Your eyeglass prescription is typically written in a grid, using a combination of terms, abbreviations, and numbers. Keep in mind that usually the further from zero the numbers are, the more correction you need. A + symbol means that you’re farsighted, or have trouble seeing things close up. A – symbol means you're nearsighted, or struggle with seeing far away. Additional abbreviations are as follows:
• O.D. stands for oculus dexter, meaning right eye.
• O.S. stands for oculus sinister, meaning left eye. SPH (or Sphere) indicates the eyeglass prescription power, or how strong your lenses need to be to correct your vision.
• CYL (or Cylinder) indicates astigmatism, a condition where the cornea is irregularly shaped causing blurred or distorted vision. It also tells the lens strength needed to fix it.
• AXIS describes the degree and direction of your astigmatism.
• ADD is added magnifying power in the lower part of a multi-focal lens. It’s used to correct presbyopia which is the inability to focus on close objects. If you need a bifocal or progressive lens, there will be an ADD.