Everything about 20/25 vision you should know

If you have just been to the eye doctor and you have been told that you have 20/25 vision, you might be wondering what that means. What are those numbers, and what do they signify about your visual acuity? It is common knowledge that 20/20 vision is considered normal vision. This number doesn't seem too far off, so does it mean your vision is just a wee bit different from normal? Read on to find out what it is all about.

What Does 20/25 Vision Mean?

A simple explanation of 20/25 vision is when you see things clearly from 20 feet away. Meanwhile, a person with normal 20/20 vision sees the same things clearly from 25 feet away. In other words, with your 20/25 vision, you would need to move 5 feet closer, compared to a person with normal vision, in order to see distant things as clearly.

For comparison, there are people with 20/15 vision, which is noticeably better than normal vision. These people can see objects clearly at 20 feet away, while people with normal vision need to be 5 feet closer in order to see clearly. Individuals with this visual acuity are usually young people in excellent health, and particularly with undamaged ocular surfaces.

For reference, it is said that 20/5 is the absolute limit when it comes to visual acuity, although it is extremely rare to find people who can see this clearly.

Is 20/25 Vision Good or Bad?

There is no question that 20/25 is not as good as 20/20 vision, but you still have it better than many other people who see things a lot less clearly. It is not bad per se since people with this visual acuity are perfectly functional in doing most day-to-day tasks, even without wearing glasses or contacts. However, it can bring some difficulties when you really need to see clearly.

The good news is that 20/25 vision can be corrected simply by wearing low-prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses. Some people choose to undergo LASIK surgery but most don't think this issue is severe enough to warrant such drastic measures. It's a personal choice though, and there are several available options that you can choose from.

Does 20/25 Vision Need Glasses?

If you have 20/25 vision, you are not that far off from having normal vision. In fact, many would consider your vision to still be within the normal range. Unless your occupation or lifestyle requires you to have absolutely perfect vision, it might not be necessary to undergo any kind of corrective treatment.

There are also a couple of situations where wearing glasses might be recommended for someone with 20/25 vision. Old age is one of these situations. As we age, the importance of seeing clearly becomes more evident. Slight blurriness in vision might result in unpleasant accidents. We want to avoid these at all costs, so wearing glasses would definitely be something to consider.

Another instance where glasses might be necessary even if your vision is a nice 20/25 is if you have an underlying eye condition. In this case, the glasses can correct not only the blurry vision but also other issues within your eye.

20/25 Vision versus 20/20 Vision

As we have mentioned earlier, the main difference between someone with 20/25 vision and someone with 20/20 vision is that the former needs to be 5 feet closer in order to see an object more clearly. Let's put it a different way. If both persons are 25 feet away from the object, the one with normal vision can already see clearly from where they are standing, but the one with 20/25 vision would need to step forward 5 feet to see the object clearly.

As you can imagine, this doesn't spell much of a difference in many cases. In fact, a lot of people with 20/25 vision might not even realize that their eyesight is a little bit blurry, not unless they actually take a vision test. But if you want to bring your vision back to 20/20, you can always wear prescription eyeglasses or contacts. This will really sharpen your vision and it also gives you a chance to sport a brand new look!

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