Can I use my contact lens prescription values for eyeglasses?

Question

My contact lens prescription contains all the information I need. My only question is, how significant a difference is there between the values for contacts and eyeglasses for the same person?

If you have a prescription for both, how much do the values vary?

Answer 1

no, you cant.  not only will the optician refuse to fill a "contact lens" Rx with glasses, they're different from each other.

a CL Rx is "vertexed", which means adjusted for the distance from your eye to the lens (zero).  a glasses Rx is not vertexed.

plus most glasses Rx's are much more specific...ie -0.25 diopters of astigmatism at 23 degrees...contact lens Rx's cannot be that close.

Answer 2

you need to be measured for contacts if you didn't have this done.  You always see better with glasses.  Even the founder and former President of Con-Cise contacts, the largest contact manufacturer in the US wears glasses.

Answer 3

my glasses perscription is actually -.25 less than my contacts

Answer 4

My contacts and glasses have always been exactly the same prescription.  If you are getting a new pair of glasses and you are not getting them from the eye doctor that gave you the prescription - they might want you to have a prescription specifically for glasses and not just contacts.

Answer 5

Sometimes the glasses and contact prescription is the same and some times it is not.  It is best to get one for both. The glasses is sometimes a bit stronger than that of the contacts.