Use the Eye Doctor's Prescription, or Re-Test at the Optical Shop?

Should you follow the spectacles prescription by the eye doctor from the eye clinic, or should you do a re-test at the optical shop and follow the new prescription instead?

With an aging population in Singapore and great access to and better understanding of eye care, it is now less uncommon for spectacles wearers to be on follow-up with an eye doctor or more regularly visit the eye clinic for checks.

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At the Eye Clinic

Besides the consultation with the eye doctor, there are ancillary tests that are typically done at the eye clinic - usually a visual acuity check to see how well your vision is or a refraction to determine the 'degrees' of your eyes.

While a small minority of patients may choose to forgo such tests, perhaps to save time or costs, the results of such tests can be useful, for instance in seeing how a condition or disease is progressing and affecting the patient's central vision clarity.

With the refraction - or eye power test - done, eye clinics may give a prescription to the patient. Some clinics may write for the prescriber of the eyewear to adjust and refine, or for the patient to be re-tested, while others may indicate that glasses should be prescribed as stated.

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At the Optical Shop

Optical shops typically offer a refraction in order to obtain the 'degree' of the eyes for the purpose of doing the glasses for you.

When you bring in a prescription from an eye clinic, we prefer to ask a few more questions, for example:

- The reason for the visit to the eye doctor.

- More details on any eye conditions diagnosed at the eye clinic.

- If the doctor or optometrist at the clinic has advised anything regarding doing new glasses

- When the next follow-up will be, if any.

- How your current glasses are working for you.

The Challenges

Some practitioners may prefer to write the prescription that corrects the vision best, while others may give the actual prescription to be prescribed, which may have been adjusted. The problem is - the optical shop often doesn't know which is the case.

And so, we have to take a holistic approach in ensuring your new prescription and new glasses work for you. This includes taking into account all the information we have, including our own refraction results.

As prescribing and dispensing of spectacles are closely linked it is best to have your spectacles dispensed where you have your eyes examined. It is often more difficult to resolve any problems you may have with your spectacles when prescribing and supply are separated. - The College of Optometrists, UK, 2016

What you can do for the Best Results

When going to the optical shop:

- Always bring along your current glasses, even if they aren't 100% clear, as they can give a good insight into what works and what doesn't;

- Explain a little about your eye condition; for older folks who may not be too sure, bringing a family member when visiting both the eye doctor and the optical shop may help a lot;

- Don't forget your eye doctor's prescription!

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Why we may adjust the prescription

Sometimes, we do find ourselves adjusting the prescription. There are various reasons for this, including:

- There is a large change in the prescription and the wearer might not be able to adapt to the 'full prescription';

- It has been a long time since the eye doctor's prescription;

- The customer feels more comfortable with our refracted prescription;

- We take into consideration the wearer's lifestyle and the type of eyewear chosen by the customer.

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The more extreme cases

And of course, there will be the few folks who withhold the prescription or information about the eye doctor's visit, in order to 'test' the optical shop to see if they are able to obtain the same prescription as the eye clinic.

Some people even go to the extent of not allowing the optical store to use their current glasses as a reference point.

The downside of doing so is a lower standard of care. The lesser information your eye care practitioner has, the lower the chance that your problems can be dealt with satisfactorily. And it's just pointless.

Think of it this way - if you have a bacterial infection, and you know the pathogen causing the infection, do you 'test' the doctor by refusing to say anything? In this case you'd probably get a broad-spectrum 'general' antibiotic as a first step, which could be less effective than an antibiotic that can better target the pathogen and make you well sooner.

Your eye care practitioners - whether they may be optometrists in eye clinics doing the refraction for you, or the opticians in optical shops fitting your swanky new pair of spectacles for you - work in loose tandem to give you the best care possible. Giving them the appropriate information is to your best benefit.

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Tourist/Foreigner Information: Doing Eyeglasses in Singapore - do I need a prescription?

