Chances are that you’ve just come back from your ophthalmologist's and noticed an expiration date in your prescription. Now you are sitting there wondering how your eyeglass prescription has an expiry date? Especially if you have perfect vision, this might be even more absurd. This also holds true for when you are purchasing glasses online. When uploading your prescription for new eyeglasses, make sure the prescription is not expired as most online eyewear stores do not accept those.

Fun fact #1: A lot of people are unaware or don’t realize that ophthalmologists prescribe an expiration date of around 1-2 years after the latest complete vision checkup.
How do they decide the date? There are various factors involved when determining the expiration date for your prescription.

However, why do you need the expiration of the eyeglasses prescription date at all?

In earlier days, you could only purchase eyeglasses from the store that the doctor prescribed it. So it was not necessary to even take the prescription home but nowadays it is mandatory for the doctor to hand over the eyeglass prescription whether one asks for it or not. This gives you the ability to travel across the world and get glasses made anywhere.
Additionally, once people started taking advantage of not adhering by an expiration date and getting their eyes checked only once in a blue moon, the concept of an expiration date came about. Generally, the expiration date is 1 year but some optometrists often change that to 2 years, depending on the conditions.

Fun Fact #2: Wearing eyeglasses with a different or stronger prescription than yours does not worsen your eyesight. You may suffer from a headache (for sometime) or see differently but it doesn't deteriorate your vision.
Although it has no effect on your eyesight, wearing the wrong prescription can get dangerous. Not so much when you add salt to your coffee but when you are driving and unable to see. Let’s not even consider the healthcare technicians and heavy machinery operators. Hence, it's always safer to get your eyes checked every 12 months.

Why should you go for regular eye checkups?

As a healthy adult between 19-64 years of age, you must go for eye checkups every two years. Not only do regular eye checkups help determine any vision deterioration, they also help keep a check on diabetes, glaucoma, lupus and some types of cancer, which show no symptoms at all.

Fun Fact #3: Diseases, affecting other parts of our body, can be determined in eye health exams as many symptoms are first detected in the eyes.
Optometrists can detect brain tumors and diabetes, which can be supremely beneficial if caught at early stages. Therefore, an eye inspection is not just for the eyes, it’s for your entire body.

Seniors and children should get their eyes checked annually as at these ages, vision deterioration can be quick and harmful. Moreover, if you suffer from an eye health problem, have a family history, have diabetes or wear contacts, you should also go for eye inspections every year.

Knowing your prescription has an expiration date takes you one step further in your eyewear journey.