ARE GLASSES AND CONTACT PRESCRIPTIONS THE SAME? - Eyes on MIssouri (2024)

FAQs

Can you have the same prescription for glasses and contacts? ›

Unfortunately, you can't use your current glasses prescription for contact lenses. While both can correct your vision, your prescription for glasses differs from a contact lens prescription in many ways.

What's the Difference? There are a few differences between a contact lens and a glasses prescription. Your glasses are usually 12 millimetres away, while contact lenses sit directly on your eye's surface. This difference seems insignificant, but it affects the corrective power of your prescription.

It is not uncommon for people to have a different prescription for each eye when you take into consideration the fact that one eye is usually 'dominant'. As with being right or left handed, our eyes work much the same way. In such a case the dominant eye is the one which takes on the main role of seeing.

The simple answer to this question is no – you cannot and should not use your glasses prescription to try to calculate your contact lens prescription. It should also be noted that not everyone who needs glasses can also wear contact lenses, it is important that you are examined separately.

Because eyeglasses sit some distance away from your eyes, the prescription for glasses is typically a bit stronger than for contact lenses. This is the primary difference between the two prescriptions.

In 2020, the FTC amended the Rule, which you can find here. The Contact Lens Rule requires prescribers to give patients a copy of their contact lens prescriptions at the end of a contact lens fitting, even if the patient doesn't ask for it.

The Prescription Release Rule, promulgated in 1978, requires that optometrists and ophthalmologists provide their patients with a copy of the patients' eyeglass prescription immediately after an eye exam is completed and at no extra cost.

Generally, contact lens prescriptions are valid from 1 to 2 years following the date of your last eye exam and contact lens fitting. Once your prescription expires, it's time for your contacts prescription renewal.

Even people who have normal vision can have up to 5% difference in the refractive power of each eye. However, those with a 5–20% difference will experience uneven vision (anisometropia). Causes include defects in the eye at childbirth as well as uneven size of the two eyes.

Do your eyes need to adjust to new prescriptions? ›

Most eye care professionals will tell you it will likely take two to three days to adjust to a normal change in your glasses prescription, but the adjustment period can last up to two weeks in some rare cases. If your eyes have not fully adjusted after two or three days, check in with your eye doctor.

There are a number of variations to the standard Snellen eye chart. The one an eye doctor uses depends on the personal needs and abilities of the patient. For example, eye doctors will use charts with pictures or patterns for younger children who may not have learned to read or identify letters and numbers.

You can't legally order contacts with an expired prescription either. Contact lenses are classified as medical devices in the U.S., so your prescription needs to be current to have it filled. These guidelines apply to both physical locations and online retailers.

You cannot buy contacts without a valid prescription.

If your prescription expires, you should visit your eye doctor for another exam and a new prescription.

Never wear Expired Contact Lenses. The contact lens expiration date is printed on the package and is usually written in mm/yy format. For example, a date of 03/18 means that the contact lens is deemed safe to use until the end of March 2018. Make sure you check before wearing it.

The lenses themselves can't actually expire; it's the saline solution in the blister pack that does. During the manufacturing of contact lenses, each lens gets sterilized and packed in an air-tight blister along with saline solution.