Can you order contact lens online?

[CornyContacts]

I used to have a contract for monthly contact lens with Specsavers but I just can't keep up with their constant contact lens checks requirements. I know I should attend them but it's not easy for me to get to a store so every once in a while they stop delivery of my lenses till I can make the appointment again.

Anyway, is it possible to order them online? I think I have a prescription from last year or from 2020. Don't they need to check your eyes first for sizing or something?

My prescription is quite straightforward. I don't need tauric or any other speciality lens (though I am quite severely myopic)

Could you recommend a reputable online company please?

Thanks tons!!

I second lenstore. No prescription needed and it's next day delivery. Always special offers on too.

If it's too difficult to keep up with the not particularly stringent requirement of annual checks then maybe you should stick to glasses. Seriously, are you really prepared to risk your eyesight because going to a 20 minute appointment is too much hassle? If that is too much, is proper lens care too hard as well?

Any reputable shop - the kind you would want to get lenses from - are going to require an up to date prescription.

Seriously, don't skip your checks. It's stupid.

@Furbaby2842 yeees I love the Haribo they send, but I prefer when they occasionally send a pen. It’s such a quality pen given it’s free.

Thanks so much for the suggestions everyone. Looks like I might still get to wear contact lens in this life. 😊

An annual check won't stop you from getting an infection though, that's down to hygiene.

OP if the suggestions above don't work for you maybe look to overseas sites as not everywhere has this requirement for a current prescription. I'm in Australia and use Clearly Contacts, not sure where they ship to though. There's enough information printed on the current box to order more of the same. I get eye checks at my convenience rather than being required to.

I've been wearing contacts every day for 33 years, before anyone decides to lecture me in how to do it properly.

No, but like anything if you get things checked it prevents serious problems later. Obviously. And it follows that if you can't be arsed to get your eyes checked you probably aren't bothering to follow proper hygene either.

The OP doesn't even know if her lens prescription is correct. Frankly suggesting she just orders what she thinks is right and just finds a random shop that isn't reputable enough to require an up to date script is mindbogglingly irresponsible.

I've used Vision direct as already recommended by PP for over a decade. They don't check that your prescription is up to date, so that is on you to arrange and be sensible about. They've been brilliant for me as I've lived overseas so it's better to be able to buy quality lenses at a great price with reliable, fast delivery and then arrange my own check ups appropriately.

Vision Direct for CLs here and I haven’t had to upload a new prescription since pre lockdown. They fit fine!

I use vision direct. I don't think I've ever sent them a prescription & I've been using them for years. I always got an annual check but since Covid I haven't had one, but will book one soon.

I also use vision direct and have never been asked for a prescription or proof of annual check.

If your prescription is from 2020 you'll be due a sight test soon anyway and you shouldn't be able to order contact lenses on line without an up to date prescription.

I'd go and get a sight test and contact lens check done at the same time. You'll then just need a 12 month contact lens check between sight tests. I agree with the other posters that it's a hassle but it's to check the health of your eyes and is really important.

Yep, we order online (me dh and ds) and find it quite a bit cheaper than Specsavers, we use lenstore or clearly contacts, whichever have best price at the time!

It is beyond reckless to buy contacts online from a website that does not require an up to date prescription. The BBC did an investigative report on Fake Britain about this and found that these sites often sell counterfeit contact lenses that are not even sterile. That’s why their prices are too good to be true.

People have suffered eye infections that then caused vision loss or blindness. I cannot believe the number of MN posters who are taking such risks as this woth their eyes. Would you buy your medication online from a site that doesn’t require an actual GP prescription? No because the drugs would likely be fake. So why on Earth would you buy lenses online from a website that doesn’t even ask for your prescription?
www.aop.org.uk/our-voice/media-centre/press-releases/2019/08/16/aop-responds-to-fake-britain-on-counterfeit-contact-lenses

Thank you op. You do need to have a check though-even for thing s like oxygen diffusing into your eye ok.

As someone who has had a lot of eye problems I can't believe the number of posters who are cavalier about eye health checks.

I googled 'contact lenses online' in desperation recently, having tried to get a lens check appointment with Specsavers (my regular optician) prior to a special event during which I'd hoped to wear contacts, only to be told no appointments would be available for weeks.
It was a really simple process and I was not asked for proof of an eye examination, only whether my eyes were in good health.
I initially asked Specsavers what my contact lens prescription was, and the adviser said he would not be able to tell me over the phone without an appointment bookethen pressed said he'd be allowed to confirm if I could tell him the right prescription. Luckily, I had an old lens packet knocking around and was able to get it confirmed.
Lenses arrived in days, are my regular brand and feel great.

I use daysoft too. I am currently using some from vision express as I needed a contact lens check and they are funny about checking if you don't buy their lenses but once these have been used, I will be going back to daysoft as I find them so much comfier! Have used them for years. AFAIK you just input your prescription strength and where your prescription was issued but not sure if they actually check or not

Also Daysoft here.

I order from Lenstore; it's cheaper and you still get free check-ups. No solution though, you have to buy that separately.

I bought online, because multiple times I wasn't told to book a check-up until the lenses were already overdue. With having lost weeks in the delivery cycle because-covid delays, and busy at work, it's just too much to be ordered to get a check before I am allowed lenses that I already paid for. This is after asking ONE month earlier for my check-up and being told it wasn't due yet. The system is pathetic, no reason why people can't be given notice at 3 months, 2 months, 1 month etc to be able to schedule an appointment when it suits instead of being forced into last minute mad dashes or no lenses. Having been through a few companies, the process hasn't been effective since the one small private optician (but I moved dammit). It frustrates me because it's so unnecessary. You can get an extra 6 months of supply and book eye test whenever suits with online options, so just do that OP.

I’ve been using daysoft for years. I must confess I haven’t had a lens check since I started ordering from them. But I do go for regular sight tests which also check the health of your eyes so wouldn’t that pick up any problems?

I wear daily disposable and don’t get any infections any more, I used to get occasional infections with the monthly wear ones.

I use them too. I moved opticians over 4 years ago and have never bothered to change it on the site.

I get mine from the opticians, but in Poland I've even seen a contact lens vending machine at one train station! Plus a number of advertisements for online contact lens purchasing.

I used daysoft for years with no issues. One day- put them in and one eye became blood shot and painful. Long story short, I ended up at Moorfields eye hospital A&E. I was advised they eyes will cope with so much, but over time, lack of oxygen from cheap lenses take their toll and eventually- your eyes will tell you. I needed various treatments, no lenses for months and eventually my eyes were ok.

I now only buy branded lenses. You do know that if you have an eye test- you are supposed to be given the prescription- but sometimes need to ask for it. You can also buy elsewhere, and not just where the test was done. I would never buy or use daysoft again, but equally, not use specsavers.

15/20mins once a year/every 2 years at any opticians that can check your vision surely isn't excessive checks!!!

A normal eye test is not specifically looking for issues associated with wearing contact lenses e.g. they won't routinely check whether your lenses still fit properly, check your tear film or check whether your lenses are irritating the surface of your eyes. Your contact lens prescription is also not the same as a glasses prescription due to the fact that lenses sit directly on your eyes rather than in front of them, and the two can drift apart by differing degrees over time.

In short, it's really really stupid to wear lenses without regular contact lens checks.

Indeed.

Disclaimer: true but alarmist story.

BIL was diagnosed with (no idea of the medical term) rogue blood vessels that were threatening to damage his retina because of wearing contact lenses for extended periods. I think lack of oxygen figured in it.

I actually thought contact lens checks were completely mandatory, but in any case, his experience is what makes me slightly less grumpy about going every year. His sight was at risk.