contact lens discussion thread (merged)

petergavinblack

Most opticians only carry stock of diagnostic disposable lenses. If you order disposable lenses then they will give you either one pair (monthly or 2 weekly) or 5 pairs (daily disposable) to put you on while your lenses come in which usually take 2 days.

Diagnostic lenses are identical to the ones you buy. Non-disposable lenses such as gas permeable can take up to 2 weeks to come in. Some opticians stock best selling monthly and daily lenses and could probably sort you out the same day however if you've never worn before you need to be shown how to put them in and take them out and how to look after them so you can expect to spend a couple of hours at the opticians the first time (which may be split over 2 or even 3 appointments).

Also if you are wanting contact lenses for something special like getting married or a sports competition you need to get well practiced with them which takes a couple of months for most people so they can apply them or remove them in just a few seconds.

petergavinblack

rachelhen wrote: »

My daily disposables last at least 2 weeks a pair as I store them in appropriate solution making sure they are clean and stay ok. brings the cost down dramatically.

Contact lenses are licenced medical devices and in the same way that if you ignored the recommended dose on an over the counter medicine you have no come back on your optician or the manufacturer if something goes wrong. If you wear dailies the optician won't have thought to give you cleaning advice and you could be using an entirely inappropriate solution. For example many people use saline which actually feeds the bacteria on the lens and has no disinfection power at all. Additionally if you are for example wearing a silicone hydrogel lens these attract lipid (grease) from your tears to a much greater degree than other materials and you need to use an solution that is designed for the job.

Finally when you have your eyes examined your optician is looking for signs relating to the type of lens s/he thinks you are wearing and if you don't come clean about your bad habits you are likely to be sending them on a merry dance trying to solve problems that they can see under the microscope which are entirely of your own making.

More cost effective -possibly. Sensible - I don't think so. You can get monthly lenses which are designed for the job for under a tenner including solutions and all your appointments these days so why risk problems. By wearing lenses until you can tell they are worn out you are increasing your risk of sight threatening eye infection about 20 fold. By ignoring your optician's advice your optician will also wash his hands of you if you won't take their advice.

petergavinblack

oxymore wrote: »

Has anyone ordered from this website before? Just wondering how reliable they are!

http://www.contactlensesexpress.co.uk

Not ordered off these guys but my advice is only order off a company in the UK and one that has a telephone number in case of problems. I use www.eyebuddy.co.uk where you get extra discount if you give them 5 "buddies" email addresses, which is then doubled if they then register and goes up to about 40% if they buy. This is on top of good savings in the first place especially off Johnson & Johnson Acuvue brand lenses.

Eyebuddy seem to sell everything including designer glasses and sunglasses. I also got a spare pair of glasses "Jean Garre Bill" for less than £10 including P&P. Ok they're geeky but I prefer to call them geek chic!

nedmundo

Ironically - Jean Garre stopped trading 2 & 1/2 years ago!

Bella_b

I've had an email from Get Lenses that they are merging with Post Optics.. they are a great service they quite regularly send out discount codes of 20% off or so.. and if you dont need a current prescription (to have had an eye test in the last year) as long as you feel your lenses are still alright for you..you can order from the Netherlands with free delivery over £30.. delivery takes about 2 or 3 days usually. This week there is a special deal for 33% off!

Use Coupon Code: TEN33 and you will receive £10 off + Free UK Delivery.
This offer ends Midnight Sunday 25th September. Min spend £30. :T

http://www.postoptics.co.uk

http://www.getlenses.nl

I don't work for them or anything! Just thought i'd let people know if they are looking for a discount on contact lenses!

OpticInsider

Just a note - Boots Opticians are going to be cutting the prices of their lenses by a few pounds from October 5th as well as launching a new combined contact lens scheme with the old D&A scheme. It will include 50% glasses discount for customers on the scheme as well as a 10% discount on Boots branded retail products via the Advantage Card.

For anyone currently on the D&A scheme, the price drop will only happen when your scheme is 'updated', so after 5th October anyone on the scheme should pop into their branch and ask to be updated to the new pricing structure (this will not be otherwise advertised so people might end up paying the higher price unnecessarily for ages).

nicka99

OpticInsider wrote: »

Just a note - Boots Opticians are going to be cutting the prices of their lenses by a few pounds from October 5th as well as launching a new combined contact lens scheme with the old D&A scheme. It will include 50% glasses discount for customers on the scheme as well as a 10% discount on Boots branded retail products via the Advantage Card.

For anyone currently on the D&A scheme, the price drop will only happen when your scheme is 'updated', so after 5th October anyone on the scheme should pop into their branch and ask to be updated to the new pricing structure (this will not be otherwise advertised so people might end up paying the higher price unnecessarily for ages).

Ive just been into Boots and they didnt know the exact details of the change so called me back later. They told me that any price changes on my scheme would not come into effect until the anniversary of the scheme which is next August (2012) so I feel Im being fleeced (or misinformed) - can they do this ?

pmduk

What do the terms and conditions of the agreement say?

bangragal

I buy my lenses online and am currently due for a contact lens assessment - usually I go to Specsavers (think it costs £25) but have just seen that Boots are offering a free contact lens trial and assessment...

http://www.boots.com/en/Free-contact-lens-trial-and-assessment_1133925/

It states subject to t&c, does anyone know what these are likely to be?

catokelly

Specsavers or Boots. Who offer the cheapest contact lenses combined with check ups and after care? They both have ads claiming that each is better than the other?