How to know if your glasses prescription is wrong?

When a prescription goes wrong

The process of adjusting to a new pair of glasses can sometimes be challenging. But what if it's more than just an adjustment? What if your prescription is actually wrong? Understanding how to differentiate a genuine issue from a normal adjustment process can be crucial in keeping your eye health in tip-top shape. Let's take a look into this, going into topics like, what can result from wearing glasses with the wrong prescription, how long it typically takes for your eyes to adjust to new glasses, whether blurriness with new glasses is normal, whether the wrong prescription can make your vision worse or infact ruin your eyes, and understanding your glasses prescription.

What signs are there that indicate your glasses prescription is wrong?

Glasses with the wrong prescription can lead to a range of issues, not only vision-related. These can include headaches, dizziness, and nausea, as well as visual issues like blurriness, double vision, and unstable vision. These symptoms can become more noticeable when you are reading, driving, or doing any other tasks that require intense focus.

How long does it take for your eyes to adjust to new glasses?

The adjustment period for new glasses really ranges from person to person but generally, it should take you somewhere from a few days up to two weeks. During this period, you may experience some minor visual odd moments and some possibly minor physical discomfort. However, these issues should gradually get less and less noticeable until they disappear completely as your brain and eyes adapt to the new prescription.

Is blurriness normal with new glasses?

If you experience some blurriness with new glasses especially if there's a significant change in your prescription, this is quite normal and common. However, this should start to improve within a few days so if you still experience blurriness after the two-week mark, you need to see your optometrist as your prescription may need to be checked.

Can glasses actually make your vision worse?

No! It's a myth that wearing glasses can make your vision worse. Glasses are a corrective tool which means they don't actually change the physiology of your eyes. You may feel like you have become more and more dependent on them because they do a good job of correcting your vision but they're not responsible for a decline in your visual acuity.

Will your eyes be ruined by wearing the wrong prescription glasses?

While wearing glasses with the wrong prescription can cause you quite a lot of discomfort and temporary vision issues, they won't cause lasting damage to your eyes. However, they can unfortunately interfere with your quality of life, making your daily tasks more difficult, and cause physical issues ranging from headaches to dizziness.

Understanding your glasses prescription

Understanding your glasses prescription, even just a little is the key here. The glasses prescription provided by your optometrist contains several critical values: Sphere (SPH), Cylinder (CYL), and Axis. These numbers, which are often alongside the abbreviations 'OD' (refers to your right eye) and 'OS' (refers to your left eye) show the prescription for each eye. Being aware of these values and what they mean can help you potentially prevent or spot any mistakes when it comes to your new prescription, or during the time you’re adjusting to new glasses.

In summary, when you’re adapting to new glasses it can sometimes be a bit challenging but should be short lived. Familiarising yourself with your glasses prescription and discussing any problems openly with your optometrist can help prevent these issues. If you continue to experience discomfort or vision problems after a couple of weeks, you need to see your optometrist and request that your prescription is re-checked. It's always better to address potential problems sooner rather than later. Your vision is important so don't put it off!