When does eye prescription become stable?

By the age of 25, eyeglasses and contact lens prescriptions have most likely stabilized. A stable prescription is one of the hallmarks of a good LASIK candidate. Before the age of 25, your prescription may still be changing.

How do you know if your eyes are stable?

The best way to determine your own stability is to check your vision with your current glasses or contacts; if you are unstable and have had a significant change, you would not be able to function visually with your urrent prescription.

Is 3.25 eye prescription bad?

Most people with glasses are nearsighted, which is why there is more talk about “negative vision scale” and negative vision numbers. Nearsightedness is categorized into mild, moderate, high, and extreme: Mild: -0.50 to -3. Moderate: -3.25 to -5.00.

What does stable refraction mean?

One of the gold standards for LASIK candidacy is a stable refraction, which also means a stable prescription. The FDA has approved LASIK eye surgery for those who are 18 years and older, but most providers will encourage patients to wait until their mid-20s after their prescription has stabilized.

What is a stable vision?

Stable vision relates to the likelihood that your refractive error (or the the amount of nearsightedness, farsightedness and/or astigmatism you have) will change. This is why you must be at least 18 years of age or older before having LASIK.

What is considered a strong prescription?

For the farsighted, the AOA classifies it this way: If your number is between +0.25 and +2.00, you have mild farsightedness. If your number is between +2.25 and +5.00, you have moderate farsightedness. If your number is greater than +5.00, you have high farsightedness.

What is a stable prescription for LASIK?

To have LASIK eye surgery, you must have a stable prescription. This means your eyeglass prescription has not changed for at least two consecutive years. LASIK is FDA-approved for people aged 18 and older.

What is an eye prescription based on?

An eye prescription is based on eye features including corneal curvature, anterior chamber depth, lens thickness, and the axial length of the globe (whole eye). During early developmental years, the prescription is least stable, due to rapid growth causing changes in these eye features.

Are your eyeglass prescriptions in the treatable range?

If your eyeglass prescription falls within the treatable range. Your prescription (or “refractive error”) is measured in “diopters,” a metric unit used to indicate the strength of the eye or lens.

What is CYL in eyeglass prescription?

Cylinder, abbreviated CYL, follows sphere power in your eyeglass prescription. It indicates the amount of lens power needed to correct astigmatism, measured in diopters. If this column is blank, it means you have no astigmatism.