How to get your pupillary distance measurement
An accurate pupillary distance measurement is required in order to make prescription glasses, and you cannot purchase lenses from Eyeglasses.com without an accurate pupil distance.
Eye doctor ophthalmologists and optometrists usually do not measure your pupil distance, unless you ask for it. When you get your prescription, ask your eye doctor to measure your pupil distance, and then write it on your prescription. Then you will be able to get lenses at any store you choose.
What is the pupil distance?
Your pupil distance is the distance in millimeters between your pupils (the centers of your eyes). Your adult pupillary distance measurement never changes, and it averages 60 millimeters (mm) for women, and 64 mm for men. Sometimes your eye doctor will write your pupil distance for each eye (for example 33/34, called a monocular pupil distance). Or, the eye doctor may write the pupillary distance measurement as 67/64. This means that your pupil distance for distance vision (or DPD) is 67, and for near vision (or NPD, for reading eyeglasses or multifocal lenses) is 64. Your near vision pupil distance is almost always 3mm less than your distance vision pupillary distance measurement.
How is the pupil distance measured?
The pupil distance is measured with an instrument called a “pupillometer” that is put up to your face. Any optical store employee can measure your pupil distance with this instrument, it is not required to be measured by an eye doctor. Any optical store will have a pupillometer, so eye doctors assume that you will have your pupillary distance measurement taken in the optical store.
How to measure your own pupillary distance
Your Pupillary Distance (PD) is something you can measure
yourself with the help of a friend. However, we strongly recommend that you
have an eye care professional measure your pupillary distance with a
pupillometer. For strong prescriptions, this is a requirement. For weak prescriptions, and for use in
our Try On software, here are some instructions for measuring your own
pupillary distance. However, if we
make lenses based on a faulty pupillary distance measurement, this voids our
guarantee of perfect lenses.
You need help to measure your pupillary distance. Ask your friend to do the following:
1. Find a ruler with millimeter measurements, and hold it up to the bridge of your nose.
2. Have your friend close one eye.
3. Your friend should align the ruler's zero on the left, in the center of your pupil. The pupil is the black spot in the middle of the eye.
4. Without moving the ruler, have the friend move their head to the right and read the millimeter line corresponding to your other pupil.
5. Repeat the process two or three times for accuracy.
6. Record your results.
There are many different types of prescription glasses that are out there. For example, most eyeglasses frames are unisex, meaning they work both for men and women. We have created some categories for mens eyeglasses, womens eyeglasses, and kids eyeglasses to make it a little easier for you.
If you have a high prescription, you may be looking for small eyeglasses so that the lens is not too thick at the edges. If you are a large person and have trouble finding eyeglasses big enough to fit you, check out our selection of big eyeglasses.
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