LASIK Facts

The strength of reading specs was originally based on the patient’s age. Hence a man of about 30 would be given lenses with 2 degrees of strength and a person of about 70, given, roughly, 4 degrees. Around the middle of the 1800s specs were being sold by knowledgeable students of optics.

There are still a few luddites who ignore the technological advances of the 21st century and get their reading specs from the local 7-11.

Although there had been some interesting work on cylindrical correcting lenses and refraction in the early to mid 1800′s it took a few more decades before people were interested enough to correct astigmatism in patients. A great many problems have been solved due to necessity. Benjamin Franklin – yes THE Benjamin Franklin, needed to devise bifocal lenses for himself and so he split apart the lenses in his reading and distance eyeglasses and just stuck them together – Hey Presto: Bifocals were invented.

In 1826, Hawkins brought out a range of trifocal lenses. Successful multifocal lenses, which have smoothly increasing power over the lower half of the lens, with no visible segment line, were brought in during the 1960s. Sadly, these innovative lenses didn’t work well in practice as the range of clear vision was too small to make their use practical.

Multifocal lenses have their best chance of acceptance if introduced when presbyopia first appears as then the necessary increases in strength with age are more readily tolerated.

You may find the history of eyeglasses interesting as I do. I would advise you to really study specs and their beginnings to help you better appreciate what a wonderful device they truly are. If you are intent on purchasing your glasses online, then please make sure that you get them from a proplerly trained source.