If you’re like most Americans, you or your kids may be involved in multiple sports and have specific safety gear and helmets that you use when skiing, playing football or riding your bicycle. Similarly, you likely have specific footwear for those same activities.

Given how important your vision is, it also makes sense to have a specific pair of glasses to enhance the activities you enjoy, especially since improved vision during those activities can enhance your performance.

Eyewear can be customized for specific tasks, from working on a computer to playing sports including tennis, football and basketball, to working in a setting such as a construction site or warehouse. The importance of the highest quality eyewear in each of these settings cannot be underestimated.

Here are a few examples of how your eye doctor can help customize glasses for the specific tasks during which you need the highest possible visual acuity. Don’t see your activity listed below? Please ask us about your individualized eyewear needs during your annual comprehensive eye exam!

1. Computer glasses. Sure, you have a pair of glasses for driving or reading, but what about the eight hours per day you’re sitting at your desk staring at a computer 24 inches in front of you? The glasses you use for driving might not be optimal for addressing the exact focal point necessary for computer work, especially if you spend your entire workday at a computer. Typically, patients say, “I’m having trouble working at the computer—I can’t see the text without enlarging it to 200% and sometimes it gives me a headache.” If you have a similar complaint, we can help. If you’re struggling to focus on your computer screen each day, a customized pair of glasses that optimizes your vision in the exact range where your computer screen sits can help. When you strain to read text over such a long period of time, it can cause headaches and decreased work performance. With a pair of prescription glasses that help you focus exactly two feet in front of you, or a pair of multifocals that enable you to see both the computer screen and close-up text, you have a specific tool to improve your computer vision and help your eyes make it through the workday refreshed and seeing your best. Ask about various lens coatings that can help at the computer, such as those that block the blue light spectrum to further relieve tired eyes.
2. Prescription sunglasses. If you enjoy being outside—and who doesn’t?—consider getting a pair of prescription sunglasses so that you can protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful UV rays while seeing optimally. Whether you’re watching your child’s soccer game or attending an outdoor barbecue with friends, protecting your eyes from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays while seeing your best is the goal every single day. Contrary to popular belief, the sun’s harmful UV rays represent a danger to your eyes 365 days a year whether it’s sunny or not—not only during the bright days of summer. If you like to read and need help with close vision, we can make you a pair of multifocal prescription sunglasses so you can look up to watch your kids jumping waves and then focus up close to read Real Simple magazine. Because that’s what prescription sunglasses do: make it “really simple” to maximize your enjoyment outside while protecting your eyes from the sun, no matter what month it is.
3. Sports glasses and goggles. Playing sports and seeing your best go hand-in-hand. You and your children may perform better when using prescription glasses or goggles especially made for your sport. Did you know that there are specific low-profile glasses made intentionally to fit under helmets for activities including football, skiing and biking? Your regular “street glasses” likely won’t fit well beneath a helmet, causing the glasses to press against your head or rub the top of your ears uncomfortably, distracting you. But when you get a special pair of prescription or sport goggles, you’ll be able to see your best and play your best without that irritating distraction.
4. Prescription safety glasses or goggles. Those who work in industries including construction, manufacturing, carpentry, auto repair, welding, plumbing or maintenance are at higher risk for sustaining one of the reported 2,000 work-related eye injuries in the United States each day. In addition, if you enjoy a hobby such as woodworking or metalcraft, or use a leaf blower or lawnmower, we recommend that you wear protective eyewear during those activities. Seeing your best through prescription safety glasses or goggles will help you perform your job better while providing you with the safety of eye protection that won’t break or shatter when a flying projectile hits it. Safety eyewear is more impact-resistant than everyday eyewear, providing a much-needed layer of safety between the world and your precious gift of sight. Did you know that 90% of work-related eye injuries could be prevented if the employee is wearing the right eye protection for the specific job he or she is doing? Be sure you have the right safety eyewear for your job or hobby, and wear it faithfully to protect your vision.