cheap dollar store reading glasses

[1paulbearer]

I recently purchased reading glasses (+1.00) for the first time at The Dollar Store.  They made me nauseous, gave me a headache and made my eyes hurt.  Are these cheap readers bad for the eyes?  Why did I experience these negative affects?

[Houman Vosoghi, MD]

the cheap readers are OK to use in that they won't hurt your eye health.  Use them only for reading and not looking at distance.  If you just can't adjust to them, you need to get a perscription pair of reading glasses from the optometrist you saw.  It may mean your PD is different from average (that is what the readers are aimed for), or there is some other problem.  99% of people that are 20/20 for distance without glasses are just fine with cheap over-the-counter reading glasses.  Try on different pairs at the store before you buy them using a magazine off the shelf to gauge which is best for your eyes.

HV

[1paulbearer]

Thank you for your timely and detailed response.

[1paulbearer]

My question was for Dr. Vosogh, why are you responding?

[JodieJ]

I hate drug store readers.  They're always too big for my face and never centered correctly over my pupils.  Maybe you're having a similar problem, or maybe the lenses just weren't made right.  Or it could be an astigmatism problem, as Dr. Vosoghi suggested.  Don't wear glasses that cause headaches and nausea--and be glad you didn't waste a lot of money.

[1paulbearer]

Just had a complete eye exam by an optometrist  My eyes are fine.  No, I did not use them for anything but reading.  Are these cheap readers o.k. to use?

[Houman Vosoghi, MD]

Did u use them for distance vision tasks as well?  Go get a full eye exam by an ophthalmologist who would be able to tell for sure.  You may have  some astigmatism as well.

HV