The "cheaters" on the drugstore rack may help you read the menu, but they're no substitute for a professional eye exam. If you're over 40, reading glasses can be a necessity, and they serve double duty as a fashion accessory. Be-cause they are inexpensive and available in a wide variety of styles—and easily misplaced—you may buy them by the handful. Yet, you may be better off investing in a professional eye exam instead.

When over-the-counter readers are good enough

Off-the-rack readers are essentially two magnifying lenses mounted in an eyeglass frame. Just like prescription lenses, they afford varying degrees of magnification, or refraction, usually ranging from +1.00 to +3.50 diopters. "These glasses may be fine for people who need the same refraction in both eyes or who have vision in only one eye.

When you need prescription lenses

If you need a different correction for each eye, or if you have astigmatism—irregularities in the lens of your eye—prescription lenses are a better choice. Your eyes will be tested to determine the lenses best suited to compensate for the problems with your eyes' optics.
If your doctor does not give you a separate reading prescription at your eye exam, it’s easy to calculate yourself as long as you have your distance prescription with a noted “ADD” value. Simply add the “ADD” value to your distance “Sphere” (SPH) in each eye. This will be your new reading “Sphere” power in each eye. Your “Cylinder” (CYL) and “Axis” values will stay the same.

Pupillary Distance

Your pupillary distance (PD) is the measurement from the center of one pupil to the other. It essentially determines where the optical center should be placed on each lens. OTC readers have an average PD requirement of 60-63mm, but the average PD ranges anywhere between 57-65mm. If you’re looking through a pair of reading glasses that has a wider or narrower PD than yours, it will have a negative effect on your ability to see well, and ultimately lead to headaches, eyestrain, or double vision

To order prescription reading glasses, you’ll need to know your near PD. To get your near PD, subtract 3mm from your distance PD. For example, if your distance PD is 63mm, then your near PD is 60mm. If you are using “Dual PD” to calculate near PD, then subtract 1.5mm from each eye’s measurement. For example, if your dual PD is 33/31mm then your near PD would be 31.5/29.5mm. If you don’t know your distance PD, you can ask your eye doctor for it or measure it yourself with our helpful PD measurement guide.
Also, purchasing custom reading glasses enables you to benefit from features not available in store-bought readers. For example:
Anti-reflective coating on custom reading glasses eliminates eye strain caused by distracting lens reflections.
Photochromic lenses in custom-made reading glasses protect your eyes from UV and high-energy visible blue light from digital devices — and darken automatically in sunlight if you like to read outdoors.
Blue Light Protection prevents blue light and UV rays from passing through the lens.

How to Order Reading Glasses From ublins

1. Find a frame you like and click “select lens.”
2. Select ‘Single Vision’ under prescription type.
3. Enter your Near PD as a Single or Dual.
4. Enter your reading prescription and then click “Submit Prescription.”
5. Add options, such as bluelight,photochromic and anti-reflective coating.
6. Complete checkout!