Weird experience at opticians

[Billyandharry]

Took my 17 yr old for an eye test today. We basically got a right telling off for using her prescription and ordering lenses on line (about one third of the price of the cost at the opticians). The optician was just so rude and judgey about this - made me feel like the worst mum ever. I just wondered what does everyone else do re contacts?

I’m with spec savers
for £16 a month I get
monthly lenses
solutions
yearly eye test
lense check up
discount off glasses

I’ve looked at buying separately it wasn’t cheaper

You just add you prescription details in - I go to Glasses Direct. They send you sample frames to try before you buy . They’re great and if you know how to adjust glasses yourself you pay a fraction on the cost for the same service and product

contact lens related issues are not funded by the NHS.

What do you mean by this? Eye health is covered by the NHS.

Just remember prescription for contacts is different than glasses in most cases.
don’t use a glasses prescription to order contacts
and you really do need annual check with contacts- there are things that can gone wrong overtime.

Non contact lens related eye issues are, yes. But if you get a contact lens related ulcer, or keratitis or similar you would need to pay privately to have this assessed and treated. It often would require multiple visits, all of which are chargeable typically. If you attended hospital, and they felt it could be managed by your high street optometrist they would likely send you away with advice to attend your regular provider. Where I am anyway, this is obviously not the case for all health boards.

I don't know where you are... I'm in London and have had to attend the Western Eye Hospital A&E with a contact lens issue. I wasn't turned away or asked to go private.

I pay £50 a month for my DD’s lenses, and I think she has a quick 6 monthly check, and a longer annual check. But she has MiSight lenses which are (fingers crossed!) stopping her eyesight from deteriorating, so I’m happy to pay it.

LOL, they are salty because they won't get your money! 😆

Crack on @Billyandharry Get the glasses online! High street opticians glasses are a rip off.

That's good, I'm glad to hear it. As I said, it depends on the area, severity and circumstance. I'm glad you got the help you needed at no additional cost.

I get my glasses from glasses direct and contact lenses from Costco, the exact brand recommended by the Opticians but cheaper.

This to me is like cinema pick n mix. I wouldn't mind paying a reasonable premium for the convenience of buying on site, but the premium isn't reasonable, it's extortion. So I buy sweets and take them in, and they make nothing at all.

If opticians charged reasonably, ordinary people wouldn't have to use online discounters. My last pair from Specsavers were six hundred fucking quid.

I can understand why though. DD 16 is wearing contacts and I recently just signed upto a monthly subscription as it includes all aftercare costs. The option said it was those who ordered online that didn't go to there regularly checkups who come into them with issues and infections due to lack of aftercare.

I'd love to know where you can get them online cheaper as bought an emergency pack for DD, bit didn't find that they where much cheaper online only a couple of £. Also I don't think you really are supposed to do this under 18. At lest that's what the website I used said. Again probably due to making sure kids actually have their eyes checked regularly.

Depends on your prescription, I can't actually buy glasses online as they won't make them for really high prescriptions so I have to buy them at a high street options.

In our town I've found boots best, even after trying speck savers and a couple of independents.

online companies cannot sell to under 16’s

did you get the same brand of lens which was initially prescribed? If not, they will not be the same - even within the same brand.
for example an acuvue oasys doesn’t fit the same as a moist and fits very differently to a CV biofinity. if they don’t fit properly they can run on the cornea and provide and entry point for a infection is enter the cornea.
50% of people I see with an eye infection have swapped brand/lens and the other 50% are either using dailies more than once/not cleaning them properly or sleeping in their lenses.

if she’s over 16, you’re free to get them wherever you like but don’t change from the lens prescribed and make sure you have regular checks with the lens in her eye. We need to look at the cornea after the lens has been in situ for at least an hour to check that cornea is happy with that lens.

Wearing contact lenses is the most common cause of microbial keratitis, which can have devastating consequences for an eye.

@theeyeofdoe The OP is talking about glasses, so none of that is relevant.
I buy glasses online using the prescription from the opticians.

i’ve double checked and she’s talking about lenses. Hence the lens check on Saturday.