Conclusion: Simply put, yes, you can get glasses without a prescription. The only condition here is where you are buying from.
If you go to any optical store, odds are they will only sell you glasses if you have a prescription, and they won't measure your old glasses to get a prescription as saying online. Prescriptions you get your eyes tested at their place or provide a prescription copy signed by an eye doctor professional. What is known so far is that there is no compulsory prescription copy for online eyeglass sellers, as long as you know your prescription data well and choose to fill it out online. However, as a protection for your eyes, we would like you to have your eye prescription measured when you are in a condition to do so, especially if your prescription copy has expired.
What is an eyeglasses prescription?
A prescription is the result of a visual examination of your eyes by an optometrist or ophthalmologist. The prescription will specify all the parameters necessary to provide a pair of glasses that will fit your needs. If the vision test indicates that corrective lenses are required, the optometrist or ophthalmologist will usually provide you with a prescription at the end of the examination. The parameters vary from person to person, but the prescription will indicate the values needed to correct visual errors due to refractive error. An eye prescription copy contains many parameters and data, and if you want to understand them in detail, you can refer to how to read prescription (RX).
Why should we have our eye prescription measured regularly?
The most effective treatment strategy for eye diseases (not just eye prescription) is based on a prevention strategy. Therefore, the best way to avoid eye problems is to have regular eye exams. Multiple diseases cause irreversible vision loss and can be detected by simple examinations before the pathological process begins. Thus, the importance of review as a form of prevention.
Ophthalmic examinations are designed to:
- Detect disease at an early stage when it is still treatable.
- Correct or adjust vision when abnormalities are found.
- Reduce eye strain during daily activities.
- Ensure that vision is as good as it can be.
Can you get glasses without a prescription?
U.S. law requires that you need to have an eye exam first and have an eye doctor's prescription (prescription) to get glasses in the United States. The prescription is generally valid for 1-2 years, so you can check the validity of the prescription and get glasses according to it. There are two types of prescriptions: one is for frames only, and the other is for both frames and contact lenses.
Choices of where to buy eyeglasses: Walmart, Costco, and Target's Vision Center have eyeglass stores where you can bring your prescription copy and buy glasses directly. The advantage is that they are affordable. The disadvantage is that they usually have a small selection of styles. The price is higher for brick-and-mortar optical shops and eye clinics, but the service is guaranteed.
Then there are online eyewear e-commerces, a new way of selling eyeglasses. Customers can select and fill in prescription data directly on the webpage (provided they know their own clearly) without the mandatory need to provide a prescription. Here you will be able to buy glasses without a prescription. However, as a protection for your eyes, it is highly recommended to have an eye examination and obtain a signed prescription copy before purchasing prescription glasses.
Buy Glasses Without Prescription
The importance of optometry in choosing new prescription glasses
When your eyes need vision correction for various reasons, prescription glasses and your eyes become one and the same. Incorrect prescription glasses can cause dizziness, nausea, and easily blurred vision, so accurate optometry is very important for prescription glasses fitting.
To choose a pair of glasses that really suits you and achieve the purpose of vision correction and healthy and comfortable use of the eyes, you must go through medical optometry. The professional optometrist will issue a scientific prescription according to the actual condition of the wearer, including age, refraction, wearing comfort, visual effect, etc., through computerized optometry, shadowing optometry, and comprehensive optometry examination, so that the patient can see more clearly, more comfortably and longer.
Poor vision is not only related to myopia or presbyopia prescriptions but also to astigmatism, strabismus, hyperopia, and eye diseases that may be associated with the patient, which cannot be detected by normal optometry. But if you do not check, it is likely to deteriorate the already "sub-healthy" vision further; eye prescription continues to climb simultaneously and may also cause serious eye disease.
The two very important steps in medical optometry: the consultation and slit lamp examination, are to find out the patient's eye condition, whether it is accompanied by eye disease, farsightedness, astigmatism, etc. In this way, not only can the prescription solution reach to solve various vision problems of the eyes, but it also can check for possible latent eye diseases and take effective treatment in time.
Formal and complete optometry steps
- Eye health examination (including all kinds of eyecare examination).
- Objective examination of the shadow and assisted computerized optometry, check the old glasses prescription, to come up with the accurate refraction and astigmatism and astigmatism axis.
- Refractive balance of both eyes, check the dominant eye; the eye is the same as the hand; some people are right-hand dominant, some are left-hand dominant, and about 50% of dominant right-hand people have the dominant eye is the left eye, the dominant eye before and after wearing the prescription glasses must be consistent.
- Check the eye position. If there is an internal oblique, near-sighted eyes must be matched shallower, and farsighted eyes must be matched slightly deeper; if there is an external oblique, then the opposite.
- Adjustment is the ability to see close objects clearly. If the Adjustment is strong, the nearsighted eye must be shallow, and the farsighted eye must be slightly darker, and the opposite if the Adjustment is weak.
- Check the visual function of both eyes and determine the fusion power of near and far to ensure that both eyes can be used in a coordinated manner after wearing glasses, especially when the prescription of both eyes is different; the evaluation of the function of both eyes must be carried out.
- Accurate measurement of pupil distance. Pupillary distance is the distance between the optical center of both eyes. Distant pupil distance should be greater than the near to ensure that the optical center of both eyes and the optical center of the glasses fitted are consistent with maintaining the monocular function of both eyes.
- Try on the lenses.
- Combined with the above examination results, to give reasonable refractive correction prescriptions and guide their scientific glasses wear.
