Child's perscription sun glasses

betsie

Hi
Just wondered if anyone knows the answer to this.
My daughter (aged 10 yrs) wears glasses all the time (got new ones in Jan).
As she chose adult frames I received £20 off the frames and didn't pay for the lens.
We are going on holiday abroad soon and with summer approaching I wondered if she is entitled to a discounted pair of perscription sunglasses as she has to wear her glasses all day?

I did ask in Optical Express where we got her glasses but it was a Saturday and the young man on the desk didnt have a clue.

Thanks

LondonDiva

You can ask in store whether they'll do you a deal, but the NHS is not going to stump up for her to go on holiday.

GlasweJen

The NHS do not give help for prescription sunglasses unless prescribed by a hospital for medical reasons. You can sometimes get them on offer at an opticians in summer months but they are usually for people also buying a clear pair.

Specsavers have a range for £64 which is the cheapest I can find on google.

Tiddlywinks

Sorry to sound harsh but the NHS is there for essentials - if you can afford a holiday in the sun then why can't you buy your daughter soem sunglasses?

kingfisherblue

Specsavers have an offer on at the moment. If you get a pair of glasses for your child from the £64 range, you get prescription sunglasses free. As you have just got glasses for your daughter, you would have to pay for the ordinary pair, but then you would have a spare pair which could be handy. Even if you choose from the adult range, Specsavers will honour this deal for all children under 16. all glasses from here include frames and lenses, and if you choose from the £64 or £85 ranges, the entire glasses. Are free on the NHS for children. They don't just discount adult frames, unless you want designer glasses (even if you do, you only pay a small amount - some that my son was looking at would have cost me £10, and they were from the adult range costing £125).

Alternatively, Specsavers adult range starts at £25. For the tint it is an extra £12, so a pair of prescription sunglasses is only £37. I bought some a fortnight ago, and there is a reasonable range of styles.

Both my son and I have prescription sunglasses from Specsavers, collected a couple of weeks ago. I know I sound a bit like an advert for them, but I've always found them very helpful and with a good range of styles. My son has special needs and they are really good with him. We never go anywhere else.


http://www.specsavers.co.uk/

Tenyearstogo

I don't recall seeing the OP saying that she couldn't afford to buy or wouldn't buy sunglasses, she just asked if she was entitled to a discount. Give her a break, it is money saving to find out before stumping out the cash.

My son always gets a free pair of sunglasses from Specsavers when I get his regular glasses if I ask.

jackomdj

This is a real bug bear of mine.

Forget going on holiday, my daughter sometimes needs her sunglasses in this country, does she get them paid for, does she heck! Even though it is essential she wears them (she does not even get out of bed without putting her glasses on).

It drives me mad that we get told to put sunglasses on when its sunny, but they don't support children who need them.

As it happens we can afford them, but what about the parents who can't, who then further damage childrens eyes by either not giving them sunglasses to protect their eyes, or giving them non prescription glasses which means they are struggling to see.

Rant over......

valk_scot

If you have a very recent prescription to hand check out the online shops, they can be a lot cheaper. Also, consider getting photochromatic lenses, then the glasses can be used as a spare pair all year round.

GlasweJen

It's illegal for anyone who is not a registered optician, optometrist or ophthalmic medical practitioner to supply glasses to anyone under 16, anyone registered blind or anyone registered partially sighted. A lot of online shops will ask you to verify that the glasses are for someone who doesn't fall into one of those categories.

The health of your child's eyes is surely worth a trip to the opticians to get a pair properly made and fit?

And to the poster moaning that the NHS don't give out sun glasses, they will if there's a medical need. What is truly disgusting is that they don't give free glasses to blind people who have jobs even though their lenses usually cost a small fortune.

Goldiegirl

As I understand it, the NHS is for medical essentials.

In this case it seems that the sun glasses are something that would be nice to have, so it wouldn't be appropriate for the NHS to pay for these glasses.

securityguy

jackomdj wrote: »

who then further damage childrens eyes by either not giving them sunglasses to protect their eyes

If the concern's UV exposure leading to cataracts in later life (a risk that, unless you're spending large parts of your life outdoors in equatorial regions is very low) then clear plastic lenses reduce exposure by between 75% and 95%. Source, Table 3. In 1986, when that paper was written, it's possible there were still children wearing glass lenses; today it's almost completely unheard of.

Sunglasses might do a bit better than that, but not by much: the tint will add a bit of attenuation, but most of it is down to the material the lens is made from.