Using 2 pairs of eyeglasses with different prescriptions

September 25, 2021 3:35 PM

I might need to use two pairs of eyeglasses with different prescriptions. That is, one pair could be for distance vision and near vision (reading). In that case, the other pair would be for intermediate vision (computer use).

If you have ever used two pairs of eyeglasses with different prescriptions: Is there a configuration, or division between the three different distances (that is, which prescriptions are combined in one pair), that you found easier to manage? Also, do you have any tips about managing two different pairs at the same time (making sure whichever you need is always handy)?

In case it matters: I have been wearing glasses full time for 50 years. I work using a computer 40 hours a week, and use a computer during nonwork time a fair amount. I am now working from home, but I might go to a hybrid schedule whenever covid becomes much less of a threat. I drive about once a week or so. I am usually reading the paper in the morning and a little in the evening. I am not accustomed to carrying a bag. I don't think LASIK is cost-effective at my age. I don't want contact lenses.

posted by NotLost to Health & Fitness (26 answers total)

Response by poster: Apparently, my eyes have a problem that progressive lenses might not fix.
posted by NotLost at 3:38 PM on September 25, 2021

If you get one pair for reading/distance and it's a progressive lens, there's basically going to be a zone between the two zones that you want that will work for intermediate vision. At least, that's how it turned out with mine. I've seriously considered getting two pairs also, but one just for distance so I have a broader field of vision while driving than I do with my current pair; the other pair would be for more close-up stuff. My prescription isn't too intense though - I'm astigmatic, but can still pass the sight test at the DMV.
posted by LionIndex at 3:44 PM on September 25, 2021

Bah, ignored the first comment, but maybe someday in the future someone will have a similar issue.
posted by LionIndex at 3:45 PM on September 25, 2021

I can't use progressive or bifocal lenses for reasons. If I'm reading a book or phone, I use no glasses (and I don't typically need them around the house). If I'm sitting at a computer, I have a set that's optimized for that range (and has the blue filter as well). And for driving/watching/TV/being out and about I have my standard prescription which is perfect for everything further out than about two feet. The computer pair just lives near the typical place I use them so it's not a big deal to swap to them.
posted by Candleman at 4:15 PM on September 25, 2021 [5 favorites]

I have two pairs: one with far + intermediate, and one with intermediate + near for computer work. I made sure to get two different frames so they're easy to tell apart. I have a note on the back of my front door that reminds me to check which pair I have on. Going outside and riding in a car/bus with the wrong frames is a recipe for a headache. I don't bother with taking the intermediate + near ones with me when I leave the house, as I rarely need them, so it's been easier to manage than I thought it would be.
posted by DiabolicalMeow at 4:17 PM on September 25, 2021

I have one pair for distance only that are also transitions - for when I’m outside the house. I have what my optometrist calls “office glasses” for home - intermediate and near. I can read, use the computer, and watch tv with them. They don’t leave my house - I switch glasses at the front door, where my glasses case lives with some spray cleaner.

It’s not ideal, and I’ve just started working hybrid, so I may need to start bringing my indoor glasses to work. Now I’m working with my glasses on my head, which isn’t a solution.
posted by Valancy Rachel at 4:33 PM on September 25, 2021 [2 favorites]

When I worked (recently retired), I had a pair for use just at my desktop. It made a world of difference for eye strain and headaches from tilting my head to get the right part of my progressives in line. Sometimes, I’d get up to go to the kitchen or a meeting, and everything outside that range was fuzzy.
I’ve used progressives with blue light filter for years. My computer glasses also had blue light filter.
posted by dbmcd at 4:39 PM on September 25, 2021 [2 favorites]

I have progressive lenses, but have a special pair for computer work (2 actually--one for work and one for home). That's because I spend a lot of time looking at it at a fixed distance. My eyes have been much happier.
posted by pangolin party at 4:52 PM on September 25, 2021 [3 favorites]

