Every day, I get a question from my patients: Is a cheap, ready-made reader that you buy from the pharmacy unhealthy for your eyes? The short answer is yes, and no. It won’t cause any irreversible damage to your eyes, but yes, it can cause headaches, blurred vision, eyestrain, and even double vision.

So what’s the difference between prescription reading glasses that we as optometrists use and ready-made readers? First, we use a lens with better optical qualities. The lenses are made according to your eye’s power and focused on the optical center of the lens. That is where the lens performs at best, right in front of the center of your pupil. A ready-made reading glass, number one, is the frame quality.

It’s just not the same. But the most significant difference is the optical quality of the lens. The lenses are placed into a ready-made frame, so the visual centers aren’t aligned with your pupils. That is why you may experience eyestrain, double vision, and a headache state, but also, it’s not made for the power of your eyes.

So if each eye has a different power, then a ready-made readable will unfortunately not work for you. So how can you know if you can use a ready-made reader safely? Please make an appointment with us!