Optician “built in room” for deterioration??

[FannyBawz]

prescribed glasses three years ago but quite mild, 0.75 ADD for reading. My eyes have deteriorated a bit and I had another eye test a couple of weeks ago. Optician recommended 1.50 ADD and he said that for the prescription, he’d “built in room for further deterioration”. As I got to 49 without needing glasses at all, I don’t know why they would expect rapid deterioration? And I would have thought that lenses would be made to an accurate requirement?

is this normal?

The glasses feel very strong and while it’s lovely to be able to read properly, I feel kind of sick if I look up, I can’t help wondering if they’re too strong. …. I don’t understand his comment. My husband thinks I need a second opinion/eye test, he doesn’t understand the comment either.

can anybody advise?

It's entirely normal to start needing reading glasses at this age, and they can get worse quite quickly before settling.

Having said that, every optician I've ever been to would have sold you glasses on your current prescription and a second pair in a year if they have got worse...

After age 40 you tend to get more long sighted. The ADD is for reading which is why you feel queasy if you look up. As eye tests are every 2 years as an adult he's maybe anticipated your eyesight will get slightly worse in that time period and he's allowed for that in your prescription

I thought it was damaging to use glasses with lenses that are too strong?

You are presbyopic - this happens to everyone over the age of 45 or so, and is due to age-related hardening of the lens inside your eye. When you look into the distance your lens is relaxed, but when you look close to read, the muscles in your eye cause the lens to sort of contract, so that you can see clearly to read.

However, as we age the lens starts to get harder so it can't be contracted to focus close, and so reading becomes more difficult. That is why you have been prescribed reading glasses - to provide the extra power that your lens needs to see. This will worsen as you age, so you will need stronger reading glasses - it happens to everyone at about the same rate. The optician has anticipated how quickly your eyes will need a stronger lens and has accommodated for that, so you don't need to buy extra glasses in between (if that makes sense).

The glasses won't impact your eyesight at all, glasses don't make your eyes better or worse, they just help you to see clearly. The only time they can influence your eyesight is until the age of 8 or so, when your visual system is still developing.

I used to work as an optometrist, and used to get asked these questions every day!

Sorry, should have also said, they're reading glasses, so only for close work. They're not intended for distance use which is why you feel sick when you look up.

Ok thanks everybody I just wanted to
make sure I wasn’t damaging my eyes with too high a px