How do you tell what lens type the patient is wearing?

**genzcop** · 01-31-2008, 09:48 PM

just wondering if anyone know how to determine what type of lenses their patients is wearing when walking in.

**bt5050** · 01-31-2008, 10:05 PM

i always - 1st ask them what they wear -
You will be amazed - at what pts - know these days -
many have been programed - about the higher end products -
they know this thu past customer exp - or even the percribng docs -
i recently seen a huge increase in pts coming in talking about the free form pals -

as for others i always take a look at the ID marking on the pals - after talkign to them about their life style ?'S - SO I CAN EITHER see if the pal or lens they are wearing are meeting their expectations - or so i can better recommend - another product -

i always ensure ensure that i know what i am dealing with - and any past issues - so i can ensure their next choice - will be a better pr of glasses then they currently have - ( when i say better - i mean - ensuring the pt gets the most out of it - with what the pt feels is most important - )

doesn't everyone at least check the pal marks before getting into these orders ??

**edKENdance** · 01-31-2008, 10:17 PM

I had a very particular guy in the other day. I could tell just by looking at his glasses that he was myopic but from the thickness and mag it didn't seem to be such a big deal. I was with him for about 45 minutes and we had picked out some great styles. The winning ones were all rimlon styles and since he had no idea what he was wearing I decided to do a rough neut of his glasses. He handed them to me and BOOM! The weight! He told me he was wearing high index glass. All of a sudden I had this rush of OMG! This guy is like a -16.00 wearing a 1.9 and I have to rethink all of my frame selections. Turns out he was a -4.00 with a minor cyl and upon asking had chosen glass because weight was an issue. Yes! WTF? Not sure where he got his last pair from nor the index but whoever sold him that pair is gonna make me look like a bloody genius! THANK YOU!

**cocoisland58** · 01-31-2008, 11:23 PM

Originally Posted by genzcop

just wondering if anyone know how to determine what type of lenses their patients is wearing when walking in.

I always check the PAL markings to determine the brand, then spot the lenses and get the old PD and height measurement, even if this might be changed. As far as the material you know by the feel, the look and the sound. We are in Michigan so we do sometimes get the odd Canadian thin as paper glass lenses.

**Chris Ryser** · 02-01-2008, 06:51 AM

Originally Posted by edKENdance

Turns out he was a -4.00 with a minor cyl and upon asking had chosen glass because weight was an issue. Yes! WTF? Not sure where he got his last pair from nor the index but whoever sold him that pair is gonna make me look like a bloody genius! THANK YOU!

Interesting......................would like to appreciate if you let us know how this develops.

Changing him from flint glass to a lesser index, changing base curves will provide him a different feel of vision. Myos have a characteristic of beeing very picky when exposed to a drastic change of their visual habits.

Better wsit to feel like a bloddy genius until the customer says "that is perfect" and don't come back with complaints and questions for the following 2 weeks.

**edKENdance** · 02-01-2008, 07:49 AM

Originally Posted by Chris Ryser

Interesting......................would like to appreciate if you let us know how this develops.

Changing him from flint glass to a lesser index, changing base curves will provide him a different feel of vision. Myos have a characteristic of beeing very picky when exposed to a drastic change of their visual habits.

Better wsit to feel like a bloddy genius until the customer says "that is perfect" and don't come back with complaints and questions for the following 2 weeks.

Did I mention he has 2 months to live?

:bbg:

**renee1111** · 02-01-2008, 08:50 AM

Originally Posted by edKENdance

I had a very particular guy in the other day. I could tell just by looking at his glasses that he was myopic but from the thickness and mag it didn't seem to be such a big deal. I was with him for about 45 minutes and we had picked out some great styles. The winning ones were all rimlon styles and since he had no idea what he was wearing I decided to do a rough neut of his glasses. He handed them to me and BOOM! The weight! He told me he was wearing high index glass. All of a sudden I had this rush of OMG! This guy is like a -16.00 wearing a 1.9 and I have to rethink all of my frame selections. Turns out he was a -4.00 with a minor cyl and upon asking had chosen glass because weight was an issue. Yes! WTF? Not sure where he got his last pair from nor the index but whoever sold him that pair is gonna make me look like a bloody genius! THANK YOU!

Lol!! Great post!!:):D:):bbg::)

**EyeSing** · 02-02-2008, 05:12 PM

I go down the list...

1. Neutralize the lens.
2. Remove lens from frame and do the "sound" test. (I hope I'm not the only one who goes based on sound..)
3. If its the tin poly sound then go ahead and use a set of calipers to determine the center thickness.
4. If it sounds like poly but doesn't have a thickness like poly.. I always use a hand edger because you can tell by the smell of the lens after doing a light safety bevel and by the type of swarf that comes off the lens.

Don't know if I helped.. I tried!!!

**Happylady** · 02-02-2008, 07:22 PM

I hate it when people don't have their current glasses with them! This happens a lot with contact lens wearers. The receptionists are supposed to ask all patients to bring their glasses with them but they often don't.

If I have them I look at the rx, the type of bifocal/progressive and lens material. I usually remark the progressives and see how they fit.

**chip anderson** · 02-02-2008, 07:43 PM

Of course this is rocket science but all the place where he got them and ask.