I use three prescriptions, distance, reading, and computer. Progressives have never worked for me although it might be that I didn’t give them enough of a chance. I get one bifocal pair with photo chromatic lenses and use that for driving. I try to keep multiple copies of each prescription around so I can always find the correct prescription. The redundancy means that I’m not blind when I break or lose a pair.
posted by rdr at 4:53 PM on September 25, 2021

I saw my ophthalmologist just a couple weeks ago and asked her if she would prescribe computer glasses. I wore bifocals and at the computer had to lean into the screen and tilt my head to use my reading lenses of the bifocals. She said sure, took a few quick tests, and wrote me two scripts.
The computer glasses are super. Yes, I bought very different frames so they are easy to distinguish.

I sometimes get up from the computer and forget to change glasses but not for long as the computer glasses focus nothing at a distance. I'm sure in a month or so I'll get into the habit of switching.

GET COMPUTER GLASSES! Save your neck and back.
posted by tmdonahue at 4:58 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

I am in my 50s and have worn glasses since I was something less than 10 years old. I have regular progressives (you could get distance + midrange, if that is an option for you) and for the last 5 years or so I’ve also had “near vision” glasses that I use at the computer. The near vision glasses are actually near + midrange; I tried a pair with just my near rx and didn’t like that. I keep one pair of the “near” ones at my work computer and one near the couch where I tend to be on my laptop for non-work. I bring one of them if I travel, but I don’t take them out of the house locally - I do fine reading a menu or whatever either with my regular glasses or with no glasses. I get them from Zenni, which is way less expensive than at the eye doctors and allowed me to reasonably get 3 different pairs of glasses. As others have said above, I got different frames to tell them apart.
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 5:16 PM on September 25, 2021

Unless you need one for some other reason, you don't even need a second prescription. You can order near-range and mid-range progressives from Zenni using your normal prescription. The near-range has a big arms-length section on the bottom and a smaller 10-feet-ish section on the top. The mid-range claims to invert that -- big 10-foot section on top and a smaller arms-length on the bottom.

https://www.zennioptical.com/workspace-progressives

I have regular 3-way progressives, and I had a pair of near-range progressives from them that were great for computer use until the frame broke after 2 years. Which, yeah, zenni. I ordered another pair with a big chungus plastic frame instead of the nifty thin metal frame and we'll see how well those do. The pairs ran $130-140 with all the fancypants shit on the lenses.

Also, do you have any tips about managing two different pairs at the same time (making sure whichever you need is always handy)?

Except for having to remember to take them to and from the office, I haven't found this really necessary. If I'm just out and about, I don't need the computer pair -- anything I'd need to do in near-vision I can just use my regular progressives for or, if it's weensy print or something, just take my glasses off and hold the offending object right in front of a peeper. I'm sure I look like a goober doing this, but it's not like I'm trying to impress everyone else who's buying canned soup.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:17 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

I just started wearing glasses this spring: after consultation with my optician, and considering the fact I spend 90% of my time looking at things looking at a computer, I ended up with two pairs: one for computer distance (intermediate) and a pair of sunglasses with distance lenses. This leaves out reading, but I'm managing fine with that without. (I do most of my reading on my phone or Kindle anyway.)

I'm astigmatic, and very slightly nearsighted, around 20/40 in both eyes, so I don't need them for driving, and I rarely drive at night other than my commute home from work, but I do wear sunglasses all the time I'm outside walking due to some light sensitivity. (This means I can't do transition lenses because I need them to darken when I'm driving.) I may eventually add a cheap pair of distance only for the rare times I'm at a movie or some other performance/indoor distance thing. We might rejigger the configuration in future, but right now this is working really well.

When I leave the house for somewhere I'll need the computer distance, I put the sunglasses on my nose, and bring the computer glasses. (I don't bother for something like a doctor's appointment.) I swap the glasses when I get to the office and swap back at the end of the day. If I'm going for a walk from home, I leave the computer glasses where the sunglasses live, and swap back when I'm done.

