Understanding your eye test prescription and receipt

Patient details

Every prescription begins with your personal details, including your name, date of birth, address, and postcode. Following this, you’ll find a summary of the examination results, often presented as a checklist. This section highlights the findings and outlines the next steps recommended by your optician. Common examples include:

• Referred for further investigation. (This is normally checked if cataracts are spotted and surgery is recommended).
• No prescription was required.
• An unchanged prescription was issued.
• A new or changed prescription was issed.
• NHS optical voucher issued. Vouchers are issued if you qualify for NHS support, offering a discount on glasses. View the criteria for NHS eligibilty.

Reading your prescription

Your prescription will include a table containing numbers within, referring to the different fields: sph, cyl, axis, prism, logMAR, add & nearVA. Within each section under the titles, will be a number for your left eye (L) and your right eye (R). The numbers will come either as a postive or a negative (+/-), this simply refers to your vision: If a '+' is shown, this means you are long-sighted whereas if a '-' is shown, this means you're short-sighted.

Sph (otherwise known as sphere):

Sph on your prescription stands for sphere. This refers to amount of lens power that is needed, measured normally in a dioptre unit, to correct your vision. The sign used (+ or -) will highlight whether you have short vision or long vision. The higher the number is means the more power that is needed e.g +0.5 vs +4.5.

Cyl (otherwise known as cylinder):

Cyl on your prescription stands for cylinder, which indicates the amount of correction needed for astigmatism - meaning the lens power needed to address any irregular curvature in your eye’s cornea or lens. Astigmatism itself refers to this imperfection in curvature, often described as a 'rugby ball shape.' Learn more about astigmatism here.

However, if you do not have any astigmatism present, this section will be left empty as your eyes are spherical.

Axis:

Axis refers to the angle of your astigmatism, indicating the direction in which correction is needed. This is usually shown in degrees, ranging from 1° to 180°.

Prism:

Prism refers to the adjustment made to your lenses, helping to align your eyes and correct certain binocular vision issues, such as double vision (diplopia) if required. If blank, this means that a prism is not needed within your glasses.

LogMAR:

LogMAR is an objective scale used by ourselves to quantify your visual ability. Most commonly known in Snellen Acuity form '20/20 vision', logMAR is similar however ranges from positives and negatives. A lower LogMAR value indicates better visual acuity (e.g 0 is the same 20/20 vision), while a higher value signifies poorer visual performance (e.g 0.3 is 20/40).

Add:

Add indicates the extra lens power prescribed for reading or other near-vision activities. Measured in dioptres, this prescription is applied to the lower portion of bifocal, trifocal, or progressive lenses to aid with close-up tasks.

NearVA:

NearVA is similar to logMAR but specifically measures near vision. It quantifies how well a person can see objects up close, typically measured at a standard distance of about 14 to 16 inches (35 to 40 cm).

Receipt

Your receipt provides a summary of any costs related to glasses or the examination, along with other useful details. The main sections on the receipt include:

Eye examination type:

If you qualified for an NHS examination, it will be noted here. Eligible individuals do not pay for their eye test. View the criteria for NHS eligibilty.

NHS voucher value:

If you qualify, the value of your NHS voucher is based on your prescription and the required lens type. This amount is then deducted from your final total.

Accesories:

This section is for any additional products that we're bought during the visit, such as drops or eye gel. Displayed will be the costs and the details of the products.

Final Total:

This section summarises all costs into a final total for the visit. It includes any deposits, payment methods, and any outstanding balance. If an order of glasses is noted as ‘on-hold,’ it means the order is temporarily paused at the customer's request.