contact lens discussion thread (merged)

nedmundo

corum_uk67 wrote: »

Yes but if it was a borderline case, where toric or non toric were optional, I wouldn't necessarily trust a high street optometrist to recommend the cheaper option.

I was speaking to a colleague in work yesterday who has been wearing contacts for years. she was telling me about conflicting advice given to her from the same store, different optometrist, several weeks apart (although that was more to do with cleaning solutions).

Different opinions will be based on different experiences. Your colleagues experience is hardly a good basis for such a sweeping statement.

Any half decent Optician will advise the best option, whether it is the cheapest or most expensive option.

scottishbargainhunter_2

I went to Costco for my contact lenses and mine are toric. I found them cheap, reliable and still using good brands. I've tried opticians but they always seem to want me to sign up to their own brand lenses or to monthly contacts and I only like to wear mine now and again.

corum_uk67

scottishbargainhunter wrote: »

I went to Costco for my contact lenses and mine are toric. I found them cheap, reliable and still using good brands. I've tried opticians but they always seem to want me to sign up to their own brand lenses or to monthly contacts and I only like to wear mine now and again.

That's my impression too, the high street opticians (or at least some of them) seem like they want to rope you in for the long term and give it the hard sell.

Were you able to use your prescription to buy different brands at costco or did they have the brand that you were already using?

nedmundo

Guess what Corum? A prescription is specific to that brand/design of contact lens only. It's based on what they have seen you wearing. How can they possibly issue a spec for anything else?

corum_uk67

nedmundo wrote: »

Guess what Corum? A prescription is specific to that brand/design of contact lens only. It's based on what they have seen you wearing. How can they possibly issue a spec for anything else?

Yes there's a piece of the puzzle i'm not getting.

To use an analogy, a car wheel takes 205/70/16 tyres, measured to fit the wheel width and diameter. But wait, what's that, I can buy Dunlop or Michelin or Pirelli, all with the same measurement, well i never.

Similarly, when a prescription is given, I understood (perhaps incorrectly) that the base curve and diameter yada yada are measurements of the eye, surely therefore any lens disigned to fit those measurements should do just that, regardless of brand?

Obviously the value of eyesight can't be compared to that of a car and the above example shouldn't be taken to mean that.

nedmundo

Different lenses of similar specification can perform very differently on the eye, be it due to material, thickness, edge design or asphericity. So they really aren't inter-changeable both legally and in practical terms.

corum_uk67

I can see where your coming from with that, but what about companies like Daysoft. Would you consider them to be fly by night? There seem to be a lot of good reviews for them, including on this site. From what I gather you tell them your prescription and usual brand and they send out the Daysoft version at a fraction of the price..

nedmundo

Price influences opinion.

Is it ethical or legal to swap someone who has been prescribed a high oxygen contact lens (quite possibly for good clinical reason such as corneas exhibiting changes due to oxygen starvation) for a conventional low oxygen material lens with completely different fitting properties?

The answer is no. They don't send you a particular version based on what you have been prescribed and one size/make/material doesn't fit all.

Why do you think they operate from the Channel Islands rather than the UK?

nedmundo

Also, legally, the supplier is required to verify the specification, either by having sight of the original or by contacting the original supplier. This is to ensure the correct lenses are being supplied and more importantly, that the patient is receiving regular aftercare.

Do you really want to put your trust in a company that flouts these rules for financial gain?

pmduk

A friend who bought from daysoft told me they don't even verify your prescription, which says a lot about their attitude to patient safety.

Added later: it turns out he had got confused and put the wrong optometrist down so they couldn't have checked should they even have wanted to.