If you have learned you need glasses during your most recent eye exam, it can be overwhelming when it comes to choosing the right pair for your needs. Eyeglasses come in a variety of not only fashionable frames, but special lenses to help your vision perform at its optimal levels. There are types of lenses, special coatings, and other options to think about. Here is what you need to know when you are choosing your new eyeglasses:

What Type of Lenses Do You Need?

One of your first decisions will be made for you by your eye doctor. When it comes to lenses, there are single vision lenses, bifocal lenses, and progressive lenses. Single vision lenses help to correct vision at a single distance. The lens provides one prescription strength that spans the entirety of the lens. These are the most common lenses for vision correction. Single vision lenses are common when you need some optical assistance for reading or driving.

Your doctor may prescribe bifocal lenses. Bifocal lenses are more common as you age and develop difficulty seeing clearly. These lenses are used to help you see when you develop presbyopia. This is a common condition that people develop as they get older. This condition causes the eye's lens to harden, impacting its flexibility. Presbyopia impacts the ability of the eye to properly focus. A bifocal lens has two separate prescription powers in one single lens. One prescription helps improve far vision while the other helps with near vision. You can see the line in the bifocal lens, which helps you know where to look when you need to either see closer objects or those farther away.

Your eye doctor may suggest you get a progressive lens for your new glasses. These lenses help correct your vision at far, intermediate, and near distances. They help to clear your vision for a variety of tasks, from driving, to reading, to watching television and more. The lens will include three separate prescription powers. However, there is no obvious line delineating the different prescriptions like in bifocal lenses.

What Type of Lens Coating Should You Choose?

Once you know which lens type you will need, you can then choose a lens coating. Lens coating is a substance that helps protect the lenses and improves their overall performance. There are different types of lens coatings available, and your eye doctor can help you choose which would work best for you. For instance, the anti-scratch coating helps to prevent your lenses from getting scratches on them. An anti-reflective coating helps to eliminate the glare from your lenses, particularly at night as you drive or when you look at a screen. There are many other types of coatings your eye doctor can discuss with you as you choose your glasses.