"Do I need a prescription to get glasses done in Singapore? How quickly can glasses be done in Singapore? Is it expensive to do a pair of spectacles in Singapore?"

These are common questions faced by tourists and foreigners who are here for a shorter duration - perhaps you've broken your eyeglasses and need a new pair urgently, or probably you just want a spare one before heading on to continue your trip around the world.

Do I need a prescription for glasses in Singapore?

Yes, you will need a valid prescription to buy glasses in Singapore, however most optical stores will be able to perform a refraction for you, thus 'creating' a prescription.

In some countries, it's the standard to visit the optometrist (swanky clinic with a reception area perhaps?) for an eye check, and then take the prescription to an optical shop to be fulfilled by the optician.

However, the all-in-one style is quite the standard here in Singapore - the optical store that sells you your glasses also has the optician or optometrist who will do the eye test for you, thus removing the need to have your eyes checked at one place and taking the prescription to be fulfilled at another place.

Hence, choosing a nice frame at an optical store and then saying you want to "do eye test" or "I need to test my degree" might be more easily understood than "I need to get a prescription".

Do note that a different extent and scope of eye care is provided by different types of eyecare practitioners in different parts of the world; and even in Singapore, there are a variety of options, depending on your preferences and needs. You should visit one (or more) that best suits you.

If your prescription is in a "plus cylinder" format, it will need to be converted to a "minus cylinder" format in Singapore as the standard here is the latter.

How quickly can I get my glasses done in Singapore? Is it fast?

Singapore is known for efficiency, so the answer is yes you can get it done pretty fast - with some limitations.

There is a huge choice of different types of optical shops in Singapore, with very different business styles. Some stores are able to provide an express service, where you can get your new spectacles in an hour or within the day itself.

Usually, this can be done for single vision lenses, where the prescription or degree is not too high, as lenses out of the regular range have to either be ordered from the supplier or made-to-order at a lens lab, hence taking up more time.

We wrote more details about our glasses express service here.

Progressive lenses, sometimes known as multifocals or varifocals, are made to order (at least that's what we do) and hence cannot be 'expressed', even if you 'express' great inclination for it.

Is it expensive to do a pair of spectacles in Singapore for a foreigner or even as a resident in Singapore?

As of writing this, the Singapore dollar is stronger against many major currencies compared to a decade or two ago, therefore it may be 'more expensive' than in the past for returning visitors, but the cost of eyeglasses remain very affordable in Singapore when we compare the overall cost of living.

Like many other things you can spend on in Singapore, you have a diverse range of optical shops to choose from - from online and hybrid models to the sophisticated high-end retailers, so how much (or little) to spend really depends on what you're looking for.

You can check out our inclusive and transparent prices over at our Shop before heading down to us.

If you're looking for a ballpark figure though - there isn't one exact number, because there are just too many products, levels of service, and business models to select from. But we did write an article about the average cost of spectacles in Singapore, just to help you get a rough estimate.

For Otago Optical, a pair of glasses can be done much cheaper than the average hotel room rate, and comfortably within the daily earnings of 80% of full-time employed resident workers.

Have fun!

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The Pros and Cons of Progressive Lenses

Progressive lenses, also known as multifocals or varifocals, and sometimes "three layer can see far and near lenses", comes with both advantages and disadvantages for the wearer, which we will explore in this post.

Presbyopia is a condition whereby the eye loses the ability to focus at near. This usually sets in at about 40 years old, with the presbyopic power increasing slowly in the next two decades or so. This cannot be reversed, and is a natural phenomenon.

In some situations, such as when the wearer's current myopic prescription is overcorrected, presbyopic symptoms can present earlier, i.e. before 40 years old, although this can be easily resolved by reducing the myopic prescription to the appropriate power.

You can read more about presbyopia and progressive lenses here.

