Definition – What is the glasses passport?
A spectacle passport is a list of the corrective values of the person concerned which are necessary for the production of the spectacles. The spectacle passport is usually issued in the size of a business card by the optician when a new pair of spectacles is made. If the glasses are lost or damaged, such a spectacle passport is useful because a replacement can be ordered directly without the need for a new eye examination and measurement.
Who needs a glasses pass?
Anyone who has a new pair of spectacles made usually receives the spectacle passport as a service from the optician. A spectacle passport is particularly helpful in cases of complicated or multiple defective vision, as the individual can hardly remember all relevant values correctly. In case of a loss of glasses, new glasses can be produced quickly.
This is also useful if you can no longer go to the same optician where you bought your glasses because you have moved. People with simple and symmetrical defective vision, e.g. -0.5 dioptres in both eyes, can usually manage without a spectacle passport, as these values are easy to remember. If you lose your glasses, you can also get them from the drugstore with ready-made glasses.
What do the abbreviations in the glasses passport mean?
In addition to the optician’s contact details, the eyeglasses passport contains the name and date of birth of the wearer of the glasses as well as the date of issue. Further information is noted with abbreviations. The following abbreviations are often used: R (or also RA) stands for right eye L (or also LA) stands for left eye Sph (sphere) represents the values of defective vision in 0.25 dioptre steps.
Positive values are used for long-sightedness (hyperopia) and negative values for short-sightedness (myopia). Example: +2.75 dpt Cyl (cylinder) also represents the values of astigmatism in steps of 0.25 in doptres. Positive or negative signs stand for the alignment.
A (axis) represents the axial position of the cylinder in degrees in values from 0° to 180° in case of astigmatism. P or Pr (prism) indicates the prismatic effect of the lens in prism diopters. It serves to compensate for constant strabismus.
B or Bas (base) stands for the position of the prism in the strabismus eye. It can be given in degrees from 0° to 360° or be designated “below”, “above”, “outside” or “inside”. F (distance) indicates the correction value for the distance part of a multifocal spectacle (varifocals).
N (near) indicates the correction value for the near vision part of a multifocal spectacle (varifocals). Add (Addition) sets an additional value for the near distance in the case of distance correction. It is specified in 0.25 diopter steps.
HSA or HS or H (corneal vertex distance) stands for the distance between the inside of the lens and the outside of the cornea in millimetres. PD (pupil distance) measures the distance between the pupils or the distance from the right and left pupil to the centre of the face in millimetres. EP or H (insertion height or “eye point”) describes the distance from the lower edge of the spectacles to the centre of the pupil for people looking straight ahead in millimetres.
- R (or RA) stands for right eye
- L (or LA) stands for left eye
- Sph (Sphere) represents the values of ametropia in 0.25-dioptre steps. Positive values occur for long-sightedness (hyperopia) and negative values for short-sightedness (myopia). Example: +2.75 dpt
- Cyl (cylinder) also indicates the astigmatism in steps of 0.25 in doptries.
Positive or negative signs stand for the alignment. – A (axis) represents the axial position of the cylinder in degrees in values from 0° to 180° in case of astigmatism. – P or Pr (prism) indicates the prismatic effect of the lens in prism diopters.
It serves to compensate for constant strabismus. – B or Bas (base) stands for the position of the prism in the strabismus eye. It can be given in degrees from 0° to 360° or be designated “below”, “above”, “outside” or “inside”.
- F (distance) indicates the correction value for the distance part of a multifocal spectacle (varifocals). – N (near) indicates the correction value for the near vision part of a multifocal spectacle (varifocals). – Add (Addition) sets an additional value for the near distance in the case of distance correction.
It is specified in 0.25 diopter steps. – HSA or HS or H (corneal vertex distance) stands for the distance between the inside of the lens and the outside of the cornea in millimetres. – PD (pupil distance) measures the distance between the pupils or the distance from the right and left pupil to the centre of the face in millimetres. – EP or H (insertion height or “eye point”) describes the distance from the lower edge of the spectacles to the centre of the pupil in millimetres for people looking straight ahead.
