How to read this Prescription

[Adam2]

Hello all,
I searched and searched for an Optometrist forum online.. and this is what I could find.


My Optometrist gave me a prescription, and I plan to buy glasses online (as I have been for years).. but I can't call back to get clarification, as he gets offended, because he always tries to sell me glasses from his family owned opticians adjacent to the clinic for 200-300 dollars a pair.

I just need to know what the "-" means in OD

OD -150 - -
OS -0.50 -1.25 x 170


I'm currently laid off, so buying glasses online is my only real option, and you would be really helping.

Thanks a bunch!
Adam.

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[Shnurek]

Sorry, this is not a forum for medical advice. Google can be your friend.

 

[Adam2]

Sorry, this is not a forum for medical advice. Google can be your friend.

Fair enough, but I'm not looking for medical advice. I did search on Google for hours, this particular detail does not come up. Hence my post here.

Well I thought I'd give it a try.

 

[Shnurek]

OK, this is not a forum to give out how light retracts through the tear film, through the cornea, through the lens and onto the retina. This is definitely not medical though. Its more like voodoo.

 

[blazenmadison]

Hello all,
I searched and searched for an Optometrist forum online.. and this is what I could find.


My Optometrist gave me a prescription, and I plan to buy glasses online (as I have been for years).. but I can't call back to get clarification, as he gets offended, because he always tries to sell me glasses from his family owned opticians adjacent to the clinic for 200-300 dollars a pair.

I just need to know what the "-" means in OD

OD -150 - -
OS -0.50 -1.25 x 170


I'm currently laid off, so buying glasses online is my only real option, and you would be really helping.

Thanks a bunch!
Adam.

I rather you go to the mall or Costco to buy glasses than go online. At least you have someone that actually measures and fits your glasses for you. Take the prescription and shop around.

 

[Tippytoe]

The way I understand it is that (-) means you are a loser and (+) means you are a winner.

Charlie Sheen is a (+).

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.......................

If you don't know what you are doing, don't order on-line. You never know what you will get. Suck it up, mow a few lawns, paint a house or rake some leaves and buy some real glasses. It's not like they cost $10,000. You can get some single vision glasses from Wal-Fart for like $30.

 

[NCiDOC]

Hello all,
I searched and searched for an Optometrist forum online.. and this is what I could find.


My Optometrist gave me a prescription, and I plan to buy glasses online (as I have been for years).. but I can't call back to get clarification, as he gets offended, because he always tries to sell me glasses from his family owned opticians adjacent to the clinic for 200-300 dollars a pair.

I just need to know what the "-" means in OD

OD -150 - -
OS -0.50 -1.25 x 170


I'm currently laid off, so buying glasses online is my only real option, and you would be really helping.

Thanks a bunch!
Adam.

Hey Adam,

Sorry for all the unhelpful comments.

Not exactly sure what the "- -" means but it more than likely means that your right eye is just nearsighted and "-1.50". The OS, or left eye, is nearsighted with astigmatism and that is why the description is longer. You might want to make sure that your optometrist did not leave out some part of the OD prescription if you have been told you have astigmatism in that eye as well.

Good luck on the job hunt!

 

[Optogal]

It seems some folks here think they can prevent all of optometry's online glasses woes by being rude to this fellow. If someone here really believes not answering this guy's question will somehow improve their own quality of life (other than the cheap high you get from being cynical), please share.

OD -150 - -
OS -0.50 -1.25 x 170

OD means right, OS means left.

The dashes probably mean "nothing". Uncomplicated prescriptions typically have 3 values, a sphere, followed by a cylinder, followed by an axis. Your right eye seems to have a sphere value, and nothing for the other two, so if you're filling in fields online, leave the second two fields blank. Your left eye has values for all three, so in an online order form, you'd enter the 2nd two numbers (the -1.25 and the 170) in the second two fields, after the first one (where you enter the -0.50). If you call the helpdesk of whatever site you are ordering from, I'm sure they'll guide you through this.

Hope you get a nice pair of glasses at a cost you can afford. Good luck.

 

[Shnurek]

I wouldn't mind helping someone out but it just boggles my mind that people nowadays still don't know how to use google: http://bit.ly/PThQz5

 

[cjensen20]

Hello all,
I searched and searched for an Optometrist forum online.. and this is what I could find.


My Optometrist gave me a prescription, and I plan to buy glasses online (as I have been for years).. but I can't call back to get clarification, as he gets offended, because he always tries to sell me glasses from his family owned opticians adjacent to the clinic for 200-300 dollars a pair.

I just need to know what the "-" means in OD

OD -150 - -
OS -0.50 -1.25 x 170


I'm currently laid off, so buying glasses online is my only real option, and you would be really helping.

Thanks a bunch!
Adam.

