Talking About Optometry For Kids

When Should You Consider Getting An Updated Prescription For Your Glasses Or Contacts?

9 November 2022

Amelia Dunn

If you wear prescription glasses or contacts, it's likely that you will need to periodically take another vision exam and have your prescription updated. Vision correction works by slightly bending light as it goes through the contacts or the lens in the glasses, and the prescription refers to how much the rays of light are bent.

The goal of vision correction is to focus light directly onto the center of your retina, which will give you the clearest vision. The shape of your eyes can change as you age, and that will change the prescription that you need in order to see clearly. To learn when it might be time to have a new vision exam and update your prescription, read on.

You Move Books or Tablets Away From Your Face in Order to Read 

If you're constantly moving books or tablets back and forth in order to bring the letters into focus, it's a good sign that you need to update your glasses prescription. You have tiny muscles in your eye that change the shape of its lens, and this allows you to focus on objects like the tiny characters on a tablet screen.

When you move a book or tablet around, you're trying to help your eyes find something they can focus on by adjusting how far away the object is from you. When you don't have the right prescription for your glasses, your eyes will have difficulty trying to bring the characters into focus, and you'll feel compelled to keep moving the book or tablet around until they do.

You Have Trouble Reading Street Signs While Driving

Another sign that you may need to update the prescription for your glasses is when you start having difficulty reading street signs while you're in the car. Focusing on a far-away street sign can be a tough task for your eyes since you're moving toward it at the same time you're trying to read it. When you're nearsighted, even a small difference in your current glasses prescription and the prescription that you need can make it difficult for your eyes to focus enough to clearly read a street sign.

You Suffer From Headaches After Using the Computer

Computers can cause eye strain even in people who have perfect vision, and it's worse when you don't have the right prescription for your glasses. Switching focus between differently sized fonts and things away from the screen like papers on your desk will constantly work out the tiny muscles in your eye that control the shape of your lens.

After using the computer for a long period of time, these muscles can become fatigued, and you'll start suffering from headaches. You also may feel pain around the top and bottom of your eye where these muscles are located, and you may feel the need to keep your eyes closed for several seconds at a time in order to let them rest.

If you're having eye strain and not seeing as clearly as you used to, visit an eye care service in your area and take a vision exam. It's normal for your glasses or contacts prescription to change as you age, and taking a quick vision exam will allow you to see if you need to update your glasses or contacts to a new prescription. With the right prescription, you'll be able to focus easily and see clearly again.

Contact a local eye care service to learn more. 

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