Your eye prescription looks like a small table of numbers and short codes. Once you know what each one means, it’s easy to read, and easy to order glasses with it. Here’s what everything means, with an example.
Right eye and left eye
A prescription has one row for each eye:
- OD or R is your right eye (from the Latin oculus dexter).
- OS or L is your left eye (oculus sinister).
- OU means both eyes.
What each column means
| Column | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| SPH (sphere) | The main lens power. Minus (−) is for short sight: far things look blurry. Plus (+) is for long sight: near things look blurry. | −2.00 |
| CYL (cylinder) | Extra power for astigmatism, when vision is a little blurry at every distance. Blank, “DS” or “SPH” means you have none. | −0.75 |
| AXIS | The direction of that astigmatism, from 0 to 180. Only used when there is a CYL value. | 180 |
| ADD | Extra power for reading, used in progressive and bifocal lenses. Usually the same for both eyes. | +2.00 |
| PD (pupillary distance) | The distance between the centres of your pupils, in millimetres. It places the centre of each lens in front of your eye. | 62 |
Lens powers move in steps of 0.25, so you’ll see numbers like −1.25, −1.50 and −1.75. A bigger number means a stronger lens.
An example, read line by line
| Eye | SPH | CYL | AXIS | ADD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OD (right) | −2.00 | −0.75 | 180 | — |
| OS (left) | −1.75 | −0.50 | 170 | — |
The right eye needs −2.00 for short sight, plus −0.75 for astigmatism at an axis of 180. The left eye needs −1.75, plus −0.50 at 170. There’s no ADD, so these are single vision lenses. If your prescription shows only one number per eye, that number is the SPH.
Which lens type do you need?
- Single vision: one power for all distances. This is what most prescriptions need.
- Progressive: distance at the top, reading at the bottom, and everything in between, with no visible line. Needs an ADD value.
- Bifocal: two zones, distance and reading, with a visible line. Needs an ADD value.
Ordering glasses with your prescription
- Choose any frame with Select lenses on its page.
- Pick single vision, progressive or bifocal, then the lens type: standard, blue-cut or photochromic.
- Add your prescription: type the numbers, upload a photo of it, or send it to us on WhatsApp after you order.
If you have an account, you can save your prescription and use it again next time.
Prescriptions are usually good for one to two years. If yours is older, or your eyes feel tired with your current glasses, get your eyes checked first.