We talked about progressives, and I'd already done some research (and he confirmed) that the computer-distance space on the lens is just really small for them because of how the lens works, so I'd be constantly adjusting for that. (Especially since I'm quite short, and so angles on screens are tricky, and I have a wide monitor at home and dual monitors at work.)

Having a computer-only pair means I have a lot of flexibility in how I hold my head and angle things.
posted by jenettsilver at 5:25 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

They talk about doing just this on endmyopia.org, the website is kind of a tangle, but they say everything is answered in their documentation, and if it isn't, they apparently have an active community, too.
posted by aniola at 5:57 PM on September 25, 2021

A few years ago, Zenni's progressives were horrible for me (I understand this has changed). I temporarily went with standard bifocals and a prescription that matched what the "middle" of the progressives would have been, which I used for computer work. These worked will enough and I keep them as my "backup" glasses in case something happens to my progressives (which I got from Sears Optical when they were still a thing.)
posted by lhauser at 6:34 PM on September 25, 2021

I have three pair: progressives, normal and sunglasses (for driving), and then a 'monitor distance' pair for working at the computer. Like you, I worked with computers for 40+ years. The monitor distance pair really helps - when I remember to switch to them. Until I went to working from home entirely, I had two pair of that prescription - one for work and one for home so I didn't have to remember to take them with me. With the current prices of glasses that may or may not be a reasonable proposition for you.
posted by TimHare at 9:35 PM on September 25, 2021

Have you considered trifocal glasses? Mine have 3 different focal points. Distant (TV), medium (monitor and keyboard) "close" book, knitting, etc.
posted by Cranberry at 1:22 AM on September 26, 2021

I asked about something like this the last time I got new glasses, and they said they can grind whatever I want within the prescription. So, my idea is to get "inside" glasses that are progressive but only ground to be used between like 6" and 8ft (TV). I think computer-only would be something like 12"-24".

I dunno, full-range progressives for my mild astigmatism have never really felt right, so reducing the range of any one pair has natural appeal.
posted by rhizome at 1:55 AM on September 26, 2021

I do almost everything at the computer, so I have computer glasses. I can read without glasses, and I have distance glasses for driving. I keep a glasses case on a table by the door. They do have different frames, but I never confuse them... the difference is obvious when they're on. :)
posted by zompist at 3:54 AM on September 26, 2021

I can see distantly decently enough with just a bit of age related slow to change focus, need reading like glasses for anything closer than three or four feet. I have a pair of half-height glasses that are used for computer and most simple stuff. They hang low on my nose and there's a lot of looking over the top or sliding them up or down my nose depending. Around the house and in the car and beside my wallet/keys are a handful of just regular full-sized slightly closer focal length glasses for like shopping. Then there's a pair near where I usually sit stored with pencils and stuff that are strong and are the reading tiny fine print (shakes fist and young people).

Due to "waves hands about" I haven't gotten around to buying shirts with pockets. It's time for shirts with pockets so I have a place to put my glasses. I mostly do the totally late 1980's cool thing and hang my glasses from my shirt collar right there on the back of my neck. Fine place for glasses as long as you're not sitting down and leaning back into a chair or such.
posted by zengargoyle at 4:29 AM on September 26, 2021

I have used a separate pair of glasses for years, first for the computer and now for music on a music stands well.

I think the best way to get the right prescription is to tell your eye doc what you want while you are in the chair getting tested. Then the two of you can experiment using all his fancy equipment. For a computer, you basically want sharp focus at about arms length.

This is common enough that an optician might use some standard adjustment, but there is nothing like getting what is exactly right for you.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:21 AM on September 26, 2021

I've worn glasses for nearly 50 years, with a strong astigmatic correction. I currently have three(!) pairs of glasses in regular use. There's the everyday pair (progressive) for general everyday wear, the computer/music pair with a focal distance of arm's length, and the reading/sewing pair for even closer work. I've been doing this for nearly a decade. I have very little problem telling which pair I have on - I have to take the reading glasses off just to go into the next room, and while I can get onstage/do setup wearing the music glasses I'm certainly not going to drive in them.

