Things to Know Before Buying Eyeglasses

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If you have trouble seeing the blackboard or reading labels, or if you squint while driving, then eyeglasses are one option to correct your vision. You might be nearsighted, farsighted or have another vision abnormality. Buying eyeglasses takes a bit of time — from your eye exam to the final fitting of your frames.

Prescription
If you need corrective lenses, get a thorough eye exam from an optometrist. You’ll read an eye chart while looking through lenses of different types and strengths, and the optometrist will use various instruments to look into your eyes. If he notices anything unusual, he may send you to an ophthalmologist, a doctor who specializes in anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye.

Effects of Glasses
Eyeglasses correct all sorts of vision problems, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, presbyopia and astigmatism. If you notice dizziness, headaches, blurred vision or any other unusual side effect, contact your optometrist to see if your prescription needs adjustment. Wearing glasses may cause minor discomfort around your nose and ears after you’ve had them on all day. If you’re an athlete, you may need a different type of glasses to play your sport, or you may prefer contact lenses.

Contacts or Glasses?
If you don’t like wearing glasses all the time, you can consider contact lenses. They can be more expensive than glasses, however, and you need to continually buy replacement contacts and the solutions to wet them and keep them clean. If you have problems with touching your eye, dry eyes, or work in an area with dust, chemical fumes or vapors, then eyeglasses are more appropriate.

Costs
Prescription eyeglasses run anywhere from $100 to over $500 depending on the style, material, designer and prescription. Online retailers may sell eyeglasses for much less and offer more frame choices because of low overhead costs. If you buy glasses online, be sure you understand the return policy and time limit. And remember that you will not have the benefit of having your glasses properly fitted in person by an optician.

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