Prescription Glasses To Suit Your Style
We are pleased to be recognised as Varilux Gold Specialist Optician and we offer a wide range of lenses to suit all requirements and budgets to fit all our standard and designer frames.
The main purpose for spectacle lenses is to allow you to see better. Additionally, cosmetic appearance and help with reducing glare or sensitivity to light are also important.
Spectacle lenses are available as single focus, bifocal or varifocal designs and in many different materials. The three most common materials are:
- Plastic
- Most widely used - Over 80%
- Is a strong material, light and easy to tint
- Can be made thinner, lighter and flatter to improve wearing comfort and aesthetic appeal.
- Not suitable for rimless
- Polycarbonate
- Increasingly popular
- Very toughest material and comes as standard with scratch resistant coating.
- Recommended for rimless frames, children’s specs, sports spectacles, sunglasses and spectacles for children and those susceptible to falls
- Glass
- Best optical quality
- Was used more historically – only about 5% used now
- Heavy and susceptible to shatter
- Not suitable for rimless or sports use.
Other options include:
High Index lenses
Before the development of high index lenses, both long and shortsighted people with high prescriptions had to cope with very thick and heavy lenses.
Very longsighted people needed spectacle lenses which altered the eye's appearance, magnifying it and making it seem bulbous, whilst very shortsighted people required lenses with such thick edges that the size of the eye appeared to be reduced.
High prescription lenses can be fitted into small spectacle frames to keep their weight to a minimum. However, high index lenses have become increasingly popular as they are a thinner, flatter and lighter alternative which will not distort the appearance of the eye. The higher the prescription, the greater the impact high lenses can have on the cosmetic appearance and on the improvement in vision.
Materials now exist which enable lenses to be made much thinner than ever before, and with many manufacturers producing high index lenses, they are widely available with plenty of choice for the consumer. To further enhance the vision and the cosmetic appearance almost all come as standard with special anti-reflection coatings.
Your optometrist or dispensing optician will be happy to provide you with further details of high index lenses and the wide range of modern frame styles available to you and suitable for your prescription.
Photochromic lenses
What are photochromic lenses?
Photochromic lenses can help your eyes cope as they react to different light conditions encountered during the day. They help you preserve your eye health by blocking 100% of UV rays. Whether they are clear, slightly tinted or sunglass-dark, they protect you all of the time.
These lenses darken on exposure to sunlight and protect the eyes from ultraviolet radiation. Excessive exposure to UV can cause permanent damage to the cornea and conjunctiva. Good photochromic lenses block out 100% of the most harmful rays of the sun, 100% of the time, adapting to changes in light and darkening in seconds.
Whilst sunglasses give comfort in very bright conditions by reducing the total amount of light and glare reaching the eye, they are not always convenient in changing light conditions. (Sunglasses). Photochromic lenses adjust their tint to the right level of light, improving your perception of contrast.
Why wear prescription photochromics?
Photochromic lenses offer great flexibility to anyone needing prescription eye wear, protecting the eyes indoors and out at all times. They are made in your normal prescription so your spectacles will correct your vision and give UV protection. Photochromic lenses meet all your various needs by combining the benefits of prescription spectacles/contact lenses and sunglasses.
Which photochromic lenses should I choose?
Photochromic lenses are available in glass and plastic. Historically, glass offered the best photochromic eye protection but recent innovations such as Transitions VI ® lenses have shown that plastic’s performance is now superior and is very versatile. Outdoors in bright sunlight, they can darken to sunglass dark after just 30 seconds exposure to sunlight. Returning indoors they will quickly fade back in just a few minutes. An anti-reflective coating on top helps to reduce distracting reflections
Plastic photochromics such as Transition VI lenses are now available in higher index lenses also so that they can be suitable for people with high prescriptions.
Ask your optometrist or dispensing optician about the latest product and tint range for you particular prescription.
Does the colour of the lens make a difference?
Grey tends to give better colour definition when darkened, whereas a brown lens is often preferred for the warmer appearance it gives. There is no difference in UV blocking performance.
Who wears photochromic lenses?
Photochromics are versatile enough to suit almost every occasion. For golf or tennis players, where good vision is as important as comfort and protection, or schoolteachers supervising playground or sports activities as well as spending time in the classroom, photochromic lenses are ideal.
Whether you have bright blue or dark brown eyes, everybody needs protection from UV harmful rays. Children are especially vulnerable because their developing eyes are more delicate. They can accumulate more UV as they spend more time outdoors. And remember, UV rays are present all year round, even in cloudy weather.
Tips for handling and taking care of your frames and lenses Follow the advice of your optometrist or dispensing optician about how to look after your photochromic lenses. Here are some basic guidelines:
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For enhanced performance your optician will tell you whether your photochromic lenses can be treated with hard coating, anti-glare and/or water repellent treatments. When combined, all three treatments make them ideal for sports and help reduce misting when coming from outdoors to indoors.
Driving in photochromic lenses
Whilst driving, your photochromic lenses may not become as dark as they do outside because the windscreen will block out some of the harmful ultraviolet light that would normally make the photochromic lenses darken. Prescription sunglasses may be a more suitable alternative for drivers who need better sun protection.
What about extreme conditions of sunlight?
People exposed to long periods of extreme heat and high levels of UV, or those who are very light-sensitive should consider a second pair of prescription sunglasses made to the British Standard 2724. But in most day to day situations and activities, photochromic lenses are the most versatile option for prescription wearers.
Anti-reflective lenses
Its not just your frames that can enhance the overall look of your spectacles your lenses can too - they can appear so clear, other people will hardly notice you are wearing them.
In the earliest versions of these the constant build up of grime, dust and finger marks on your lenses meant that unless you cleaned them regularly, your vision became impaired very quickly and the lenses could look unsightly. However recent developments mean that the new generation of anti-reflection coatings stay cleaner for longer and any dirt on your lenses can be removed easily. Many such as Crizal lenses made with Scotchgard Protector have an additional new feature so that they are anti-static, which means that dust simply won’t stick to your lenses during cleaning.
What other benefits do they have?
Water Repellent: Rain and grease simply bead off the lenses so that they stay cleaner for longer.
Easier to clean: The ultra- smooth layer that protects your lenses also makes it much easier for you to look after your spectacles. Whatever method you use to clean your lenses, you will get a perfect result every time.
Anti-reflection and scratch-resistant: With their specific anti-reflection and anti-scratch properties, your lenses will boast outstanding clarity and will provide you with better quality vision.
Cosmetic appearance: With no glare, smudges, dust, dirt, oil, water or grease you can see as clearly and look as you first did the first day you got your new spectacles and people will notice your eyes through your lenses rather than unsightly reflections on the lens surface.
Who should use them?
Whether you are working in front of a computer screen or driving at night, the reflections on the screen can reduce contrast and the lights of the oncoming traffic can dazzle you. Good anti-reflection coatings eliminate visual discomfort by reducing reflections by 80% compared with conventional lenses. As time goes by, near invisible scratches caused by everyday wear and tear can also reduce your clarity of vision. The anti-scratch properties will dramatically reduce scratching on your lenses, keeping your vision clear.
What lenses are they available on?
Anti-relection coatings are available on a wide range of materials and designs including Varilux - the worlds most prescribed varifocal lens. For high index lenses they often come as standard.
Ask your optometrist or dispensing optician about the latest product range for you particular prescription and whilst discussing this, why not ask about our new EyeCare payment schemes as well.