Eyeglass prescription in The Woodlands, Texas

Why Do You Need to Wear Eyeglasses?

Nearsightedness or myopia is a common eye condition that affects around 30 to 40 percent of adults in the United States and Europe. It occurs when the objects near you appear clear to you, whereas those further away appear to be blurry. This happens when your eyeball is abnormally long, or the curvature of your cornea is too sharp. Both of these conditions cause the light rays you perceive to form images in front of your retina instead of directly on it.

On the other side, farsightedness or hyperopia occurs when objects near you appear to be blurry, but those that are further away appear to be clear. This condition occurs when your eyeball is shorter than it should be or your cornea is a bit too flat. This results in the light rays forming images behind the retina.

Lastly, astigmatism is an eye condition in which the curvature of your eyes can cause blurred vision. In this condition, the cornea or the lens of your eye has mismatched curves, resulting in a combination of nearsightedness and farsightedness.

Now that you know why you need to wear eyeglasses, here are some abbreviations that you need to know about to understand your prescription chart properly.

• OD (oculus sinister) means your left eye, whereas OS (oculus dexter) means your right eye. Recently, these terms have been changed to LE (left eye) and RE (right eye) in some clinics.
• SPH (sphere) refers to the lens power prescribed to improve your eyesight. If you have a minus sign, you’re nearsighted, and if you have a plus sign, you’re farsighted.
• CYL (cylinder) indicates the lens power prescribed to correct astigmatism. Similar to SPH, a minus sign means nearsighted astigmatism, and a plus sign means farsighted astigmatism.

If you’re currently in The Woodlands outside Houston, you can always visit us at Superior Eye Care to get your eyeglass prescription today. We conduct eye examinations using the latest technology in the field, and our patients always experience a massive improvement in their eye health after using our services. We also have our clinics in Willowbrook in Spring, Texas - so make sure you drop by!