Information on prescriptions in loupes
It is very important that your optical prescription should be put into your loupe. The only exception is if it is very mild and our optometrists determine that it is not necessary. You will only get the best out of your loupe if your vision is corrected by your prescription. In addition your working distance (and therefore your posture) will be affected if it is not in your loupe.
There are 2 types of prescription:
- Single vision - this is where you are either near-sighted or long-sighted.
- Bifocal - as we get older we become presbyopic and less able to focus on near objects and extra power (called an Add) is either added to an existing prescription or glasses are just used for reading. This is called your near prescription.
The oculars
Your prescription or if you have an add, your near prescription is placed in the back of the ocular.
The outer ( carrier lenses)
If you have only a single vision prescription this is usually placed in the outer lens.
If you have an Add then there are a number of choices and you can be advised on this during your loupe consultation. The strength of the Add can influence the choice. The options are:
- Distance - this will allow you to see across the room but depending on your Add, you may not be able to read or see your monitor clearly.
- Near - this will allow you to read and see close objects. Depending on your Add, you may not be able to see your monitor clearly or across the room.
- Intermediate - this is a common choice for users with an Add. Usually vision will be optimised for your monitor distance but you will normally be able to read fairly well and see across the room.
- Varifocal - ExamVision can place Varifocal lenses in the frames. This has near, intermediate and far vision all in one lens with a gradual change across the lens. If you are not used to wearing varifocals they can be difficult to get used to but can be useful if you have a large Add.
Considerations
Your loupe is an important investment. ExamVision are optometrist led and we all want to protect your vision and provide the perfect loupe. To do this we will want to see a recent optical prescription.
Single vision prescriptions rarely change enough to affect your loupe but once you become presbyopic your add will increase over time. Normally it is quite a long time before this affects the vision in your outer lens, but you will notice a gradual lengthening of your working distance and the image may become less clear. With most ExamVision loupes, Evident can change the prescription in the oculars in around 48 hours provided we have been given your new prescription and received the new lens. If you have a loupe which can focus such as the ExamVision Kepler range, you can adjust the distance yourself without needing a new ocular lens.
When you order your loupe you may want to consider having blue light protection in the lenses. This costs extra and is not to protect against the curing light. However, you are looking at white objects under a bright light for many years and this does provide a level of protection. In the ocular ExamVision uses a very special lens that does not affect colour perception at all.
Our loupe consultants will be able to advise you on the best option for you.