Prescription swimming goggles! (From optician, not goggle shop)!

[Sevensilverrings]

Hi, pleading for some guidance!
My teen son has just decided, after coming up with nothing, that he’d love some swim goggles he can actually see through. It’s an excellent idea, but his prescription is not a ‘buy over the counter’ one, and I’m at a loss. There’s plenty of sites selling prescription goggles, but they aren’t actually made to order by an optician and are too generic for his prescription.
I’d love to get them for him, he has ASD, and never wants anything. I’m so pleased he’s actually asked for something, and it’s such a good idea!
But I’m running out of time!!

His prescription, incase it’s helpful,
RIGHT SPH, + 3.75. CYL -2.00. Axis 3
LEFT. SPH +5.00. CYL -2.50 Axis 175

His sight is quite poor, but I don’t really know how to translate his prescription, so need a proper optician who makes goggles, and can do it in time for Christmas! Help please, I’m at a loss!!

Not an optician but just in case it's helpful - you can get them online with different powers in each eye (I got DS from www.prescription-swimming-goggles.co.uk/swimming-goggles?refinementList%5Battributes.goggle_options%5D%5B0%5D=Different%20powers%20in%20each%20eye)

I appreciate you said you didn't want them from an online shop and there may be other reasons why these aren't suitable. But posting just in case it helps.

My daughter has had 2 pairs from Specsavers.

They are quite reasonable to buy from Specsavers, they need to be ordered usually so if you want them for Xmas get them on order very soon.

Thanks, for some reason I didn’t try specsavers, think I’m in a tiz. Will go google!

We get ours from our usual opticians for DS. They're great. We got a swim mask this time last year too and that revolutionised holiday swimming for teen DS.

I got a pair from spec savers but they weren’t made specifically for my prescription and I ordered a replacement online that were just as good for a fraction of the price.

You might need to try a non-chain optician to get them made specifically

Thanks for that. I have emailed query to two opticians, and had a chat online with specsavers. Waiting to hear back. If nothing comes of that, I’ll do a call around in morning.

Our local optician orders them in for DH. Ask your optician op?

(I’d be happy to buy the less specific ones online, but I’ll speak to his optician and check whether that would be good enough for him...I don’t think he’d manage with it feeling ‘slightly off’, so need to get it right.

Hi I just got ds a new pair from Specsavers for £30 and took one week.

Specsavers definitely do goggles I was looking at some whilst my husband had an eye test, I don't wear glasses but thought they were a great idea!

With his astigmatism he needs prescription from the opticians rather than closest fit from the internet. The £30 ones are normally the price for spherical, so the correct astigmatic Prescription may be more than that depending on the company. Off the top of my head maybe around the £90 mark based on the optician I used to work at.

Also glazing lenses can be 2 weeks for some prescriptions/frames again depending on the manufacturers. So get them ordered now x

Have you considered your son having contacts and wearing them with a regular pair of goggles? I have very bad eyes and wearing contacts while swimming was much more comfortable because I could see when goggles were on or off.

Contact lenses can't be worn for swimming due to acanthamoeba keratitis - look it up it's grim. It's one of the most painful eye infections you can get as it literally attacks the nerve endings of the end and once your visions gone there's no getting it back!

Not a guarantee you'll definitely get it if you use contact lenses for swimming (so don't say well I've been doing that for years and there fine) but if you do get it you're buggered!

I’m looking at Aquavis. They do an insert to any prescription that can swap between goggles, ski masks, and snorkel masks.
Don’t suppose anyone has used them? It would be great for us for snorkelling if it works well as a system.

I was about to say the same as @Smiling89 wrt contacts when swimming.

A friend of mine picked up AK at his local pool whilst wearing contacts and has permanent partial sight loss in one eye. His consultant told him they don't advise them for swimming at all due to the risk.

I can't wear contacts due to prescription strength but even if I could seeing the state of him put me off the idea!

@Smiling89
Oh had not heard of that. I’ve used contacts for ages because my eyes are too bad for glasses and therefore prescription goggles as they give me double vision. I suppose I shouldn’t be swimming at all then!
(My eyes are -14 and -16.5).

I had some from the opticians a few years ago (think it was specsavers) and they did the job but due to my prescription they weren’t as good as my glasses.

It was explained to me beforehand that it would be different from my glasses but i was happy to give it a go and i found swimming 100 times better than without glasses but it’s worth talking it through with the optician first so your son knowns what to expect:)

Didn’t know that about contacts. Thanks for the tip. (Although he’d probably never have them in the first place...he hates anything touching his eyes).

Francie, thanks for that. I did wonder if they would be ‘less good’. I’m not sure how he will find that, but as you say, must be an improvement on seeing almost nothing right?

I got mine from Boots Opticians about 10 years ago for £30. It took about a week to get them. My prescription has changed since then but I’ve never changed them as I can see fine in them for swimming.

Mine have always come from Specsavers but be warned, they may be a tiny bit off or they may FEEL a tiny bit off because they won't be exactly the right distance from the eyes as goggles and glasses sit differently.
But they are a huge improvement on seeing nothing (-7 and -5 here).
I may be misunderstanding but is he long-sighted?