Q. How quickly can you make up my spectacles?
A. As we assemble our spectacles in our own workshop, they may take as little as 1 hour to about 10 days depending on your prescription. Certain specialised jobs require extra care and may take a little longer. If lenses and frames need to be ordered from the manufacturers that may delay the process, but we will advise you of the likely timescale before we proceed.
Q. How thick will my spectacle lenses be?
A. This depends on your prescription, the type of lenses you choose and the frame style. Generally, the higher the prescription the thicker the lens will be. Use of high index materials, reduction in lens diameter and choosing a frame with a full rim around the lens are all methods of keeping the lens thickness to a minimum. We will be happy to advise you on the best frame and lens choices to suit your prescription.
Q. How often should I get a new pair of glasses/ get my eyes checked?
A. You should get a new pair if your prescription has changed; your optometrist will let you know. It depends on many factors, but as a general rule, you should go once a year.If your prescription doesn't change very often, or at all, just get new glasses when you're tired of your old ones or they go out of style.
Q. Can I damage my eyes if wear the wrong spectacles?
A. It is not a good idea to use a prescription that is not intended for your eyes, but you cannot inflict any damage to your eyes if you do. Using someone else's spectacles could cause blurred vision, a headache, make you dizzy, and cause eye-strain, so using them is not recommended.
Q. If I read a lot or do lots of close work will I ruin my eyes?
A. Optical errors are never caused by reading or by any other visual demand. The causes of these errors are within the eye, and you cannot inflict them on yourself in any way. People who read a lot may be more aware of optical symptoms of headaches and eye-strain, which will give them a greater motivation to correct their problem with spectacles. The reading is certainly not causing the optical error.
Q. What are the advantages of plastic over glass lenses?
A. Plastic lenses are lighter and have 3x the impact resistance of glass lenses. Glass lenses are generally thinner, are more durable to scratches and have slightly higher light transmission than standard plastic lenses.
Q. What are photo chromic lenses?
A. These are lenses, available both in glass and plastic, which change from a relatively clear state to dark sunglass tint when exposed to sunlight and UV radiation.
Q. What are polarised lenses?
A. These are specialised tinted lenses that eliminate reflected light from surfaces in addition to direct glare from bright objects. This is very useful for people who drive a lot who have to see the surface of the road, while having to ignore annoying reflections. These lenses can be made up with or without your prescription.
Q. How do I avoid annoying reflections on my eyeglasses?
A. Anti-reflective coating, also known as AR coating, helps you to see through your eyeglasses more easily, lets others see your eyes better and eliminates the annoying white glare spots in photos taken with a flash.
Q. What are the warning signs that a child might need glasses?
A. These are the signs and symptoms to be taken into consideration:
Q. I'm worried that my son's glasses could break while he's wearing them. What's the best way to protect his eyes?
A. Polycarbonate material is recommended for children because it's very impact-resistant. Trivex is another very impact-resistant lens material that also works well for children's glasses.
Q. How can I prolong the life of my eyeglasses?
Q. The anti-reflective coating on my glasses is smeary (or foggy). What causes that, and what can I do about it?
A. Cleaning your eyeglasses improperly is a common cause of problems with anti-reflective coating. When you bought your eyeglasses, your optician probably explained the best way to care for them; usually, you use lens spray/ tap water and a certain type of cloth, like cotton cloth/ microfiber.
Q. Do my glasses protect my eyes from the sun?
A. That depends. Many people have plastic lenses, which do not protect your eyes; in that case you need to have UV coating for protection. Polycarbonate lenses have built-in UV protection. Glass lenses protect your eyes from harmful UVB rays, but not from UVA; some experts think UVA rays might have long-term, damaging effects on your eyes and skin.
Q. What is the difference between Bifocal and Progressive lenses?
A. Bifocals type of glasses has a visible line at the point where the prescription changes from near to far vision. Progressive lenses are lenses that have no visible line and gradually change from near to far vision in a way that is easier for your eyes to adjust to.
Q. What's the difference between my eyeglasses prescription and contact lens prescription?
A. An eyeglass prescription is not a contact lens prescription, and cannot be used to order contact lenses and vice versa. Each prescription contains information that is specific to the type of correction. Contact lenses sit directly on the eye whereas glasses are worn on the bridge of the nose. The distance between these two spaces dramatically changes the level of correction for each type. Also, not everyone who needs eyeglasses can wear contact lenses.
