High-Index Lenses: Features and Benefits

Thick lenses can be uncomfortable, cumbersome and unflattering. Fortunately, you’re not stuck wearing such lenses, thanks to high-index lenses. In today’s post, your local eye exam doctor at Lumen Optometric shares a look at high-index lenses.

Regular Lenses

People suffering from refractive errors — nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism — choose to wear eyeglasses to correct their vision: it’s easier to wear than contact lenses, not as invasive or costly as an eye operation, and it can be fashionable. Eyeglasses correct refractive errors by compensating for factors such as eye length and the curvature of the cornea and lens, providing good vision.

Sometimes a person’s vision may require strong eyeglass prescriptions that require thicker lenses. Most eyeglass wearers are nearsighted, which requires lenses that are thinner at the center than at the edges. The stronger the prescription, the thicker the edges will be, which can result in heavy lenses. This can limit one’s options in terms of eyewear selection, as one may need to stick to thicker frames to hold their lenses. Wearing contact lenses might not be an option for some people.

High-Index Lenses

Many of today’s eye care centers offer high-index lenses as an option. They provide the same level of refractive correction as regular lenses but are much thinner. High-index lenses offer the following benefits:

Thinner and lighter — High-index lenses have thinner edges even at high power, which opens up a wider selection of frame styles for you. Lighter lenses also make it easy to wear, even for prolonged periods.

Aesthetically pleasing — One reason why some people dislike wearing glasses is that high-power lenses tend to look like the bottom of a soda bottle, colloquially called “Coke bottle glasses,” which makes the eyes look smaller (for nearsighted prescriptions) or larger (for farsighted prescriptions). High-index lenses are “aspheric,” — that is, less rounded — than regular lenses, which means even high-power lenses won’t distort your facial features.

Lumen Optometric is your leading provider of eye care services, including corneal reshaping. Give us a call at (626) 921-0199. You can also fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment.