Is it possible for a glasses prescription to differ from a contact lens prescription?
JUL 15, 2020
Question:
Is it possible for a glasses prescription to differ from a contact lens prescription by -1.75 and +1.25?
Answer:
Glasses prescriptions can differ from contact lens prescriptions for a few reasons. The main reason is the differing distance of each lens type to the eye, called vertex distance. If nearsighted, the contact lens will typically have a lower minus number and for farsighted lenses the contacts may be a higher number. For example, someone with -10.00 D (diopter) spectacles may have a -9.00 D contact lens. Another with a +8.00 D glasses prescription may have a +9.00 D contact lens.
Another reason can be wearing a type of bifocal glasses. They might have contact lenses correcting one eye for reading and the other for distance (called “monovision”). The reading eye contact may have a higher number either less negative or more positive than the glasses prescription. Ask your prescribing eye care professional for a more detailed explanation behind your differing refractive values.