20/20, 20/15, or 20/10?

[rward80]

I am sorry if this question has been asked before, but I could not find it in the archives.  I am wanting to get some doctors' opinions.  I am 32 yrs. old. When I was 22 my contact RX was OD -4.50 and OS -4.00.  I then went to another optometrist around the age of 23 or 24.  For the last 5-10 years my contact RX has been OD -4.75 and OS -4.25.  My glasses RX has been OD -5.00 and -4.00.  The optometrist I have been going to in that time, last year bumped my contact RX up to OD -5.00 and OS -4.50 and glasses RX to OD -5.25/-0.50/180 and OS -4.25/-0.75/180, which seemed like I large jump to me.  With this RX I see probably 20/10 but my eyes feel strained and have for a couple months.  I went back to the optometrist I use to see ten years ago to have an exam just to see what she came up with.  She corrected my vision where I could just read the 20/20 line and told me that is all I need, especially as I get older because it will help me with my near work.  The contact RX she gave me was the same I had ten years ago at OD -4.50 and OS -4.00 and glasses RX at OD -4.50/-0.25/005 and OS -3.75/-0.25/180.  I was just wondering what some of your professional opinions were on this.  Should vision be corrected to 20/15 or 20/10 if possible or should it be corrected to 20/20 and left at that, and what are some reasons behind your opinions.  Like I said, I am sorry if this question has been asked before, but I would be grateful for a response.  

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

You can wear either one or one some times and the other at times.  It will not hurt or damage the eye if they are both comfortable to wear. I do this myself. When I go out to work in the yard I wear an older RX, for evening wear I sometimes will pick the glasses based on how the frames match what I'm wearing.

So you decide, It will not hurt your eye to wear both.

JCH MD

[rward80]

Thank you Dr. Hagan for your quick response as always.  I wish you were closer to where I live.  I would like to be one of your patients.  I guess what I am trying to ask (which I know this is subjective) is which Rx should I go with, in your opinion,  the one that corrects me to 20/20 or the one that corrects me to 20/15 (or better), or both.  One for night activities (stronger); i.e.driving, and the other (weaker) for normal daytime usage.   Again, thank you so much Dr. Hagan

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Not every normal eye can see 20/20.   Visal acuity is distributed along a bell shaped curve and 20/20 (metric 6/6) is the average. Think about it like this if you line 100 healthy people up and have them run a quarter of a mile they will not finish at the same time, someone finished first and someone finishes last. That does not mean there is something wrong with their health or legs.  

So for some people that have healthy eyes and not need glasses their best vision may be 20/25 or 20/30.

JCH MD