Blue lenses are designed to block out harmful blue-violet light that causes visual fatigue and eyestrain. Whilst blue lenses sound similar to blue-light filters, additional coatings that are applied to your spectacle lenses, they are in fact distinctly different.

Blue lenses have blue-light filters built directly into the lenses and do not reflect a yellow-tint like with blue-light coatings. Aside from flaunting a more aesthetically pleasing look, it also means that blue lenses allow for less colour distortion: when you look through your lenses, you experience full and natural colours, just as you would without your eyewear on.

Harmful blue light is emitted from mobile phone, laptop and television screens, which is why blue lenses are especially sought after by working professionals and students in Singapore who need to face a screen for the most part of their days. Effects like fatigue, blurry vision, as well as dried and irritated eyes are often experienced by those who have to concentrate on their screens for long hours.

Besides screens, other electronic devices like LEDs and fluorescent lighting also emit harmful blue light – and, surprise, the largest source of blue-violet light is the sun. It doesn’t matter whether you’re enjoying Singapore’s sunny outdoors or surrounded by electronic screens at home, in the office, blue light lenses are beneficial for everyone.

Transition lenses are also known as photochromic lenses – they darken or lighten in response to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun to provide UV protection.

Transition lenses are a good substitute for prescription sunglasses or regular sunglasses, so you don’t have to swap your spectacles for sunglasses every time you enter a bright environment – which is most of the time in Singapore. On top of that, transition lenses give you full brightness and clarity even under the sun, unlike sunglasses that darken your vision; in spite of that, transition lenses offer the same 100% protection from harmful UV ray

The choice between transition lenses for natural, bright vision, or prescription sunglasses for tinted comfort often depends on a personal preference. You can also customise your transition lenses’ tinted colours – from grey, emerald, sapphire, to amethyst, pick the colour you love most for a unique statement look.

Looking to save on prescription eyewear, whilst enjoying healthier vision? Simply talk to your optician to find out whether they’re a good option for you.

Presbyopia is the gradual loss of the eye’s ability to shift focus between near and far distances, and commonly affects adults above the age of 40. It doesn’t matter whether you are near-sighted, far-sighted or have perfect vision – presbyopia is an age-related condition that affects all types of vision.

For people with presbyopia vision, progressive lenses are an excellent solution. Progressive lenses are prescription glasses that help people with presbyopia see clearly at all distances.

These lenses are actually three different types of lenses in one: the topmost lens enables you to focus on far objects, the middle lens helps you see intermediate distances such as your computer screen, and the bottom lens helps you see objects in your reading zone clearly. As such, you don’t have to switch between near-sighted lenses and far-sighted lenses when you perform different activities like driving and reading.

Whilst basic progressive lenses help you see at all distances, they also narrow your field of vision. The great thing is that not all are made the same; you can choose customisable lenses to suit your needs. For people who work in the office, for instance, your optician will likely recommend a middle lens built with a wider field of vision. Or, should you drive often, the optician will advise lens design with a wider field of vision to your top lens, so that you can see long distances at a wide range.

On the opposite end of the age spectrum, children in Singapore commonly start to develop myopia at an early age. Myopia happens when the eyeball is too long or the cornea, which is the clear outer layer at the front of the eye, is too curved. This causes a distortion of light entering the eye and blurry vision of distant objects.

Myopia control lenses do just as their name suggests, control myopia in children by preventing the distortion of the eyeball or cornea shape as the children grow. There are two main types of myopia treatment for children, the first is prescription glasses, and the second is hard contact lenses.

1. Prescription glasses – myopia control optical lenses use a defocus lens technology that prevents a child from straining their eyes through focusing on near objects. Children are thus forced to keep their focus on further objects, which prevents their eyeballs from distorting and myopia from developing.
2. Hard contact lenses – also known as Ortho-K lenses, they shape the eyeballs as they are worn to sleep. When Ortho-K contact lenses are taken off in the morning, the child is able to see clearly and does not need to wear spectacles for the entire day.

Whilst both treatments are very good for myopia control, it is always best that you get in touch with your child’s optician to choose the most ideal solution for their specific needs or lifestyle.

After you pick the type of lens that best suits your lifestyle or needs, you can opt for additional coatings to improve the quality of the lens. These are the various coatings that Better Vision offers include:

All in all, start by choosing your type of prescription glasses: blue lens, progressive lens, transition lens, or myopia control lens. Of course, you can also pick a regular lens that does not have any special built-in features like blue-light filters or 100% UV protection. However, with Singapore’s bright sun and work-intensive lifestyles, we suggest replacing a regular lens with a blue lens for the most basic protection for your eyes. After that, opt for additional coating as you see fit. Your optician will also allow you to choose the type of lens material according to your lifestyle – plastic, polycarbonate, or glass.

Consider your eye and lifestyle requirements to get the ideal lenses for best eye health today.

Better Vision uses only premium optical lenses from best brands like Crizal Blue UV Capture, MiyoSmart, and Ortho-K, to make sure your eyes enjoy superior comfort and quality in life. Shop our online store or head down to one of our outlets to have your eyes checked by our professional in-store opticians!