Eyeglasses - A Look At Different Styles

Eyeglasses were invented from a very practical standpoint – helping those whose visual impairment prevents them from reading or writing clearly. Along the years, however, advances in technology and the efforts of inventors have made it possible to modify eyeglasses and use them in a variety of ways.

These are the most commonly used kind of eyeglasses and used essentially to correct problems with the eyesight. These problems are

• myopia (farsightedness),
• hyperopia (nearsightedness)
• and astigmatism.

Presbyopia, which affects people with advancing age, makes it difficult for them to read objects at close range. Reading Glasses make it possible for them to carry out tasks on near by objects. Bifocals help those with both a distance vision correction and presbyopia by having both focal points in the lens – while working on close by objects, one needs to see through the lower half of the lens and while looking at something far away, one just needs to see through the upper half.

A further improvement on bifocals is progressive lenses, which contain different focal points instead of a sharp bifurcating line. This helps the user to adjust his vision more smoothly depending on where he is looking than ordinary bifocals.

The next major improvement on eyeglasses came when people found that by tinting the lenses used in eyeglasses, eyes could be protected against the sun’s bright light and harmful ultraviolet light.

Today, a wide variety of sunglasses are available to choose from. Non-prescription and sport sunglasses are still the most popular but recently prescription sunglasses and reading sunglasses are also available for those who suffer from myopia, hyperopia or presbyopia, and who lead a very active outdoor life.

Another interesting development is the use of yellow lenses by golfers, tennis players or shooters. These lenses essentially aim to provide special contrast enhancement and help identify the ball or targets better.

A very special kind of eyeglass, safety eyeglasses are made from shatter-resistant plastic lenses, usually polycarbonate. Usually used in factories or construction sites and even in labs, they provide protection for the eyes from flying debris. Depending on where they are to be used, the strength and design of safety eyeglasses vary accordingly.

For example, if they are to be used in a research lab where the eyes have to be protected from chemicals splattering, the eyeglass frames may have just a standard strength but those used in a factory where there are flying sparks, may have to be designed with stronger lenses and stronger frames.

Nowadays, even safety glasses can be designed for correcting eyesight problems and providing safety. Swimming goggles are another kind of protective eyeglasses used specifically while swimming. It is again possible to obtain specially designed swimming goggles that also help in correcting vision problems while swimming.