Eyeglasses are available through opticians. An optician designs and fits eyewear including glasses, contact lenses, aids for low vision, and many other specialized optical products.
Opticians take prescriptions from ophthalmologists and determine the best way to fill that prescription. There is no one-size-fits-all, one-stop shopping experience for eyeglasses. Every lens, whether made to fit into a frame or designed as a contact lens, is customized to fit the needs of the patient. Glasses are also a fashion accessory, so the best optical offices will have a fashion consultant on hand. This allows the patient to not only see better but look better, as well.
An optician helps patients select from the myriad of optical products available on the market. There is a multitude of variables to this process. Some of the variables are the patient’s prescription, occupation, hobbies, sports and games they engage in, facial and ocular measurements, fashion tastes, and more.
In order to determine the best product for an individual, the optician should interview the patient at length to discover what the best solutions are for their particular needs. Once the interview is completed, the optician should have adequate knowledge of his or her patient and feel comfortable suggesting the optimum combination of frames, lenses, coatings, and other specialized treatments.
Frame Selection
The frame needs to be the right size for the patient’s physical characteristics and must be compatible with the prescription at the same time. The bridge size, eye size, and temple length must be accurately measured for a comfortable frame fit.
Materials
Eyeglass lenses come in more than one form. It used to be the optician and his patient had a choice between glass and plastic. That is still true, but now there are many different types of glass and an equal variety of plastics. Perhaps the patient would do best with crown, hilite, index 1.2 glass. Or, perhaps the patient would do better with CR-39 or polycarbonate plastic. This by no means is a full list of available materials in glass and plastic, either.
Lens Treatments
Once the lens material is selected, the next step is to decide what lens treatment would best suit the patient’s lifestyle. The range of treatments includes anti-reflective coating, UV coating, color coating, hydrophilic coating, mirror coating (and which color of mirror coating), and so many others.
Among the anti-reflective coatings, some are better than others. Some are easier to clean, some are more scratch resistant, and some are more expensive than others. The final selection depends, again, on how the patient uses the eyeglasses, as well as his or her budget.
An example of how lifestyle affects choice of lens coating becomes clear when you consider a fisherman visiting an optician to get a prescription for sunglasses. The doctor must know that a polarized lens will make fishing easier and more fun for this individual. If an airline pilot comes in for prescription sunglasses, however, the doctor must know that the same polarized lens that benefited the fisherman could make it very difficult for the airline pilot to read his instruments.
Trust your local eye care professional to help you determine the right pair of glasses for your ocular health, lifestyle, and personal style.
To learn more about their options for eyeglasses, Springfield IL residents should visit https://www.extraglasses.com/