Off-the-Rack Specs Pass Test

When reading the fine print on maps and in telephone books becomes difficult, some people simply buy a pair of off-the-rack reading glasses.

After all, they’re easy to get and low in cost, priced from $15 to $20. But just how safe are they?

“Ready-to-wear reading glasses . . . cannot damage the eyes physically, whether or not they are the optimal strength, or whether they are used correctly or incorrectly,” states a recently published report by an evaluation committee of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Temporary eyestrain might occur, the report notes, but this can be relieved by taking off the glasses.

Although off-the-rack glasses are not harmful, Glendale optometrist John B. Link sees a role for them only when there is no astigmatism--an abnormality that causes blurred vision--and when both eyes need the same correction.

Glasses prescribed by an eye doctor, he notes, take into account such specifics as the distance between pupils, which varies among individuals, so they are bound to fit and work better.

Consumers who choose drugstore glasses are “fitted” too, but to a lesser degree. In-store charts of phone book entries and other printed materials help shoppers trying on glasses to decide among nine different strengths.

Reading glasses provide the focusing power eyes lose with age, says Johns Hopkins University ophthalmologist David Guyton, who served on the American Academy of Ophthalmology committee. Most people notice blurred vision by age 40 or 45, and it is usually caused by presbyopia, a loss of lens elasticity that makes focusing on near objects difficult. But blurriness could also signal other problems, doctors warn.

Guyton says he sometimes sends patients to the drugstore for eyeglasses, suggesting the proper focusing power.

The American Optometric Assn. urges consumers who opt for drugstore spectacles to first get a thorough eye examination.