The abbreviations on your prescription are universal abbreviations, used by all ophthalmologists:
¿Cómo es la prescripción del oftalmólogo?
Las abreviaturas que figuran en su receta son abreviaturas universales, utilizadas por todos los oftalmólogos:
The abbreviations:
- OD: Right Eye. OD is short for oculus dexter, Latin for “right eye.”
- OS: Left Eye. OS is short for oculus sinister, Latin for “left eye.”
- OU: Oculus uterque, "both eyes" in Latin.
- VL: Distance vision
- VP: Near vision
- VA: Visual acuity
- ADD: Addition
- SPH: Sphere
- CYL: Cylinder
- VI: Intermediate vision
Examples of prescriptions for major eye defects :
If you are nearsighted the value is negative and is preceded by a "-" symbol. The higher the number, the stronger your myopia.
If you're farsighted or hyperopic, the value is positive and is preceded by a "+" symbol. The larger the number, the stronger the correction.
If you have astigmatism, the correction indicated on the prescription corresponds to the value in brackets. It is accompanied by an axis expressed in degrees (e.g.: OG +1 (+1 to 70°).
If you are presbyopic, a note is made in the form ADD or add to mean "added.” For example OD +1 add : +2.
Prescription lexicon:
1- Sphere: Indicates the amount of lens power prescribed to correct nearsightedness or farsightedness. Lens power is measured in diopters (D).
The term "sphere" means that the correction for nearsightedness or farsightedness is "spherical," or equal in all meridians of the eye.
2- Cylinder: Cylinder indicates the amount of lens power needed for astigmatism. It measures what degree of astigmatism you have, or how flat or irregular the shape of your cornea is.
3- Add: “Add” is the added magnifying power applied to the bottom part of multifocal lenses to correct presbyopia — the natural farsightedness that happens with age.
The number appearing in this section of the prescription is always a "plus" power, even when you don’t see a plus sign. Generally, it will range from +0.75 to +3.00 D and will be the same power for both eyes.
4- Vision distances:
DV: Distance vision is the zone of vision optically located at infinity, i.e. more than 5 meters away.
NV: Near vision is determined by a distance set at 33 cm.
IV: Intermediate vision is the zone between distance and near vision.
5- Visual acuity: The measure of the ability of the eye to distinguish shapes and the details of objects at a given distance. It is expressed as an angular value, which is related to a fraction of 10.
3- La Adición: Para una persona présbita, el oftalmólogo puede prescribir lentes progresivas. En la receta se anotará la visión de lejos, con la esfera y/o el cilindro, seguido de la adición Add. Este valor, siempre el mismo para ambos ojos, designa la potencia a añadir a la visión de lejos para obtener la visión de cerca.
4- Las distancias de visión:
- VL: Se denomina visión de lejos a la zona de visión situada ópticamente en el infinito, es decir, a más de 5 metros.
- VP: La visión cercana se determina según una distancia establecida de 33 cm.
- VI: La visión intermedia es la zona situada entre la visión de lejos y la visión de cerca.
5- La Agudeza visual: Se llama agudeza visual (AV) a la capacidad de discernir un objeto lejano, o 2 puntos distintos (ya que también se mide la AV de cerca). Se expresa mediante un valor angular que se relaciona con una fracción de 10. 10/10 no es, por tanto, el máximo. Un ojo emétrope, es decir, sin corrección, presenta en teoría una agudeza de 12/10. Tampoco es raro observar AV por encima de 16/10, en particular en sujetos jóvenes. La agudeza visual disminuye con la edad, independientemente de la presencia de trastornos visuales.
