Teen's frame only glasses

MrsCluckyHen

Hi,

Please some advice.

My child was diagnosed with Irlen's syndrome and the diagnostician has been paid for getting the lenses for my child made. However she requires that we buy the frames to best suit my child's needs.
I have been looking in the usual places for frames only but most highstreet opticians ar shocked that we don't want the lenses, just the frames.
One has costed some frames for us but the price is equivalent to their highstreet frames and lenses combo, so no cheaper.
Does anyone know of any place in the Liverpool area where I can buy frames only?
No NHS prescription either.

Guest101

Literally every high-street shop advertises frames and lenses separately, so what is there to price up?


Why is NHS not paying for the lenses? - is this not her first pair?


And why did you get lenses separate anyway?

MrsCluckyHen

This highstreet shop was quite surprised when I asked for frames only. I imagine they don't get that many requests like this.

suejb2

Have you looked on glasesdirect, directsight, or speckyfoureyes? I have not used these so don't know if they provide frames only but looking at the prices you may just get a pair you like and get the proper lens put in them.
Faiiling that super drug, pound land and the like sell 'reading' glasses if your daughter can find frame she likes then maybe the unwanted lens can be replaced with her prescribed lens.

GlasweJen

This is tricky, a child should only ever be dispensed glasses by a registered dispensing optician or optometrist. No OO/DO will put their name against a dispense where they don't see the lenses, part of our due diligence is to check the lenses are correct in the frame.

You could arrange for the coloured Plano blank lenses to be sent to the place where you want to buy frames and see if this will satisfy the opticians working there, this is the arrangement we had with the local university who did this testing. The lenses will need all the relevant CE marks on the package and should also be certified as having UV protection.

GlasweJen

suejb2 wrote: »

Have you looked on glasesdirect, directsight, or speckyfoureyes? I have not used these so don't know if they provide frames only but looking at the prices you may just get a pair you like and get the proper lens put in them.
Faiiling that super drug, pound land and the like sell 'reading' glasses if your daughter can find frame she likes then maybe the unwanted lens can be replaced with her prescribed lens.

Ready readers aren't suitable for reglazing, they often don't have a mechanism to open the front of the frame and the plastic ones tend to snap when going through glazing. They're also unlikely to properly fit a teenager as people who need reading glasses are usually over 40.

teddysmum

Guest101 wrote: »

Literally every high-street shop advertises frames and lenses separately, so what is there to price up?


Why is NHS not paying for the lenses? - is this not her first pair?


And why did you get lenses separate anyway?

I thought that, with the exception of Asda, who include special lenses at no extra cost, frames were advertised as inclusive of standard lenses.


I once had a scarcely worn set of frames, that I wanted to reuse as reading glasses, but the cheapest Specsavers frames, inclusive of lenses , were a lot cheaper than a reglaze, so I bought a set of cheap frames and lenses (that had to be larger than my frames would take), provided my frames and the technician cut the lenses to fit my frames instead of the cheap ones.


Of course, in this case, the opticians had provided and prescribed the lenses.

sillyvixen

Do you have any paperwork discribing the lenses to be supplied by the specialist suppliers? If so take that almong with your child to an opticians and ask to speak to a dispensing optician who will then be able to help you select a frame . The supply of frames to children is highly controlled and everything needs to be checked you can't just buy a random frame everything has to be checked and signed off - including understanding why you just want to buy a frame.
We would not just sell frame to be taken elseware and glazed for a child, unless we had evidence of special circumstances.

kirtondm

a few points

1. Their is no NHS funding for such specs as their is no good evidence that Irlen syndrome even exists.
2. Assuming the px is <16 it would be illegal for any ready reader shop or internet supplier to supply the frames anyway.
3, I can't really see any optician wanting to do that job unless as already suggested you give them the lens blanks and then they send them off to be fitted.
4. It will be expensive as most childrens specs are heavily subsided by the NHS although I am guessing you have paid the Irlen 'practioner' £100's anyway.

theoretica

Would sunglasses work to find a pair and reglaze? I assume you would need to choose with some care to find ones that could take the reglazing, possibly metal frames with screws.

GlasweJen

theoretica wrote: »

Would sunglasses work to find a pair and reglaze? I assume you would need to choose with some care to find ones that could take the reglazing, possibly metal frames with screws.

sunglasses on the market for children with a non-prescription lens probably wouldn't be up for glazing with a proper lens, a prescription sunglasses frame would need to be supplied with the same stipulation as any other prescription frame. Sunglasses are also bigger so will need a larger lens blank which is unlikely to be available in whatever hue of colour the MI "practitioner" has "prescribed".