial to decide what the best lens is to be used in ‘your’ glasses. You should keep in mind your needs and lifestyle. If you are involved in physical activities then polycarbonate is the lens of choice. If you are always working inside and outside like for example in car sales then you should consider transitions. If you are having trouble in reading and distance then progressives is an ideal choice. If you are always giving presentations and have a one on one relationship with your clients then you should consider anti-reflective coating. In fact there is a lens choice for every single person out there depending on what there needs are.

TYPE OF LENSES

There are different types of lenses for different lifestyles. Some of the common lens types are Single Vision, Bifocal, Trifocal, and Progressives. Each lens type serves a particular purpose. 

Single Vision

This type of lens is referring to glasses that are designed to manage a particular refractive error. Lets say you are having problem seeing distance, so you go to your eye care professional and ask him to give you glasses so you can see better. Then he will give you glasses that will help you in seeing far. The glasses you will get will have a single prescription. Therefore they are referred to as single vision. Most kids and adults under 40 use single vision glasses. There can be exceptions depending on your eye health and lifestyle. Single Vision lenses are available in plastic, polycarbonate, transitions, polarized sunglasses and even glass. 

Bifocals and Trifocals

Bifocals and trifocals make it easier for people to see at multiple distances without taking their glasses on and off frequently. You can get bifocal glasses depending on what your lifestyle is. Since you have two portions, you can use the top for distance and the bottom for computer or reading. Just make sure that when you read or watch the computer screen the distance is the same. On the other hand, trifocals have three parts distance, computer and reading. In both cases there is a line which is visible on your lenses. You may also want to consider progressive lenses that perform in almost a similar fashion as trifocals but in a smoother transition, where each prescription blends into the other. 

Progressives

Progressive lenses, also known as no-line bifocals, correct your vision for distances and near without anybody noticing that you are wearing bifocals. For someone who does not want people to know that he or she is wearing bifocals, Progressive is the lens of choice. The best thing about progressive lenses is the smooth and gradual change that you get between focusing your distance vision through intermediate and near. That is one of the reasons it is called a progressive lens i.e. power is progression. Usually you needed larger size frames to fit a progressive lens, but today’s technology has given us progressives that we can fit in smaller frames for people who are looking for a more narrow and stylish frame type. Progressive lenses are available in plastic, polycarbonate, transitions, polarized and even glass. Accompany your progressive glasses with Anti-Reflective Coating and it’s the ideal choice for today’s entrepreneurs.

LENS COATINGS

There are several different types of coatings that can be added on to your lenses to give them that extra comfort and protection for your eyes. Some of today’s popular lens coatings are Scratch Resistant Coating, Ultra-Violet Coating, Anti-Reflective Coating and Transitions. 

Scratch Resistant Coating

No eyeglass lenses not even glass is scratch-proof. However if you apply scratch resistant coating to your lenses, it will provide protection from dust particles that otherwise easily scratch your lens. This coating is especially designed for kids who are more likely to abuse there glasses than adults. Today most lenses have a scratch coating built into them, specially Hi-Index, and Polycarbonate lenses. Almost all progressive lenses no matter what material it is have a hard scratch coating built in it even in plastic. Even though your lenses are scratch resistant, do keep them protected in a hard case and clean with the cleaning solution that the optician provides. Once the lenses are scratched the only way to fix them is replacing them. 

Ultra-Violet Coating

A very important lens coating that we don’t pay importance to is the Ultraviolet (UV) coating. This coating is invisible but it keeps the suns harmful UV rays from damaging our eyes. Overexposure to these UV light is thought to be the cause of cataracts, and other eye problems. Usually we are exposed to UV light during our childhood years so it’s important that when kids get there glasses they either get transition lenses or get UV coating done on them. Ask your eye care professional to add Ultraviolet coating on your glasses. Polycarbonate lenses are already have Ultraviolet coating built in to them. 

Anti-Reflective Coating

Also called Non-Glare or Multi-Coated lenses, Anti-Reflective coated lenses improve your vision by allowing 12% more light through to your eyes. Conventional lenses reflect light that limits some of the vision that you can see especially on the computer and at night. It is the norm on 95% of the glasses sold all over East Asia and Europe.

The main benefits of Anti –Reflective coating is that they reduce glare, annoying reflections and halos around lights. This is a great safety benefit when you are driving at night. It also reduces internal and external reflections on the lenses, resulting in great looking glasses. If your work requires one on one customer presentations or even group presentations it becomes easier for eye contact between you and the client. The coating makes it look like that the lenses on your glasses are virtually non-existent and your eyes look more natural.

If you have a high prescription then its better to use Anti-Reflective coating with your Hi-Index or polycarbonate lenses because they will make your lenses appear thinner. Most sunglasses are coated on the backside of the lens to reduce the reflections in your eyes when light enters from behind the glasses. It could be hard to clean sometimes so you have to be a little extra careful with them. Ask your eye care professional how to take care of your lenses with Anti-Reflective coating. 

Transitions

If you want total protection from the sun and also be comfortable indoors, your best choice is Transition lenses. They have the ability to automatically adjust to changing light. With automatic ultraviolet protection and glare reduction especially in the sun, transition lenses are the ideal choice for your eyes and the healthiest way to achieve great eye sight. Transition lenses are photochromic that means that they stay clear until exposed to harmful UV light. Outdoors the brighter the sun, the darker they become. They turn as dark as sunglasses depending on the amount of UV radiation. Transition lenses block 100% of the sun’s eye-damaging rays and reduce painful glare. Eye care professionals agree that exposure to UV rays over time is harmful to the eyes. Transition lenses protect on cloudy days, sunny days, and everything in between, year round whenever invisible UV rays and glare is present. Ask your eye care professional about transition lenses today.