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Quick & Easy Pupillary Distance (PD) Guide

Pupillary Distance/ PD / PD Value / or inter-pupillary distance (IPD) is the distance between the centers of your pupils. It is measured in millimeters & plays a vital role in making your prescription eyewear. On average, this distance is 63 mm however, even slight deviation of the pupils can result in problems with vision.

Broader PD Range:

For Men : 53 mm to 77 mm

For Women : 51 mm to 74.5 mm

pupillary distance

Why Measure Pupillary Distance?

Each pair of prescription eyeglasses has an optical center which is supposed to align with the center of your eyes i.e. the pupils. If even one of the two optical centers is not aligned according to your pupillary distance, you may feel discomfort while wearing your glasses and find it hard to focus on things. Wrong PD can lead to headaches, fatigue and even eye-strain. It is advisable to get to know your PD from your optometrist/optician at your eye test for a perfect pair. You can also find the same with the help of the below mentioned methods.

Methods to measure your PD

There are two methods to find out your Pupillary Distance:

Binocular PD (Single PD) : Distance between your two pupils.

Monocular PD (Dual PD) : Distance from your nose to pupil of either eye.

How To Easily Measure Your Pupillary Distance

Let’s explore simple ways to measure your PD Value yourself.

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Using Your Current Eyeglasses

If you’ve never faced any vision misalignment issues with your current glasses, you can use these to find your PD.

What you need: Ruler & a marker

Steps:

  • Wear your glasses & focus on an object 20 feet away.
  • Object must be in line of sight and should not be too broad or too wide.
  • Close one eye & mark a dot on your eyeglasses where you see the object.
  • Repeat the process with another eye.
  • Use a ruler to measure this distance between two dots. That’s your PD.
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Using A Mirror

What you need: A mirror & a ruler

Steps:

  • Stand at least 8 inches away from a mirror.
  • Take the ruler & place it against the brow.
  • Close your left eye & align the 0 mm of the ruler with your right pupil.
  • Repeat the same with the right eye & measure this distance.
  • You’ll have your PD value right there.
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Using Existing Prescription

If you already have a PD, look for an abbreviated “PD” column on the lower part of your prescription slip. If there are two pupillary values in your prescriptions, you might have to measure the distance between each pupil to the center of the nose bridge individually.

In case your PD measurement is not coming out right, you can also take help from a friend or visit your optometrist / optician to get your exact Pupillary distance.

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Some More Takeaways:

  • PD is an important value when buying eyeglasses to ensure perfectly centered vision.
  • You can ask the optometrist to measure it for you at your regular Eye Check Up.
  • You can find your PD Value with the help of a PD stick or a pupilometer also.
  • If you wear Reading Glasses, your PD value will be different. Ideally, you need to subtract 3 mm from your PD value in order to get the exact PD.
  • PD Value can change with age. So make sure you go for regular eye check-ups.