Prescription Safety Glasses are glasses that have been made specifically to match the wearer’s defects of vision. They are worn in place of an individual’s regular glasses at times when vision safety is a concern. The prescription lenses are made to the specifications of the individual’s needs as determined by their eye care professional.
There are several types of prescription eyeglasses to address your visual needs, whether you are nearsighted, farsighted, or need multiple prescriptions in one lens:
Types of Prescription Glasses
1. Single Vision
Single-vision prescription lenses are used to correct a single-vision problem such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. They contain the same amount of vision correction throughout the entire lens. In terms of single-vision reading glasses, full-frame readers are the most common. You’ll also find single-vision lenses in half-frame reading glasses which are narrower and sit at the end of your nose for easier up-close and distance viewing.
2. Multifocal Lenses
People who have more than one vision problem often need eyeglasses with multifocal lenses. Multifocal lenses, such as bifocals and progressive lenses, contain two or more vision-correcting prescriptions.
3. Bifocal
Bifocals contain two prescriptions within the same lens. The eyeglass lens is split into two sections; the upper part is for distance vision and the lower part is for near vision. When you’re looking at someone who is wearing bifocals, you can often see the line between their nearsighted and farsighted prescription.
4. Progressive
Progressives are multifocal lenses that contain three main fields of vision including near, intermediate, and distance. However, progressives do not have a visible line between prescriptions. This gives the wearer a seamless and uninterrupted transition when looking from up-close objects to far-away distances.
5. Computer Glasses
The lenses of computer glasses are designed to deal with eyestrain caused by computer screens. Computer glasses help with an intermediate distance of around 20 to 26 inches, which is the distance most people sit from their monitor. Many computer glasses have tinted lenses to block out blue light radiating from your electronic devices.
6. Reading
Even if you don’t have an eyeglass prescription from your eye doctor, you may find yourself needing reading glasses. A valid prescription is not required to purchase reading glasses, though your eye doctor can tell you the magnification you need.
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Prescription Safety Glasses Abbreviation
- DV is an abbreviation for distance vision. This specifies the part of the prescription designed primarily to improve far vision. In a bifocal lens, this generally indicates what is to be placed in the top segment.
- NV is an abbreviation for near vision. This may represent a single-vision lens prescription to improve near work or the reading portion of a bifocal lens.
- OD is an abbreviation for oculus dexter, Latin for the right eye from the patient’s point of view. Oculus means eye.
- OS is an abbreviation for oculus sinister, Latin for the left eye from the patient’s point of view.
- OU is an abbreviation for oculi uterque, Latin for both eyes.
- N.B.: In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, RE (right eye), LE (left eye), and BE (both eyes) are used. Sometimes, just right and left are used.
- SPH, CYL, and AXIS are valued for describing the power of the lens using plus-cylinder or minus-cylinder notation.
- ADD is an abbreviation for Near Addition. This is the additional refractive power to be combined, or added, to the distance power to achieve the ideal near power.
- Prism and Base Prism refers to a displacement of the image through the lens, often used to treat strabismus and other binocular vision disorders. The prism value is measured in prism diopters, and Base refers to the direction of displacement.
- PD or IPD Pupillary Distance or Interpupillary Distance, respectively. It is the distance between pupil centers.
- BVD Back vertex distance is the distance between the back of the spectacle lens and the front of the cornea (the front surface of the eye). This is significant in higher prescriptions (usually beyond ±4.00D) as slight changes in the vertex distance in this range can cause a power to be delivered to the eye other than what was prescribed.
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Questions about Prescription Safety Glasses
1. Are Prescription Glasses and Safety Glasses the Same?
Prescription glasses and safety glasses are not created equal. Safety glasses are designed to provide optimal protection to your eyes on the job or at home. Unlike prescription glasses, safety glasses are generally made out of different materials or have different thicknesses to withstand impact from flying objects or hazardous materials. The requirements to meet safety standards for both lenses and frames are regulated by federal law.
Prescription lenses in everyday eyeglasses are primarily made to correct vision and provide little to no protection from hazardous materials such as gases or sharp objects. If you need to protect your eyes from these hazards, you may need to consider safety glasses or goggles. However, if you simply need to update your prescription, you can easily insert new prescription lenses into your existing frames to improve your vision.
2. Can Prescription Glasses Be Used as Safety Glasses?
Unless prescription glasses have been specially designed to be safety glasses, they cannot be used as protective eye gear. Prescription glasses and safety glasses have different functions and purposes. To be considered safety glasses, they must meet a higher standard of compliance regarding impact resistance than regular prescription eyeglasses. Most prescription glasses will not meet this standard of compliance.
3. Can Safety Glasses be Worn Over Prescription Glasses?
What many patients may not know is that prescription glasses can be worn with safety glasses. Many workplaces offer safety glasses that are specifically made to go over prescription glasses. These may be found in a lab or construction site and often have extra space so your prescription glasses can fit underneath. If you find that your employer does not offer these types of safety glasses or you need safety glasses for personal use, please consult our optometrist for protective eyewear options.
4. What OSHA says about Prescription Glasses
If an employee wears prescription eyeglasses while exposed to eye hazards, the employer must ensure the employee is protected without affecting his vision. He can either use eye protection that incorporates the prescription in its design or eyewear that fits over the prescription lenses, provided it does not disturb the glasses.
5. Who is responsible for paying for prescription safety glasses in a work environment?
Employers are also not required to pay for non-specialty prescription safety eyewear, such as “regular” safety glasses with prescription lenses. Employers must, however, pay for non-standard “specialty” items (e.g. prescription eyeglass inserts for full-facepiece respirators).
6. What is non-specialty prescription safety eyewear?
Non-prescription safety glasses, also referred to as “Plano” lenses, are made to be worn by individuals who do not need to wear glasses to correct problems with their vision.
7. Can eyeglass prescriptions be used to buy contact lenses?
No, you cannot use your glasses prescription to buy contact lenses.
An eyeglass prescription only works for the purchase of eyeglasses. It does not contain certain information that is crucial to a contact lens prescription.
That information can only be obtained through a contact lens fitting, an additional procedure that can be performed during your eye doctor visit.
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