What
strength reading glasses
should be prescribed?
The rule of thumb is to prescribe plus lenses that are about
3 diopters more positive than the distance prescription, in other words a +3 "add." If
the child is just moving into myopia, he or she might need a
+3 lens. If the child is already a -1, he or she might need a +2 lens. This brings the limit of clear vision in to a typical reading distance of 33 cm or about 13 inches. Astigmatism is normally not corrected.
It is essential to tell the child that when using the reading glasses, he or she should keep the object far enough away so that it appears very slightly blurred, but still legible. As the eye tries to clear this slightly blurred image, the maximum relaxing force is applied to the ciliary muscle.
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us if you have any questions.
