FIX AND FIT

Raising Frames

With a little practice, adjusting nose pads to raise a patient’s frames can be as simple as 1, 2, 3

we find ourselves in a world of digital screens in this time of information overload. Cell phones are ubiquitous, and everywhere we look there are people tapping away at them, getting stiff necks from trying to position their gaze properly through their lenses.

Ergonomic specialists tell us to position the screens at a place that is at or slightly below eye level…but we can’t do that with every screen we use. The result becomes a stiff neck due to craning, or simply an annoyed patient who finds adjusting to multifocals difficult.

GIVING A LIFT

For at least the past five years, as a dispenser analyzing the lifestyles of folks for whom I am designing eyewear, I have found that multifocals simply perform better for most wearers if they are positioned just a bit higher than what has traditionally been considered normal.

I have found that patients who did not order their eyewear from me and are having difficulties often benefit from an adjustment that raises the eyewear off the nose a bit. Doing so raises the position of the multifocal and makes the patient more comfortable by preventing craning of the neck to read those screens.

LOWER WITH CAUTION

So lowering the nose pads on a frame will raise the frame, if that is needed. But a word of caution is in order here. It can be very tempting to narrow the nose pads in order to raise a frame. That will work, but it may also move the nose pads into a less comfortable position on the nose. If the pads are lowered and the space between pads is not altered, comfort can be maintained.

READY, SET, GO

Lowering nose pads is not difficult in theory, but it seems the bend is what most people have a hard time mastering. I think this is because bending a pad arm involves more than just bending with the pliers in the right places—it also requires a controlled push or pull using your upper body strength. With that in mind let’s look at what it takes to lower a nose pad.

The following instructions and images should guide you through the process. Try it a few times on some spare frames you have around the shop. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll become quite adept at providing your multifocal patients with a little more neck comfort if they find themselves straining to use all their zones.

STEP 1

The typical pad arm looks a bit like a horseshoe with one leg welded to the frame and the nose pad attached to the other leg. Lowering the pad requires bending the pad arm in a manner that makes the leg with the pad attached longer than the welded side.

To accomplish this you must first open up the bend in the horseshoe. This can be done with pliers, or by grasping the pad with thumb and finger and pulling it away from the frame.

To lengthen the patient-side leg of this “horseshoe,” the bend must first be opened.

STEP 2

After opening the bend in the horseshoe, use some flat/round pliers with the round jaw on the inside of the horseshoe and grab the nose pad arm close to the bend on the welded side. Now, bend it back to a nice tight bend.

This should lower the nose pad since the leg on the pad side will be longer.

STEP 3

Using your thumb and forefinger, squeeze the pliers toward the frame as you roll the pad arm back into position, lengthening the patient-side leg.

STEP 4

The finished product: A lowered nose pad with a nice tight “horseshoe” bend. Remember to be sure not to change the space between the pads to ensure the effectiveness of the original adjustment.

Some words of advice: If your finished adjustment still looks stretched out without that nice tight bend, you have not used the controlled upper body strength to make the secondary adjustment. Be sure as you make this bend that you keep your wrist rigid and push the pliers toward the frame at the same time you are bending it down, which requires rolling the wrist.

With a little practice this will become one of the best adjustment in your bag of tricks.

— Alex Yoho, ABOM