What Does Sphere Cylinder And Axis Mean? - RX Safety

1. Blog
2. Prescription Eyeglasses
3. What Does Sphere Cylinder and Axis Mean?

What Does Sphere Cylinder and Axis Mean?

Recommended Products

• 

  Carrera 138/V Glasses

  $118.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page

Categories

Categories Select Category Safety Brands OnGuard Titmus Sunglasses Prescription Sunglasses Wrap Sunglasses Styles Clip-On Sunglasses Polarized Sunglasses Men’s Sunglasses Women’s Sunglasses Meta Glasses Uncategorized Eyeglasses Prescription Eyeglasses Glasses and Pop Culture Glasses and Fashion Prescription Information Accessories Reading Glasses Prism Reading Glasses How To Prescription Safety Glasses Wrap Around Safety Glasses Prescription Transition Safety Glasses Prescription Inserts for Respirators Corporate Program Brands Oakley Wiley X Nike Ray Ban Safety Glasses Transition Safety Glasses Magnifier Safety Glasses Safety Goggles Women’s Safety Glasses Safety Lenses Covid Safety Glasses Solar Eclipse Glasses Bifocal Safety Glasses Military Glasses Prescription Shooting Glasses Ballistic Safety Glasses Prescription Tactical Glasses Shooting Glasses Sports & Activities Adult Sports Glasses Kids Sports Glasses Driving Glasses Motorcycle Glasses Baseball and Softball Soccer Tennis Running Swimming Prescription Dive Masks Fishing Golf Boating and Sailing Cycling Glasses Real Glass Lenses Glass Eyeglass Lenses Lens Replacement Lens Coatings Anti Fog Blue Blocking Anti-Reflection Mirror Lenses Videos Lens Information High Index Lenses Bifocals Lenses Progressive Lenses Transition Lenses Polarized Lenses Specialty Lens Tints Apparel Protective Gloves Halo Night Driving Glasses

Search

Search for:Search Button

It doesn’t matter whether you have been wearing glasses for years, even decades or if you have only just started wearing them recently. Either way, your prescription will probably look like a confusing collection of meaningless numbers. You are not the only one to think that. One part of the prescription that puzzles many people is the sphere cylinder and axis. In the following post, though, we hope to give a full explanation of what both these terms and measurements mean. We are also going to discuss some of the other crucial parts of the prescription.

If you tend to get your glasses from the same commercial opticians you were tested, then this is not going to be too much of a problem. However, if you want to use your prescription to buy glasses elsewhere or need a replacement or additional pair of prescription glasses or sunglasses, then understanding your prescription and its different terminology will be helpful.

shop prescription eyeglasses

shop prescription sunglasses

shop prescription safety glasses

So, What Are Sphere Cylinder and Axis?

Let’s look at each part individually.

Sphere(SPH)

Written as SPH often, this is the lens power required and prescribed to correct either long-sightedness or nearsightedness. It is measured in the unit known as diopters (D). You know you are nearsighted if the number that is listed for the Sphere heading in the prescription has a (-) minus sign next to it. Whereas, you are farsighted if there is a (+) plus sign next to it.

The term sphere is used because the correction of either the farsightedness or nearsightedness is equal across all the meridians of your eye, or spherical.

Cylinder(CYL)

Cylinder or CYL is used to identify how much lens power in your prescription is for astigmatism if you suffer from it. It may be that nothing is filled in for that part of the prescription at all. That basically means you either have no or very minor astigmatism that needs to be corrected.

The word cylinder is used to show that this particular lens power is shaped to give one meridian of the eye no extra curvature and is not spherical and that the perpendicular meridian to the one with no extra power has the lens curvature and maximum amount of power to correct your astigmatism.

You will find that the number for this column in your prescription again either has a (-) minus sign or (+) plus sign as a reference to whether it is nearsighted astigmatism or farsighted astigmatism correction respectively. Cylinder power will always come after sphere power in a glasses prescription.

The meridians of your eye are identified using a protractor scale against the front surface of the eye. The vertical meridian of your eye is the 90-degree meridian, while the horizontal meridian is the 180-degree meridian.

AXIS

Now, the axis identifies the lens meridian that has no cylinder power for correcting astigmatism. The axis in your prescription will be measured in numerical form from 1 to 180. Where 180 is your eye’s horizontal meridian, 90 is the vertical meridian.