The "close" distance on my progressives is not even as strong as the music glasses, but I can read food packages/price tags while I'm shopping, and read a menu without changing glasses.

If you really can't wear progressives, replace 'progressive' with 'bifocal' or 'trifocal'. (My optometrist said "Progressives may not work for you because of the astigmatism. Let's try them, and if it doesn't work we can do bifocals.")

As far as transporting the computer glasses - get a good hard case for them and put them in a jacket pocket. Or get used to carrying a bag - my dad carried a small bag with his lunch and glasses when he started needing reading glasses at work.
posted by jlkr at 8:11 AM on September 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Progressives and bifocals both were giving me migraines, so I went to separate glasses for different uses late last year. The last time I had two pairs of glasses to swap out was decades ago and I was always losing track of them, or realizing I had the wrong ones on and that's why I was squinting. This time I chose very different frame styles (one plastic, one metal, different shapes and colors) so it's always clear which ones I have in my hand.

My computer glasses are set for the distance to my monitor, they are the biggest frames I could find so I can look up and down without looking outside the frame. They remain on my home desk at all times. If I ever regularly work in the office again I may get a dedicated pair to keep there. I can't use them to read anything handheld, but mostly my vision is ok unaided that close anyway.

My distance glasses are smaller frames, chosen to fit under wrap-around polarized sunglasses. This pair lives in the car, I put a padded glasses holder into one of the cupholders. They can trigger migraines if I wear them for reading, even quick things like scanning my phone or reading product labels in a store, so it's safer to keep them in the car.

I do ok walking around with no glasses on, as long as I don't need to read signs or recognize faces from across the street. In this world of semi-quarantine, that's working out well. I don't watch TV hardly ever (migraines) but if I did I would just need to fetch the computer glasses from my desk.
posted by buildmyworld at 8:57 AM on September 26, 2021

1. I have a pair of transitions that do everything, but it takes a while to adapt to them and I don't wear them enough to have ever truly adapted to them - and I'm too unmotivated to try. Theoretically, if I were willing to adapt to them, I could use them for all situations and, therefore, only need one pair of glasses - but I just don't like them - they make my head spin. I keep them in my purse (I know you don't carry a bag, but it might be worth investing in one to carry your glasses?) and I use them basically as a back-up for a variety of brief situations when I'm away from home. When I was still working, I would wear them to meetings so I could see presentations on the large-screen tv at a distance and also see any handouts close up.
2. I have a pair that are just for use when I am at the computer that I keep on my computer desk.
3. I have a pair just for distance that I keep in my car for driving.
4. I have a pair that are just for reading.
5. I have an over-the-counter pair that I use while watching TV or doing things (such as cooking) that don't require absolute perfect vision.
Having so many pairs of glasses probably sounds horrible and confusing on paper but, in reality, my system for using them is really easy and as smooth as silk. (However, upon reading the list I just wrote, I'm pretty sure I must sound neurotic.)
posted by SageTrail at 9:18 AM on September 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

I am farsighted (combination of genetic hyperopia and now age-related presbyopia), plus I have a slight astigmatism. I wear bifocals as my everyday glasses, although since I am farsighted the top/distance really just corrects my astigmatism. The bottom is my close/reading prescription, for books, my iPad, phone, or anything on paper. I have 2 pairs of my computer glasses, which is a different prescription and corrects for intermediate, which for me is about arms length away. Pre-COVID, one pair lived in my desk at work, the other on my computer desk at home. Since I’m still mostly WFH (I just started going in one day per week), one pair still lives on my desk at home (by the computer) the second lives in my commuting backpack. Since I only use the computer glasses for the computer, they live where the computers live. I also tried progressives a few years ago and they basically didn’t work for me at all, at any distance.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 11:00 AM on September 26, 2021

Response by poster: Thanks for all the answers. I had no idea that needing multiple prescriptions was so common!
posted by NotLost at 9:04 PM on September 26, 2021