Pupillary Distance: The Complete Guide

Posted by Suleman Khan Our Blog

If you ever felt discomfort while wearing eyeglasses and experienced eyestrain then the reason might be your incorrect pupillary distance. Pupillary distance is the distance between your pupils and the comfort level of wearing eyeglasses is highly dependent on it.  

The average pupillary distance for an adult is 63 mm but it may vary depending on your prescription. If you want to buy prescription glasses then it is vital to get the accurate measurement of PD.   

Here is a guide for the pupillary distance that will give you complete information and will clear your all concepts.                           

Single and Dual PD 

There are two main methods for measurement of PD. One is a single PD and the other is dual. Single PD (or binocular PD) is the measurement that is taken from one pupil to another between each eye. 

Dual PD (monocular PD) is the measurement from the nose bridge to each eye. It is considered the most accurate method to measure the PD, however, some people may find that there measurement from nose to pupil is not at equal distance.   

How the measurement is Done 

You may have thought about the question of how to measure your pupillary distance? Eye specialists usually examine your PD by using the special PD ruler that is calibrated specifically to each type. 

To buy prescription eyeglasses, your PD measurement is needed. You’ll need the millimeter ruler and a mirror. Now what you need to do is to stand 8 inches away from the mirror and hold the ruler above your eyes against the eyebrow.        

Close your right eye and align the zero of the ruler to the center of your left eye without moving it. Then close the left eye and get the measurement from rulers’ zero to the right pupil. The distance that you’ll get will be your PD. You must repeat these steps to make sure that your measurement is correct.