Single Vision Glasses

Single vision prescriptions are the most common among people who need vision correction. It means the lenses are correcting for one field of vision—nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatisms. The entire lens contains the same amount of vision correction.

There are three types of single vision glasses: reading, intermediate, and distance.

Reading Glasses

Have you ever found that your arms aren’t long enough to let you hold a phone or book far enough away for you to read it? This is perfectly normal, especially for those past the age of 40. It simply means that you would benefit from wearing reading glasses. The problem that occurs is called presbyopia, which essentially means that over time, the elasticity in your eyes has weakened, making your eye muscle less flexible. This means that you can still see clearly at a distance, but struggle to read text up close. A pair of single-vision lenses will fix this very easily. Think about the times when reading is necessary: reading in bed, reading a menu in a restaurant, reading for work, and choosing a frame to match the occasion. Perhaps some neutral-colored transparent frames for that warm and cozy look. Maybe a fashionable pair of oversized retro frames. Or even a bold cat eye shape from your favorite designer label.

Intermediate or Computer Glasses

This is the up-and-coming most popular kind of single-vision glasses. The intermediate label is appropriate because the prescription corrects vision for middle distances. So not far away, but not too close up. It is typically the distance between you and your computer - hence, computer glasses. The single vision lens clarifies your sight at this specific distance, and so because we are all spending so much more time on computers these days, they are increasing in popularity. An added benefit of the intermediate single vision lens is that you can add a blue light filter to protect your eyes from digital strain. This occurs when you look at a digital screen for extended periods and can lead to trouble sleeping and headaches. Whichever frames you choose, simply add your single vision prescription, and then add blue light block coating.

Single Vision for Distance

It is equally common to have single vision lenses to help you see objects that are further than an arm’s length away. This can therefore be useful for activities like driving, watching TV, or going to the cinema. The difficulty is frequently spotted at a young age, usually around five or six. This is because it is the age most children go to school, and realize that they cannot read the board at the front of the classroom. The single vision lens for a long distance can help correct two visual difficulties: myopia and hyperopia.

Single Vision for Astigmatism

For someone with astigmatism, essentially, everything is blurry. The problem is fixed with a prescription that has two numbers for a single vision lens. Do not let this confuse you. Although you cannot get single-vision glasses from any old shop because they will not be accurate enough, you can easily purchase a single-vision lens with your prescription. This is easy to do online at 3CV, just add your details at the checkout.

Single vision eyeglasses are the most common type of lenses. They have one prescription power throughout the entire lens. Conversely, progressive glasses have multiple prescription power zones on the lens. Those zones blend gently so there aren’t obvious lines between them unlike on bifocal or multi-focal lenses.

Single vision glasses can either correct distant or near vision. Glasses that help with the former are often called reading glasses. Single vision distance means that the corrective lenses help with seeing things more than 30 feet away. They are for general use including sports, driving, working, and other common activities.

Yes, astigmatism can be helped by single vision lenses. If glasses are single vision, that means that the entirety of each lens has the same prescription power instead of different zones with different powers. If you have astigmatism, you can use single-vision prescription glasses or progressives if you need help reading.

When a pair of prescription glasses is described as single vision, that means that the lenses have the same prescription power throughout. This is the most basic and common form of corrective lenses. Bifocals, multi-focal, and progressives, conversely, have different prescription powers in zones of the lenses.

Technically, reading glasses can be a type of single-vision eyeglasses. However, most people are referring to distance glasses when they say single vision. The difference between these two is that reading glasses are for seeing something close to your face such as a book and distance glasses are for seeing things further away.