Can I Get an Eyeglass Fitting Online?
If you’re hoping to take advantage of a good deal on prescription glasses online, it’s normal to wonder whether you can get an eyeglass fitting online as well. While many of the online eyeglass retailers will offer some sort of fitting program or information, it’s a good idea to know what measurements you really need to get properly fitted glasses so you can ensure the glasses you order will actually correct your vision.
Get your measurements
Before you get going with your order, you’ll need some measurements specific to your face and to the glasses you intend to buy. The measurements for the eyeglasses themselves will vary based on the style of frame you choose, but you’ll need an idea of the eye size you want, the bridge size you need to comfortably fit over your nose and the temple length to reach behind your ears. If you have a current pair of glasses in a style you like, you’ll be able to find the size information printed on the inside of the bridge or on the inside of one temple.
Of course, having a pair of frames you like is only part of the equation. In order for the online company to accommodate your prescription information, they’ll need three key measurements that may not be found on your prescription from the optometrist. You’ll need to provide them with the distance from the center of one pupil to the other, known as pupillary distance or PD, the distance of each pupil to the center of your face if it’s not perfectly symmetrical and the distance from the center of your pupils to the bottom edge of your eyeglass lenses.
Online fitting offerings
While most online sites will simply provide you with a form to fill this information into, others utilize a virtual fitting room. In the more advanced simulations, you’ll be able to upload a recent picture and virtually try on as many pairs of glasses as you like until you find the perfect pair. From there, the opticians will work to get your PD, pupil height and monocular PD from the picture you provide.
Online buyer beware
Although buying your prescription eyeglasses online can allow you to save quite a bit of money on new glasses, you may not always be getting the exact quality you expect. When your PD or pupil height are off even by a few millimeters, you’ll be unable to look straight through your glasses to correct your vision. Your optical channel could be so out of whack that you have to immediately send them in for replacement. Worst case, you further damage your vision by wearing glasses that don’t fully correct your vision, yet aren’t so out of whack that you notice right away.
Remember, even if you’re unable to get your measurements from your optometrist or a local optician, you can easily take these measurements yourself using a millimeter ruler. No matter which online eyeglass site you ultimately use, the measurements you take yourself could give you a better fitting pair of glasses than their virtual programs provide.