Prescription or Off the Shelf Glasses: Gambling With Your Vision?

Your sight is precious.You’ve only got one pair of eyes and when they go, they can't be replaced!  So when you get to the point of  not seeing things at a distance quite as clearly as you used to, or not being able to read up close, then it’s time to look at getting  glasses.  Prescription Glasses for reading in particular are custom-made for each individual after an eye test.Visit your optician (ideally every two years) to check your prescription and correct any faults at the time of the test.  You can then use that same information to purchase prescription glasses at any outlet or on the Internet.
Many people think that buying “ready-made” reading glasses at a pharmacy or department store is a good option. They’re certainly popular, but do depend entirely on “self diagnosis” in the store.   They are also cheap, but prescription glasses needn’t cost a fortune in the very competitive optical market nowadays.Internet providers like SelectSpecs.com offer an impressive range of budget prescription glasses to suit virtually any taste.
The drawback with “off the shelf” pharmacy reading glasses is that they are basically "one-size-fits-all".  The prescription is the same in both lenses, and the location of the optical centre of the lens is not customised as it would be prescription glasses.Most people don’t have exactly the same prescription in both eyes.Glasses that are too far off your actual prescription can cause headaches, eyestrain, and even nausea.
The other, more serious problem with “ready made” reading glasses is why people purchase them. If you head to the chemist rather than the doctor when you’re feeling under the weather because you “don’t want to bother the GP”, then you could be ignoring a complaint that’s more serious than you thought.The same thing is true for your sight.Buying Off the Shelf means you run the risk of not spotting serious problems like Glaucoma that can be treated, but only if its caught in time.
Off the Shelf glasses are also only usually single vision.  Bifocal lenses contain two distinct optical elements in the lens (top and bottom) that corrects distance vision and near vision.Varifocal lenses gradually move from one prescription to the other across the entire lens, allowing you to see clearly at all distances.Far better suited to most people’s lifestyle and activities, these types of lens are only available in properly dispensed prescription glasses.  Prescription sunglasses can also be made with single-vision, bifocal or varifocal designs to offer the same standard of vision enhancement and protection.In the final analysis, your vision is worth almost any price.Don’t jeopardise your sight and insist on properly prescribed and dispensed prescription glasses.