Can You Get Blue Light Glasses with a Prescription?

✓ Medically Reviewed by Jack Cincotta

Prescription Glasses

Blue light glasses can be purchased to include your prescription (RX), be non-prescription and also come with reading magnification. All these glasses may reduce eye strain caused by blue light emitted from electronic devices.

Prescription lenses that come with a blue light filter can help significantly improve sleep patterns and mitigate any long term health effects from blue light exposure.

Prescription Blue Light Glasses

When choosing the best prescription glasses with a blue light filter its essential to ensure they are manufactured in optical laboratories.

There are many different types of prescription glasses and its essential to understand whether it’s preferable to purchase prescription blue light glasses in store or online.

If you do not wear prescription blue light glasses then read about what are blue light glasses instead.

Do Prescription Glasses Block Blue Light?

Not all prescription glasses block high energy visible light. For a pair of prescription glasses to successfully filter blue light they must first have a special blue light filtering coating included. These coatings can be clear, yellow or red.

If you require a pair of prescription blue light glasses for computer work during the daytime you should have a clear blue light filtering coating included to your prescription glasses.

If you have a sensitivity to blue light (photophobia) then a yellow coating would be optimal.

If you have trouble sleeping and want to block blue light in the evenings then you would require an amber or red coating applied to your prescription glasses.

For any pair of glasses to filter blue light you need to purchase them from your eye doctor or from a specialist online retailer.

The best place to purchase prescription blue light glasses in from an online specialist who has thoroughly researched quantum biology.

If you want to eliminate UV light you can purchase prescription sunglasses. BON CHARGE prescription sunglasses filter high energy visible blue light and 100% of ultra violet light.

Where to Buy Prescription Blue Light Glasses?

There are two ways to purchase prescription blue light glasses. You can either acquire prescription blue light blocking glasses in store or online.

Pros of Buying Prescription Glasses in Store

  • You can try them on
  • 360-degree service from eye test to prescription blue light glasses
  • Convenient and a plethora of different shopping outlets

 

Cons of Buying Prescription Glasses in Store

  • Restricted knowledge of blue light filtration
  • Lens technology is often not backed by the academic literature
  • Lack of blue light filtering lens choices which means sub-optimal blue light filtering

 

Pros of Buying Prescription Glasses Online

  • Wide choice of blue light filtering lens options for individual needs
  • Quick and easy to order
  • Massive knowledge of the scientific literature on blue light.

 

Cons of Buying Prescription Glasses Online

  • Have to obtain your script from a store
  • Returns for adjustments can be difficult
  • Do not get to try them on

 

How are Prescription Blue Light Glasses Different from Non-Prescription Blue Light Glasses?

There is no significant difference in the amount of blue light filtered if your blue light glasses are prescription or non-prescription. If you wear glasses already to see better then you will require prescription blue light glasses.

If you do not wear prescription glasses to see better you can still wear blue light glasses without a prescription to protect your eyes from damaging artificial light.

Do Prescription Blue Light Glasses Offer the Same Protection as Regular Blue Light Glasses?

Prescription blue light glasses offer the same protection from screen time compared to standard blue light filtering glasses.

Studies have shown that blue light emitted from computer screens and other electronic devices can lead to digital eye strain and ocular damage.

By wearing a pair of precision prescription computer glasses you may be able to prevent further significant damage to your eye sight from artificial light exposure.

In store you cannot purchase blue light prescription glasses that block 100% of damaging blue light.

To significantly improve melatonin production and increase sleep quality you need to block all blue light and green light from 400nm to 550nm. This can only be achieved by purchasing prescription blue light blocking glasses for sleep from a specialist online retailer.

Types of Prescription Blue Light Glasses

The three types of blue light prescription lens coatings are listed below:

Prescription Computer Glasses (Clear Lenses)

These glasses are worn predominantly during the day when working at a computer

Prescription Light Sensitivity Glasses (Yellow Lenses)

These glasses are worn during the day when you have exposure to blue light, if you have a sensitivity to blue light or suffer from photophobia (light sensitivity).

Prescription Blue Light Blocking Glasses (Red Lenses)

These glasses are worn after sunset for 2-3 hours before bed. They block all melatonin disrupting artificial light from entering your eyes and disrupting your circadian rhythm and sleep cycles.

Types of Prescription

When you order prescription blue light glasses its essential to know what prescription you have.

Single Vision

This is the most common prescription and will enable you to see better up close or better into the distance. If you have a single vision script be sure to specify whether you want your blue light filtering glasses to be for distance or reading.

Multifocal/Progressive

This is two scripts in one lens. The top half of the lens will enable you to see better into the distanced. The bottom half of the lens will help you see better close up. Progressive lenses have an invisible line to separate the two different scripts vs bifocals which will have a visible line divide.

Trifocals

Trifocals will contain three scripts. One for seeing better up close, one for seeing better into the distance and one to see better at an intermediate distance.

Reading Glasses

These are blue light glasses with a magnification ranging from +0.25 to +4.00 to help words on pages or e-readers become magnified

Final Thoughts

Blue light filtering technology can be added to prescription glasses to help you block harmful blue light from digital devices. Its best to buy blue light prescription glasses online as you will get better options of tint colours to more effectively filter or block blue light.

BON CHARGE creates prescription blue light glasses for any script. We are the only online retailer who offers a send your own frame service as well. You can choose a frame you like, post it to us and we will add our signature blue light blocking lenses to them in your chosen script. 

Further Reading

  1. How to Measure Your Pupillary Distance
  2. Lens Colour Guide for Prescription Blue Light Glasses

 

  • 5 Facts To Improve Your Sleeping Habits

    5 Facts To Improve Your Sleeping Habits

    Tahnee Streatfeild

    We all know sleep, like the air we breathe, is essential for our wellbeing. Here we have provided five useful facts to get you thinking about your current sleeping habits.

  • Is the Red Light Therapy Blanket right for you?

    Is the Red Light Therapy Blanket right for you?

    Lina Nilsson

    With so many options on the market, it can be overwhelming when trying to pick out the right Red Light Therapy device for you. Here's a guide to help you...

  • Essential Tips For World Mental Health Day

    Essential Tips For World Mental Health Day

    Lina Nilsson

    Every year, October 10th (World Mental Health Day) acts as a reminder to take a step back and reflect on our inner well-being. Here are our top tips to care of yourself. 

1 of 3