Chip

**EyeSing** · 02-02-2008, 08:13 PM

Unfortunately, patients aren't regularly educated on their eyewear. Thats why we see so many contact lens wearers who over wear their lenses. I think the most irritating thing about pt's not bringing their glasses with them to appointments is that there are a lot of people out there who can't adapt to poly, not to mention that lately I've seen non-adapts to 1.67! Weird....

**MarcE** · 02-02-2008, 09:30 PM

Originally Posted by EyeSing

Unfortunately, patients aren't regularly educated on their eyewear. Thats why we see so many contact lens wearers who over wear their lenses. I think the most irritating thing about pt's not bringing their glasses with them to appointments is that there are a lot of people out there who can't adapt to poly, not to mention that lately I've seen non-adapts to 1.67! Weird....

Contact lens wearers over wear their lenses because people are just that way. It's not education.

Why should patients be educated on their eyewear? In general, it is boring to them and they don't care. Even if you tell them, they don't know the difference anyway.

If a patient can't adapt to poly, remember that 1.67 has the same abbe. Therefore, same result. It's not weird at all.

Welcome to the board.

**chip anderson** · 02-02-2008, 09:37 PM

Patients should be "educated" on thier eyewear so they will believe all those bells as whistles we sold them are really working or gonna work and they need to feel proud of themselves for the addittional investment. Instead of feeling duped by whatever the salesperson conned them into buying.
Don't you understand anything about the optical business.
It feels so much better from ourside to reguard ourselves as "educators" than sales people and con-artists.

Chip

**EyeSing** · 02-03-2008, 12:36 AM

Its much easier to work with a pt. who knows that they're wearing poly or not. When I sit down with a pt. who I think may be a poly candidate I always ask, "Have you ever had trouble with your glasses in the past?" People will remember if they've had problem. Just like some people will remember if they've had a problem with polished edges. I couldn't ever really comfortably adapt to poly, however, I have not had problems with 1.67 soo... maybe I'm an anomily? All I know is.. there are weird eyeballs out there!

**For-Life** · 02-03-2008, 03:11 AM

I find a surprising amount of clients still do not even know where they got their last eye examination/pair of glasses from.

For material, you have to learn the sounds and the looks of them. Tapping the lens will tell you. For PAL's, you can use the fitting marks. For AR, usually cleanability and colour hue will tell you.

**Joshua** · 02-06-2008, 03:49 PM

Originally Posted by EyeSing

I go down the list...

1. Neutralize the lens.
2. Remove lens from frame and do the "sound" test. (I hope I'm not the only one who goes based on sound..)
3. If its the tin poly sound then go ahead and use a set of calipers to determine the center thickness.
4. If it sounds like poly but doesn't have a thickness like poly.. I always use a hand edger because you can tell by the smell of the lens after doing a light safety bevel and by the type of swarf that comes off the lens.

Hi, what do you mean by neutralizing the lens? On the sound test, how do you administer that? Lay the lens on a table and tap it with your nails? Poly compared to cr-39 should have a tin sound? Is that high pitched? For the smell test, what would a poly lens smell like compared to cr-39? Is one scent stronger than the other?

Thanks!

**For-Life** · 02-06-2008, 03:55 PM

Originally Posted by Joshua

Hi, what do you mean by neutralizing the lens? On the sound test, how do you administer that? Lay the lens on a table and tap it with your nails? Poly compared to cr-39 should have a tin sound? Is that high pitched? For the smell test, what would a poly lens smell like compared to cr-39? Is one scent stronger than the other?

Thanks!

neautralizing is reading the lens in the lensometer.

With poly, if you hold it with your fingers and tap it. It will have a more echoing or tin sound than CR-39 (which has a denser sound). For smell, while edging 1.56, 1.6, 1.67, and 1.74 will smell like sulphur. Poly and CR-39 will edge differently. CR-39 will do a clean edge, where poly will lump up while wet and produce a tape like substance. A polished edge on poly will also be far more shinyier.

**Paul E. Carbonate** · 02-07-2008, 01:16 AM

Was this posted in jest?
I can tell if it's poly by simply tapping the lens with my fingernail. If you can't, there's an easy way to learn how...tap some known lenses and listen.
If you know it ain't glass or Columbia Resin 39 (and if you don't know if it's glass quit this field immediately), but don't know if it's poly or a higher index...as suggested, neutralize the lens and apply some common sense.
Experience is really the key, I guess. There are more technical ways of doing this but I've honestly never had a problem figuring out material unless its a -25 OU or similar that's inexplicably in 1.74.
As far as progs go...ahem...there's these markings, you see...

**Paul E. Carbonate** · 02-07-2008, 01:20 AM

Sorry, For-Life, I didn't see you'd already covered the tap-test.
However, I doubt anyone who can't tell poly from CR-39 is going to be edging and smelling the difference...And removing the patient's current lenses and edging them down seems a bit of an extreme way to figure out what material they're in.

**LR mgr** · 02-07-2008, 02:42 AM

Actually for a person who is ether new to the field or not familiar with the tap test, it is easier to take the lens out and perform a drop test(not to be confused with a drop ball test). Simply drop the lens on a counter top, you only have to hold the lens an inch above the table and drop it parralel. Listen to the sound, if it is higher pitched its poly if its more of a thud its CR-39 or if it a chinging sound its glass (I had to put that in there, haha).