Q. How do Progressive Lenses work?
A. Progressive lenses provide far, intermediate and near vision correction, but with no visible lines! Bifocals have a distinct line or etch in the lens which visibly indicates where the lens switches from reading to distance vision. Progressive lenses are able to complete the transition between the vision corrections smoothly; letting your eyes naturally move between reading and distance vision without the distracting line in your lenses.
A. This is a very common problem and is usually due to either worn out frames, a poor lens/frame match in which the lens is too heavy for the frame, or poor frame match for your facial anatomy. Keep in mind too that the back of the ears and sides of the nose are rich in sweat glands which can cause them to slip and slide. Depending upon the reason, several things can be done. A headband might be necessary for heavy glasses when working out in the hot sun. The frames can often be tightened and nose pads added. Worn out frames and delicate frames may need adjusting on a regular basis, and we are happy to provide that service free of charge. Remember too that in the case of plastic frames, being out in the hot sun will cause the frame to stretch out if it's too large for your face. When all else fails, a new properly fitted feather-weight frame will solve the problem.
A. This may be due to multiple reasons. Often, glasses will slowly slide out of position, especially if the glasses are old and heavy. Keep in mind, however, that eyestrain can cause blurring due to fatigue, so make sure that your correction is current. Also, the front surface of the eye has a tendency to dry out since we normally blink less when reading. Dryness can become a problem during middle adult years, and can be helped by instilling a good lubricant before reading and using a bright light.
A. ABSOLUTELY YES!!! Make sure that your glasses are the right prescription. Minimizing edge thickness with the newer hi-index lenses will help. The addition of A/R (anti-reflective) coating will be a significant plus, especially with high index lenses. As always, we advise a full examination if you're having problems with glare, because other problems such as cataracts can also cause glare problems.
A. Switching to a new pair of progressive lenses can be a real adjustment because the mechanics of focusing through them are very different from a bifocal. With a Progressive lens, the further down you look, the closer the working distance. In other words, holding a newspaper 14 inches away will necessitate looking further down into the lens than looking at a grocery shelf from your shopping cart. That is in fact the beauty of modern day Progressives. You can vary your range of focus by how far down through the lens you look. People love having this kind of control over focusing, but LEARNING HOW to use them properly takes practice. With practice, however, one will automatically learn how far down to look for a given range of focusing. If you continue to have problems, let the optometrist or optical personnel guide you.
A. This has become a major problem now that we're in the computer age. Traditional line bifocals are not very user friendly for prolonged computer work, not to mention the havoc it wreaks upon your neck. There are 2 solutions. Have a pair of dedicated computer glasses made. Depending upon your optical state, this can be as simple as a pair of generic readers. The other solution would be no-line bifocals or progressive lenses, which are excellent for computer work and can allow you to focus with only minimal head tilt.
A. "High" minus lenses for nearsightedness can cause some cosmetic problems and visual distortion. Several things however can be done to greatly alleviate the problem: #1. Use smaller lenses made out of high index plastic such as polycarbonate. These lenses are fashionable, light weight, and thin. #2. Use a light weight frame that will allow the lenses to fit close to your eye. The closer "minus" lenses sit to your eye, the more normal in size your eyes will look, and images through the lenses will seem more normal to you as well. Another consideration is contact lenses.
A. "Plus" lenses are for farsightedness, and the more farsighted one is, the stronger the lens. Strong "plus" lenses cause the eyes to appear magnified. Also images seen through the lenses will appear larger than they really are. Several things can be done. #1. Use lenses made of high index plastics such as polycarbonate, and keep the lenses small. This will help reduce edge thickness and weight. This in turn will help make your eyes look normal in size. #2. Use a light weight frame. Together with small lenses, this will allow the lenses to sit closer to your face reducing the magnified appearance of your eyes and images through your glasses. Another consideration is contact lenses.
Q. I have tried Multifocals/ Progressives before and they didn't work. Why would Multifocals/ Progressives made by Zenith Opticians be easier for me to use?
There are many types of Progressive lenses. The older designs were typically more difficult to adjust to, having large amounts of peripheral distortion so if you looked to the side they made things blurry; or you may have become dizzy and disoriented.
Modern multifocal lens designs can have far larger areas of distance, intermediate and near vision, with minimal peripheral distortion. The older designs are still manufactured and typically used by optical retailers that claim to have cheaper lenses.
As is always the case, you get what you pay for. At Zenith Opticians we guarantee to always give the latest designs that will allow you the maximum amount of vision, with seamless transition between distance, intermediate and near vision.