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Advantage 1 - Convenience

With progressive lenses, you can go from distant to near vision in a split second. No more taking out your reading glasses to reply a text, or changing into distant glasses when standing up from your desk. You only need to use the appropriate zones within the progressive lenses to switch between seeing far and near.

Advantage 2 - Comfort over Bifocals

Unlike bifocals that have a prescription 'jump' from the distance power to the near power, the presbyopic (reading) power gradually increases towards the bottom of the lenses, resulting in a smooth transition from the distance portion to the near portion of the lenses.

Advantage 3 - Aesthetics

Unlike the older bifocals or trifocals, progressive lenses seamlessly blend in the presbyopic (reading) power, which means the absence of a line or lines. This is more aesthetically appealing, which is a plus point for many wearers, who may not like to be seen as requiring a presbyopic power or reading glasses.

Advantage 4 - You have all the Powers

Since the presbyopic (reading) power comes in as you look from the top to the bottom of the lenses, with the maximum presbyopic power right at the bottom, this means you actually have lesser (and varying) amounts of presbyopia in between the distance and near zones on the lenses. These intermediate powers can be used for viewing objects that are at intermediate distance, e.g. at the hotpot in the centre of the dining table. Nom nom.

Disadvantage 1 - Learning and Adaptation

Like learning how to ride a bicycle, we don't immediately get the hang of progressives. This is why it is important to control your expectations (it's not a "magic pill") and fully understand how progressives and the different zones within the progressives work. When dispensing progressive lenses, even for more experienced users, we like to ensure that the wearer knows how to use the lenses appropriately, and to take a little bit of time to walk and look around to adapt to the lenses.

Disadvantage 2 - Smaller Usable Areas

While you have various zones that you are able to use for objects at different distances, having multiple zones also means that each zone is smaller. Hence, for prolonged work at a certain distance, e.g. if you need to be on the laptop for hours on end, you may find that having a single vision lens (reading glasses in this case) is more comfortable as it will allow you to have more flexibility in head and eye positioning and hence your posture.

Disadvantage 3 - Price

Progressive lenses are relatively more expensive than single vision lenses, although with the popularity in recent times the prices have fallen to where it has become attractive enough for many users to want to give it a try, even for those who previously were concerned about adapting to progressive lenses. The cost of progressive spectacles these days is approximately the cost of doing two or three pairs of single vision glasses - minus the inconvenience of carrying two pairs of glasses around!

Disadvantage 4 - Sensitivity and Perfection

Progressive lenses may be more sensitive to frame fitting, i.e. how the frame sits on your face. This is a potential issue if you abuse your glasses, since a frame that is out of shape will mean that the zones are in different positions than intended. So stop frame abuse today; use both hands to remove your glasses! Also, with multiple powers within the lenses, we never believe things can be 100% perfect, no matter what the advertisements say; so if you're a perfectionist, you might want to proceed with caution.

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Conclusion

With the above pros and cons, you may realise that progressive lenses may not be as straight-foward as we would expect it to be, both for the wearer as well as the eyecare practitioner fitting the lenses.

It is important to know more about the lifestyle of the user and how the lenses will be used, i.e. the environment of the user. We tend to also try gather information about the motivation or reason for progressives, or for some users, the reasons behind why they feel uncomfortable with their current progressive glasses.

Through this, we are able to suggest a suitable solution for the spectacles wearer - and don't be surprised, sometimes the solution may be to not use progressives at all. Indeed we have advised a handful of customers that the ideal solution for them is to have two pairs of glasses, one for far and one for reading, which would best suit their needs.

There are also various other alternatives, like having both a progressive glasses as well as a reading or driving glasses, or the use of office lenses that is for use within the office cubicle - giving relatively excellent intermediate and near vision as compared to a conventional progressive lens.

We wrote a post about some cases where progressive lenses fail. If you are looking for alternatives beacuse progressive lenses don't seem not to work for you, also check that article out.

Else, there's always Otago Optical to help you.

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