If a cylinder power value is included in your glasses prescription, there will always be a value in the axis column. This is written after cylinder power and when it is written in freehand form it is written with an x before it.

The axis is your prescription’s lens meridian that is set at 90-degrees from the cylinder power-containing meridian that is used for correcting astigmatism.

What Are OS and OD?

OS / OD

Now that we’ve discussed sphere, cylinder and axis, let’s look at the other main parts of your prescription to round out your understanding. You will see the initials OS and OD written on your prescription. These are abbreviations that denote to Oculus Sinister and Oculus Dexter in Latin and mean left eye and right eye when translated.

You may also find your prescription has another column with the abbreviation OU. This means Oculus Uterque in Latin or both eyes in English.

LE / RE

While Latin terms being used in glasses, eye medicine, and contact lenses prescriptions, there are some clinics and doctors that have modernized the terminology they use and have LE and RE instead, meaning left eye and right eye respectively.

On the prescription for glasses, you are given it will always feature the right eye information before the left eye details. A prescription is written in that order because when the doctor looks at you, they will obviously see first your right eye and then the left eye second, from left to right.

What are Add and Prism?

ADD

That leaves just two other measurements on your prescription. Add, which refers to the magnifying power added to the bottom of multifocal lenses for presbyopia correction. This will always be written as a + power, even if the doctor has not filled it out with a plus sign. It normally ranges from between +0.75 and +3.00 D and is the same level for both your eyes.

PRISM

Prism refers to the prismatic power, which has a value in prism diopters, which is either written as p.d. or when it is written freehand, a superscript triangle. This part of the prescription relates to compensation made for eye alignment issues. Relatively few glasses prescriptions have a prism reading.

When it is featured on a prescription, the prism is normally identified in either fractional or metric units, ½ or 0.5, as an example. The prism direction is identified by the position of its thickest edge, or base. There are four different abbreviations used in describing prism direction. BO is short for base out and means towards your ear, BI is short for base in and means towards your nose, BD is short for base down, while BU is short for base up.

How to Read yourEye Prescription

Watch Video

How to Order prescription Glasses

1. SELECT THE FRAME

RX Safety offers a wide range of eyeglasses, sunglasses, and safety glasses frames that are prescription available. Choose your favorite one.

AFTER CHOOSING THE PERFECT FRAME, CLICK IN ‘SELECT PRESCRIPTION LENSES’

2. SELECT LENS MATERIAL

Inside our prescription form, you can select your prescription type. Choose between, single vision, bifocal and progressive. Then, you will choose your lens material.

AFTER CHOOSING YOUR PRESCRIPTION TYPE, YOU CAN SELECT DIFFERENT LENS MATERIALS

3. SELECT LENS COLOR

Customize your lenses by choosing your lens color, including Transition options.

SELECT YOUR FAVORITE LENS COLOR

4. ADD EXTRA COATINGS

The prescription lenses can be upgraded with special coatings such as anti-fog and anti-reflective to improve the overall performance of the glasses.

SELECT YOUR PREFERRED COATINGS TO UPGRADE YOUR prescription glasses

5. ADD YOUR PRESCRIPTION INFORMATION

Now it is the time to upload or fill your prescription information. You’re done! The rest is with us. We will work on your prescription glasses and deliver to your address.

ADD YOUR PRESCRIPTION INFORMATION

As you can no doubt see, therefore, the sphere, cylinder and, where appropriate, axis values on your prescription are three of the most important numbers. When you understand those and understand what part describes the lens power needed for each eye, you have a better understanding of what your glasses do to correct your vision issues.

Contact us today to learn more.

1. apkfast.org says: July 30, 2024 at 5:13 pm

   Thank you for providing definitions for sphere, cylinder, and axis. As I was attempting to choose the appropriate prescription safety glasses for my job, I was genuinely considering these terms. I was able to comprehend the significance of the axis in establishing the proper orientation of the lenses thanks to your explanation. I’m grateful that you shared!

   Reply
   • b.kotian says: July 31, 2024 at 8:33 am

     Hi apkfast.org, It’s great to know our information helped you understand the significance of the axis in your prescription safety glasses.

2. apkDirect says: June 30, 2024 at 8:23 am

   I appreciate the clarification on what sphere, cylinder, and axis mean. I was actually wondering about these terms when trying to select the right prescription safety glasses for my work. Your explanation helped me understand the importance of the axis in determining the correct orientation of the lenses. Thank you for sharing!

   Reply
   • b.kotian says: July 1, 2024 at 8:38 am

     Hi apkDirect, We’re glad we could assist, appreciate your comment.

3. Kirk Bromfield says: January 4, 2024 at 12:46 am

   Hi my question is what if you dont have a cylinder and axis on your prescirtion what should you do and a sphere as well thank u

   Reply
4. b.kotian says: October 6, 2023 at 1:04 pm

   We appreciate your feedback! Do not hesitate to contact us if you need any further assistance.

   Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Our Blog

Stay on top of the latest news about prescription safety glasses, eyewear, sunglasses, and all the trends in the industry.

DISCOVER NOW

Sign up for our Newsletter

Be the first one to know about promotion, new products, and more.

Follow Us On Instagram @rx_safety

On job sites, good prescription safety glasses are It’s Christmas time at RX-Safety! More safety, m Watch Transitions lenses in action. Clear indoors. Designed for low-light conditions. Proven on the r Load More Follow on Instagram On job sites, good prescription safety glasses are It’s Christmas time at RX-Safety! More safety, m Watch Transitions lenses in action. Clear indoors. Designed for low-light conditions. Proven on the r Load More Follow on Instagram

Rx Safety

Back Login | Register Safety Glasses Sports Sunglasses Eyeglasses Safety Products Accessories Resources Help Center Contact Us

• +1 866 653 5227
• +1 732 356 1493
• [email protected]

Mon-Fri: 9AM - 6PM EST

Social icon Social icon Social icon Social icon

Safety Glasses Prescription Safety GlassesWrap Around Safety GlassesPlastic Safety GlassesMetal Safety GlassesWomen's Safety GlassesPrescription Safety GogglesRimless Safety GlassesLighted Safety GlassesIR ProtectionPrescription Tactical GlassesPrescription Shooting GlassesOakley Prescription Safety GlassesWiley XClimate Control SeriesWorksightActive SeriesWiley X GogglesChangeable SeriesZ87 Safety GlassesOver Glasses Safety GlassesTransition Safety GlassesSafety GogglesSpecialty SafetyWelding GlassesFoam GasketD3/D4/D5 Safety GlassesHigh Prescription SafetyElectrical Safety Glasses - Non-ConductiveRespirator Mask InsertsDouble Segment BifocalsLined Trifocal Safety GlassesSolar Eclipse GlassesSafety Readers and Bifocal Safety GlassesBifocal Safety GlassesStick-On BifocalClip-On MagnifiersSafety Reading Glasses Safety Brands Sports All Sports EyewearMen's Sport GlassesWomen's SportKids Sports GlassesPopular SportsBaseball & SoftballPrescription Football GlassesBasketball GlassesSoccer GlassesTennis GlassesRunning GlassesPrescription Swimming GogglesPrescription Dive MasksShooting GlassesTriathlonVolleyball Glasses Sport Brands Sunglasses All SunglassesMen's SunglassesWomen's SunglassesKids SunglassesClip On SunglassesPrescription Fishing SunglassesMotorcycleCycling GlassesGolf SunglassesDrivingMeta Prescription Glasses Sunglasses Brands Eyeglasses All EyeglassesMen's GlassesWomen's GlassesKids GlassesHigh Index GlassesSpecialty GlassesLined Trifocal GlassesReal Glass Prescription GlassesExecutive Bifocal GlassesBed Prism GlassesHalo Night Driving GlassesMeta Prescription GlassesReading GlassesReal Glass Reading GlassesHigh Powered Reading GlassesClip-On MagnifiersStick-On BifocalLens Replacement ServiceGlasses Lens ReplacementSafety Lens ReplacementSunglass lens ReplacementBifocal Lens Replacement Eyeglass Brands Safety Products Arm Badge HoldersHigh Visibility VestHard HatsNitrile GlovesSafety GlovesTactical GlovesHearing ProtectionFace Masks Accessories Retainer CordsAnti-Fog ProductsCleaning ProductsCasesEyeglass Repair KitsFrame PartsReplacement LensesReplacement Side ShieldsGift CardAll Accessories Resources Resource CenterFrequently Asked QuestionsRx Safety’s Partnered Optician ProgramCJ AffiliateAbout UsContact UsBlogRX Health insuranceShipping InformationVideos Help Center Resource Center Frequently Asked Questions Become a Partnered Optician Become an Affiliate About Us Contact Us Blog Health Insurance Options Shipping Information Videos