You’ve just visited your optometrist every year and have found that your prescription for your glasses hasn’t changed all that much. You are now deciding if it is worth changing the lenses and sticking to your current prescription glasses for another year. When is it a good time to replace your spectacles? Is it always necessary to change new frames and lenses each year?
Understanding Your Needs
At Capital Eye, your local optometrist in Canberra, we take the time to understand your needs before we recommend any products or optical appliances to you. We know that everyone is different, so although we have different patients coming into our practice with the same vision problem, they may be given totally different advice based on their individual needs. Understanding and building a rapport with our patients is the first step at Capital Eye to ensure that whatever we recommend is in your best interest.
One or Two Pairs?
You may only have one pair of glasses that you use every day. This is the case with most prescription glasses wearers. If you’re only using one pair of glasses, you’re most likely dependent on that one pair to meet your vision demands. If you have two or multiple glasses, even though the second pair may be out of date compared to your current pair of glasses, it is still better than not having any glasses.
If you only have one pair of glasses and you wear it most of the time during the day, a minor adjustment to your prescription could quite often improve your overall comfort of vision. It’s like the difference between wearing a tailored suit during a long dinner party would feel more comfortable compared to a non-tailored option. For example, if you have had a pair of glasses for over a year, although it provides you with clear vision when you use them during computer work, a slight tweak may save you having eye strain and headache whilst using them at the end of the day.
However, if you don’t use your glasses all that often because you no longer spend a lot of time on the computer at work, you may be able to get away not needing to update the prescription lenses of your glasses. You could get away with using your current glasses as they still provide adequate relief when required.
Having two pairs of glasses is handy when changing your prescription lenses. You can use one pair of glasses whilst we wait to update the prescription lenses in the other glasses. You may not need to update both pairs of glasses, but it provides you with lenses during the interim and not having to be away with prescription glasses.
Your Health Fund
This is based on your personal preference. Since most health funds would provide some costs towards your new spectacles every year, the consumer has the mentality to change glasses every year since not doing so means they missed out on the benefits. This is simply a consumer decision as often has no clinical indication to change glasses every year. These consumers often end up with multiple pairs of glasses in perfect condition several years later. Buying glasses because there’s a “no-gap” leads to many resources wasted. The suggestion is probably to review your health insurance to see whether the optical cover is the right option for you. You would need to replace glasses every two years, general wear and tear, and the average change optical prescription usually warrants it.
Quality of Spectacles
Our frames and lenses supplied at Capital Eye are designed for their intended use. It is not uncommon for our patients to be using the same frames for over five years, and lenses resist scratches during everyday wear and tear. Having a good quality pair of glasses means you don’t need to replace your glasses nearly as often as once every year.
The Bottom Line
The need to replace spectacles is based on individual circumstances. At Capital Eye, our optometrists and optical dispensers have a wealth of experience; take the time to understand your unique needs to ensure our recommendations and advice are in your best interest. If you need to replace your current prescription glasses, consider booking an appointment with us online. We look forward to welcoming you to our practice in Canberra.