Can anyone help me to order glasses online?

[LillyBugg]

My DS wears glasses to correct a squint. He's about to start school and I'm conscious that we don't have a spare pair should he break them. I thought I'd order a pair online as it's cheaper than the opticians but I don't understand the different options when filling out the prescription details.
It asks for:
SPH
CYL
AXIS
ADD
PD

I literally have (for example) Left: +2.5, Right: +2.25

Any ideas please?!

Don't think you're supposed to get kids glasses online. You should have them fitted properly by an optician.

Do you not have a copy of the full prescription?

They won’t prescribe for under 16s online
Unless you say it’s for you
What about specsavers?? They have a golden ticket they can give you for half price glasses. £32 from memory. I was upfront and told them I wanted a spare pair but couldn’t afford it.

If it’s for a squint it might be impossible online.

Also does will your options fit the glasses for you if they are not bought in store (all mine required adjusting)

He already has properly fitted glasses from an optician. I literally want a cheap pair in case he breaks his proper pair. If you're not supposed to get kids glasses online then why do so many websites sell them?! His prescription is from a private consultant and literally gives one number for one eye and one for the other. I took that to specsavers and they did his glasses for me.

So anyway...can anyone help with my question?!

I thought it was illegal to dispense them to under 16s online. Anyway, you need the other figures to get an accurate prescription. We get an A4 form with a copy of the prescription details whenever an eye test is done. Were you not given one?

No we weren't. It's a hand written prescription. I guess our consultant is old school
Looks like I need to fork out for a whole new pair from an optician. We had to pay for them because I couldn't get an NHS voucher on the basis of a private prescription. Any thoughts on that? How could I get him some NHS glasses without an NHS prescription?!

You can't get NHS glasses without a NHS prescription. So you pay for the whole thing privately, or see an optician under NHS rules.

You can't do half and half.

DD has worn glasses since she was about 4 and we've had great service from the NHS. We now use Specsavers and she gets the 2 for the price of 1 offer. (And as she's a child, the "price" is free).

We went private because it was taking weeks to even get a referral to an ophthalmologist, never mind an appointment, all the while my DS had double vision. So I wasn't willing to wait.
It is frustrating though that he is entitled to an NHS voucher, but we can't get one without an NHS test, and there is no guarantee they will give him the same prescription.
We did two for one as well but I stupidly got sunglasses as the free pair as he wasn't in school so it didn't occur to me he'd need a spare pair.

Did you not try going to an optician?

They could have tested him and done the referral

I'd go somewhere (or a range of places) that does NHS prescriptions and ask their advice. You could take the handwritten prescription with you. They might be able to dispense from that. Specsavers has quite inexpensive glasses.

Or just get him an NHS test.

You need a proper dispensary optician for under 16. Specsavers can work with outside prescriptions and not expensive but would recommend not doing it online

High street opticians might not be right for a small child. I am assuming the OP''s child is fairly small as she is talking about starting school for hte first time.

DD started off being seen at the hospital when she was about 4 in a specialist department dealing with children's eyesight. When she was around 7 she was discharged from the hospital as her eyesight was stable and not getting worse/better and we now just take her to the local optician. OP I would go back to the GP and ask for a referral, he has glasses now and at least you're in the system.

I don't see why you'd think a NHS consultant would give you a different prescription though. Most private consultants work in the NHS too. Also children's eyesight does change over the years at that age. DD's prescription was tweaked each year for about 5 years but has now settled down. It's nothing to worry about, it's just the eyes developing as they grow.

You don't need a referral for an NHS eye test though, most high street opticians do them. Agree specsavers are probably the cheapest if you do just want to buy some. Slightly baffled by you only having those numbers though!

FWIW, id never buy my own glasses online so definitely wouldn't buy a child's.

I've bought online glasses before and they were fine. You need the pupillary distance though and also when you go into a place they check the fit. Important especially with a child as they might not realise if it is wrong. With not being able to read the prescription easily, either, I think you need the extra customer service too.

We did do a Hugh street test initially but they didn't identify the squint. They said I was imagining it. And then a virus hit, his eye turned dramatically and wouldn't correct. A night in paediatric a and e, a ct scan and many tears later we eventually were told he needed to see an ophthalmologist. After much waiting we decided to go private where the squint was immediately identified and the prescription given.
I'm not saying I don't trust NHS and of course they might find the same prescription after testing but what if they don't? I 100% trust our current consultant so what do I do if I do a High street test and they give a slightly altered prescription?!
DS is indeed young, 5, and just starting school for the first time.

This thread has really gone off on a tangent I suppose the conclusion is that I really do just need to pay for another pair of glasses, or hope and pray he doesn't break his current frames!

Your DS should be seen 6 monthly to monitor the squint and so potentially his prescription could change every appt. As they grow so much at this stage. Potentially surgery may be required or Botox procedures. So I would have thought the cost of a spare of glasses would be negligible in the overall cost of looking after your son's squint.

We have health insurance so all of the treatment isn't costing me anything. So actually the cost of glasses is something I have to consider.

Could you ask the optician who dispensed the current glasses to tell you what the full prescription was as it wouldn't just be those 2 numbers. Ask what their cheapest pair would be if you needed a spare set

That's an idea dementedpixie. I hadn't thought of that.

Our opticians was very good at fixing glasses on the day when they got bashed or broken. So maybe see how you go with school and if a spare pair are required you can get them. Even if you got glasses on the NHS you would have to pay for a second pair so you aren't at a disadvantage. Specsavers often do deals on a second pair. Getting the glasses fitted properly is important for kids so I would stick with a high street dispensary where they can adjust them on the day.

Get him an Optician's appointment just for the spare glasses, their prescription will be more reliable than an online one. He might not need to use the spare ones before your next private appointment.