How to read my prescription

OD vs. OS Eye

OD is short for the Latin term oculus dexter which means right eye.
OS is an abbreviation of the Latin oculus sinister which means left eye. You'll often see this terms on eyeglass prescriptions.

Sphere, cylinder, and Axis on Eye prescriptions

Sphere:The sphere (SPH) on our prescription indicates the lens power you ne. to see clearly. A minus (-) symbol next to this number means you're earsighted, and a plus (4-) symbol means the prescription is meant to correct farsightedness.
Cylinder:The cylinder (CYL) number indicates the lens power needed to correct astigmatism. If this column is blank, it means you don't have an astigmatism.
Axis: An axis number will also be included if you have an astigmatism. This number shows the angle of the lens that shouldn't feature a cylinder power to correct your astigmatism.

Nearsighted prescriptions

A nearsighted prescription will feature a number with a minus (-) symbol in the 'sphere' box. This means your lenses will be shaped to improve your distance vision.

Tap on the prescription form to find out what all those number and abbreviations mean.

Patient _________

Expiration date _________

		Sphere	Cylinder	Axis	Prism	Base
Distance	OD	-4.00	____	____	____	____
Distance	OS	-5.00	-0.50	180	____	____
ADD	OD	____	____	____	____	____
ADD	OS	____	____	____	____	____

		Sphere	Cylinder
Distance	OD	-4.00	____
Distance	OS	-5.00	-0.50
ADD	OD	____	____
ADD	OS	____	____
		Axis	Prism
		____	____
		180	____
		____	____
		____	____
		Base
		____
		____
		____
		____

Farsighted prescriptions

A prescription for someone who is farsighted will feature a number with a plus (+) symbol in the ‘sphere’ box. This indicates that your lens should be shaped to correct near vision.

Tap on the prescription form to find out what all those number and abbreviations mean.

Patient _________

Expiration Date _________

		Sphere	Cylinder	Axis	Prism	Base
Distance	OD	+4.00	____	____	____	____
Distance	OS	+4.00	-0.50	180	____	____
ADD	OD	____	____	____	____	____
ADD	OS	____	____	____	____	____

		Sphere	Cylinder
Distance	OD	+4.00	____
Distance	OS	+4.00	-0.50
ADD	OD	____	____
ADD	OS	____	____
		Axis	Prism
		____	____
		180	____
		____	____
		____	____
		Base
		____
		____
		____
		____

Astigmatism prescriptions

If you have an astigmatism, you will have a number in the ‘cylinder’ column of your prescription that indicates the lens power needed to correct the astigmatism. There will also be a number in the ‘axis’ column that’s needed for astigmatism correction.

Tap on the prescription form to find out what all those number and abbreviations mean.

Patient _________

Expiration date _________

		Sphere	Cylinder	Axis	Prism	Base
Distance	OD	-4.00	____	____	____	____
Distance	OS	-4.00	-0.50	180	____	____
Add	OD	____	____	____	____	____
Add	OS	____	____	____	____	____

		Sphere	Cylinder
Distance	OD	-4.00	____
Distance	OS	-4.00	-0.50
Add	OD	____	____
Add	OS	____	____
		Axis	Prism
		____	____
		180	____
		____	____
		____	____
		Base
		____
		____
		____
		____

Progressive prescriptions (multifocal)

A multifocal prescription will include an ADD value, sometimes marked as NV. This indicates the required strength for the near prescription in your lens.

Tap on the prescription form to find out what all those number and abbreviations mean.

Patient _________

Expiration _________

		Sphere	Cylinder	Axis	Prism	Base
Distance	OD	-4.00	____	____	____	____
Distance	OS	-5.00	-0.50	180	____	____
ADD	OD	+2.00	____	____	____	____
ADD	OS	+2.00	____	____	____	____

		Sphere	Cylinder
Distance	OD	-4.00	____
Distance	OS	-5.00	-0.50
ADD	OD	+2.00	____
ADD	OS	+2.00	____
		Axis	Prism
		____	____
		180	____
		____	____
		____	____
		Base
		____
		____
		____
		____

Prescriptions with prism correction

A prescription for correcting eye allignment issues will include a PRISM and BASE value. These are needed to tell us how to shape the lens so that it can accurately align the wearer’s eyesight. The base value will show either “in” or “out”, or “up” and “down”, indicating the direction the prism should be angled.

Tap on the prescription form to find out what all those number and abbreviations mean.

Patient _________

Expiration _________

		Sphere	Cylinder	Axis	Prism	Base
Distance	OD	-5.00	____	____	____	Up
Distance	OS	-5.00	-0.50	180	____	Down
ADD	OD	____	____	____	____	____
ADD	OS	____	____	____	____	____

		Sphere	Cylinder
Distance	OD	-5.00	____
Distance	OS	-5.00	-0.50
ADD	OD	____	____
ADD	OS	____	____
		Axis	Prism
		____	____
		180	____
		____	____
		____	____
		Base
		Up
		Down
		____
		____