How to read rx

Your contact lens prescription can be found on the hand-written  prescription from your doctor, or on your contact lens box. Just find  your brand and we will take you through the process of entering the  information.

To ensure the accuracy of your order, we verify your prescription with  your eye doctor. We will ask for your doctor’s information during the  ordering process. You can easily find your doctor’s information using  the doctor’s name, the clinic name, the city, state, or the phone  number. Once you enter your doctor’s information, we take care of the  rest. It can take one business day to verify your prescription with  your eye doctor – if you have a copy of your prescription from your  eye doctor, you can fax it to us to speed up your order.  (Instructions on how to do this will be provided once you checkout.)How to Read Your Contact Lens Prescription

Here is a typical contact lens prescription:

Here are the definitions of the symbols used:

• OD - Right Eye
• OS - Left Eye
• OU - Both Eyes
• BC - Base Curve
• Dia - Diameter

Toric (Astigmatism correcting) lenses will also contain two additional numbers:

• Cyl - Cylinder
• Axis 

Bifocal contact lenses generally contain one additional number which is the add power. A special field will be given for this number.

Notes

1. A contact lens prescription is not the same as an eyeglass prescription. In addition to the lens power, your contact lens prescription contains several other pieces of information related to the size of the lens. 
2. Your prescription will also contain an expiration date. This is typically two years from the date that the contact lenses were fitted.
3. BC values range from about 8.0 to 9.5. The doctor fits the lens with the curvature most appropriate for your eye. Most lenses come in several different BC values. If your prescription does not contain a BC value, this is likely because your brand of lens only comes in one base curve.
4. BC values are a bit like clothes sizes - just because you are a BC 8.6 in one brand doesn't mean you will be in another.
5. If you are in a toric lens your prescription will contain two additional columns entitled cylinder and axis. These numbers related to the correction of your astigmatism.
6. Even the power of the lenses is generally not the same as in your eyeglass prescription. This is because:
1. The contact lens sits on the surface of your eye, while your eyeglasses sit about 12 mm in front of your eye
2. Regular soft contacts do not correct for your astigmatism, but your eye doctor will typically try to partially correct for it by changing the power of the lens

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