Adam, first off
most likely the "- -" means that it is strictly a spherical lens (no cylinder in your lens)
this is not standard notation, though not difficult to decipher

second, while purchasing glasses from the internet is your option, please consider that you would be MUCH better served by someone who actually measures you and fits you with your prescription. though the cost may be less by doing it online, the benefits of getting measured and fit correctly by a trained professional far outweigh the cost difference from an online dealer. Essentially, you get what you pay for...and in reality, you may be doing yourself a disservice by purchasing online. Even a retail setting like costco, walmart, target, or sears etc have highly trained professionals that could serve you better than an online dealer could. retail settings typically run more economical than you would find at a private practice (though I could not guarantee the product would be the same. many times the product is of lesser value, quality, or technology at retail places). I urge you to consider purchasing from a trained eye care professional face-to-face over purchasing from the internet.

 

[Shnurek]

Adam, first off
most likely the "- -" means that it is strictly a spherical lens (no cylinder in your lens)
this is not standard notation, though not difficult to decipher

second, while purchasing glasses from the internet is your option, please consider that you would be MUCH better served by someone who actually measures you and fits you with your prescription. though the cost may be less by doing it online, the benefits of getting measured and fit correctly by a trained professional far outweigh the cost difference from an online dealer. Essentially, you get what you pay for...and in reality, you may be doing yourself a disservice by purchasing online. Even a retail setting like costco, walmart, target, or sears etc have highly trained professionals that could serve you better than an online dealer could. retail settings typically run more economical than you would find at a private practice (though I could not guarantee the product would be the same. many times the product is of lesser value, quality, or technology at retail places). I urge you to consider purchasing from a trained eye care professional face-to-face over purchasing from the internet.

Its OK, its almost like natural selection. The axis on his left eye might be tilted slightly off because his glasses weren't adjusted correctly and that car that he sees about to pass him on the left is actually not passing but heading straight for him.

I really don't get why people skimp out on their most important sense. Almost a third of your brain is dedicated to processing the information you get from your eyes. If you are going to save money, save it on cigarettes, booze, strippers, drugs. Don't save on your eye sight. But hey as Einstein said, "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."

 

[Adam2]

Its OK, its almost like natural selection. The axis on his left eye might be tilted slightly off because his glasses weren't adjusted correctly and that car that he sees about to pass him on the left is actually not passing but heading straight for him.

I really don't get why people skimp out on their most important sense. Almost a third of your brain is dedicated to processing the information you get from your eyes. If you are going to save money, save it on cigarettes, booze, strippers, drugs. Don't save on your eye sight. But hey as Einstein said, "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."

Hi, and thank you guys for the info. I am very proficient with Google and searches, and I did for hours before I posted here. I could not find an answer for the "-" (minus symbol on a prescription, hence my post).

But thanks for the valuable info. I appreciate it guys!

 

[Tippytoe]

On a serious note, the poster asked about the "- -" on the right eye spectacle Rx.

In reality, you simply visited a very lazy OD that was in a rush and too lazy to write the word "sph" or "spherical" or "DS". These can be found in private practices but usually in commercial places where, many times, his Master makes him do it that way to save that precious 3 seconds that could be used to see another customer.

I see this alot. Always from commerical ODs in the haste of the 4 minutes full "comprehensive eye exam". Evidently they don't have time to write the three letter "sph" and instead just put some dashes, or zero or many times, just leave it blank making the filler of the Rx have to guess if there is astigmatism or not. You could call it a hazzard of the job, being a ***** to Walmart or Vision Works or whomever. Nevertheless, if the OD or OMD you see is this sloppy, I'd think about a new one next time. If they are that lazy and sloppy with the Rx, they are probably very lazy in other aspects of the exam.

The '- -" in your Rx simply means you have no astigmatism in your right eye.

This, my friend, is your real answer.

 

[cjensen20]

Its OK, its almost like natural selection. The axis on his left eye might be tilted slightly off because his glasses weren't adjusted correctly and that car that he sees about to pass him on the left is actually not passing but heading straight for him.

I really don't get why people skimp out on their most important sense. Almost a third of your brain is dedicated to processing the information you get from your eyes. If you are going to save money, save it on cigarettes, booze, strippers, drugs. Don't save on your eye sight. But hey as Einstein said, "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."

i don't understand what you were trying to say, or apply by quoting me...
then quoting einstein on infinite human stupidity..

get off your high horse, the guy was just trying to ask an honest question. quit thinking about your own wallet for one second and help the guy out. you've been all over him/her since he/she made the first question. why? why not just help and give correct counseling (if needed)

recall our own professional code of ethics:

"…TO KEEP the visual welfare of the patient uppermost at all times…
…TO CONDUCT themselves as exemplary citizens;…
…TO PROMOTE and maintain cordial and unselfish relationships with members of their own profession and of other professions for the exchange of information to the advantage of humankind. "

Adopted by the AOA House of Delegates as Substantive Motion 1 of 1944,
Modified in 2005

.ž.TO PROMOTE and maintain cordial and unselfish relationships with members of their own profession and of other professions for the exchange of information to the advantage of humankind. ​