Don’t let fear overtake you if you’ve never heard of prismatic lenses. They look like any other glasses, and they can treat eye problems not identified in traditional eye tests.
What Are Prismatic Glasses?
Prisms bend light, and you would probably recognize one in a picture, bending light in different directions. Prismatic lenses do the same thing to help correct vision problems. As light passes through them, the lenses redirect what you see so that your eyes send a clear picture to your brain.
People with slightly misaligned vision need these prisms to correct what they see. While regular vision tests might catch major misalignments, they do not capture subtle misalignments. Because of this, eye care specialists who rely on traditional testing may not realize that prismatic lenses could help you.
They may not even be aware of the condition caused by these subtle misalignments.
Prism Lenses For Treating Binocular Vision Dysfunction
Binocular vision dysfunction (BVD) is often mistaken for other problems because they share symptoms. BVD is caused by very subtle misalignments. It causes your eye muscles to strain to send a coherent picture to your brain. The brain might then respond by asking your eye muscles to work even harder. This can lead to symptoms such as:
- Double vision
- Headaches
- Difficulty reading
- Dizziness
- Head, neck, and shoulder pain from trying to tilt your head to get a better picture
If you have symptoms like those mentioned above and no doctor or specialist has been able to help, you should look into whether the problem may be binocular vision dysfunction. If it is, prism glassed may help alleviate your symptoms.
What Do Prims Lenses Look Like?
You may remember the prism glasses that Hillary Clinton wore in 2013 during her congressional testimony. She had suffered a fall at home, and had double vision as a result. Her doctors relied on fresnel prisms, which are plastic press-ons meant to treat temporary vision problems.
Prismatic glasses with built-in lenses look like any other glasses. No one will know you are wearing them unless they notice that you have a change in your quality of life and choose to tell them.
They are not separate from your other prescription, but rather an addition to help you see better and alleviate your symptom of BVD or other vision problems. We work with your current prescription, so you don’t lose any benefits of your existing lenses.
Our Approach To Crafting Your Prismatic Glasses
Because vision problems like BVD are caused by subtle misalignments, we take a subtle approach to crafting your prismatic lenses. We start with trial frames in our offices so that you can have your first experience in a comfortable setting.
After you walk around in them, we ask how they feel and if they are helpful. We will tweak them as many times as you need before you can walk around comfortably and get used to your new glasses.
If you have the symptoms of BVD or have visited multiple doctors or specialists without getting the help you need, fill out our questionnaire to see if prismatic glasses may be the answer.
