So, you’ve had your vision tested by an optician, and been given an eye prescription? What do the letters and numbers mean? How can we read it? Watch our quick and easy guide!
OD = Right Eye (it actually stands for Oculus Dexter, which is "Right Eye" in Latin!)
OS = Left Eye (or Oculus Sinister in Latin, for those that care!)
The further the number is from zero, the worse your vision is. If it's a positive number, your long / far sighted, meaning you need vision correction for things like reading. A negative number means your short / near sighted, so you need glasses to see things further away.
The Axis and Cylinder columns are usually left blank, unless you have an astigmatism (which means your eye is a more ovular shape, and not spherical) - the cylinder column indicates the strength of the lens required to correct the astigmatism, while the axis column indicate how blurred your vision is.
If you have reading glasses or bifocals, the ADD column tells you the magnifying strength of the lens needed.
PD means pupillary distance and measures the distance between the pupils of your eyes.
