contact lens discussion thread (merged)

suki1964

I cant belive you havent been going for regular checks on your eyes. You could possibly have an ulcer on your eye which is causing the problems when you try to wear a lens.

Please go see an optician asap. Its all very well getting cheap lenses of the net but to risk your eye sight for the sake of £40 a year is pure madness

nedmundo

Extended Wear CL wearers should have their aftercare every 6 months - Period.

Don't take short cuts to save a few pounds - extended wearers are by far the highest risk group for serious complications - and I mean serious!!!!!!!!!!

sillyvixen

you need to really need to get this checked as suki1964 says the problem could be with the surface of your eye, carry on as you are and you could end up unable to wear lenses and be stuck with glasses only.

money saving has it's place but you cant put a value on your vision!!

*Louise*

bekc wrote: »

I've been with spec savers on their lens mail (delivered in the post) package for nearly 6 years. It currently costs me £10 per month on direct debit for monthly disposables (wear in the day put in the pot with solution at night) and this includes the lenses, the solution and contact lense checks every 6 months.I have been unable to beat this deal and price anywhere else.

I have the same package...but it only costs £8 per month

wishiwasarichgirl

*Louise* wrote: »

I have the same package...but it only costs £8 per month

then you are not wearing the same lenses as bekc. You are wearing the specsavers standard monthly lenses, which have been around for years. Bekc is wearing specsavers premium lenses.

There are much better lenses available now, which are healthier for the eyes and generally more comfortable.

I am an optometrist working for specsavers and I would not even fit anyone with the lenses you are wearing any more, and even the premium lenses have been superceded by a new generation of lens material, which specsavers sell under their elite range.

*Louise*

Cool, I've never had any probs with mine, but if they've got newer ones I'll be asking about them at my next appt.

Phirefly

I don't think this subject is fully covered on this site, in the articles or stickies.

To clarify, yearly contact lens aftercare appointments are compulsory in order to buy cheaper lenses online.

I just called Boots to book my free eye test from my Boots Health Club membership, and as I'm due for a contact lens aftercare appointment, I booked that alongside. I couldn't believe it when she told me the aftercare was £35. Last year I got my free eye test at D&A and thought £25 for contact lens aftercare with them was steep. I thought the service at D&A was shockingly bad too.

I've been trying to shop around for a cheaper aftercare check, and its really hard to compare prices without phoning everywhere. So far I've found Asda to be the cheapest, at £15. I seem to recal Tescos being competative, but I'll poke my own eye out before I go back to the horror that is Tescos at Beaumont Leys, which is my only local store with an optician.

Anyone got a better price? Note - I'm not interested in aftercare packages - anyone who signs up to those is barking. Just price on the check-up which allows you to go online to buy cheaper lenses.

wannabe_a_mum

I'd be interested to learn more as well...

My situation is that I suffer from Keratoconus and after not wearing the prescribed lens I got (free whilst I was a student!), the condition worsened to the extent that I lost all confidence and independance.
In Jan 2006 I went to specialist optician after being discharged from hospital out patients eye dept and was given hard lenses for both eyes, and also due to corneal scratching constantly, I also wear monthly soft lenses under the hard ones.

TOTAL I pay for lenses and aftercare is around £54 per month!

Now I know my eyesight is valuable, and I wouldn't be without the lenses ever again, is there any way I can get the same treatment cheaper??

Hubby asked me this question and I dismissed it saying I'd pay £millions for my eyesight, but to be honest I'm keen to reduce the cost to as little as possible

Any ideas?

nedmundo

wannabe_a_mum wrote: »

I'd be interested to learn more as well...

My situation is that I suffer from Keratoconus and after not wearing the prescribed lens I got (free whilst I was a student!), the condition worsened to the extent that I lost all confidence and independance.
In Jan 2006 I went to specialist optician after being discharged from hospital out patients eye dept and was given hard lenses for both eyes, and also due to corneal scratching constantly, I also wear monthly soft lenses under the hard ones.

TOTAL I pay for lenses and aftercare is around £54 per month!

Now I know my eyesight is valuable, and I wouldn't be without the lenses ever again, is there any way I can get the same treatment cheaper??

Hubby asked me this question and I dismissed it saying I'd pay £millions for my eyesight, but to be honest I'm keen to reduce the cost to as little as possible

Any ideas?

You need to be under specialist care and your contacts will need to be custom made exactly for your eyes. I think therefore, that online ordering is a non starter for you, but you may be able to get your lenses and aftercare free or subsidised from a Hospital eye department.

nedmundo

Phirefly wrote: »

I don't think this subject is fully covered on this site, in the articles or stickies.

To clarify, yearly contact lens aftercare appointments are compulsory in order to buy cheaper lenses online.

I just called Boots to book my free eye test from my Boots Health Club membership, and as I'm due for a contact lens aftercare appointment, I booked that alongside. I couldn't believe it when she told me the aftercare was £35. Last year I got my free eye test at D&A and thought £25 for contact lens aftercare with them was steep. I thought the service at D&A was shockingly bad too.

I've been trying to shop around for a cheaper aftercare check, and its really hard to compare prices without phoning everywhere. So far I've found Asda to be the cheapest, at £15. I seem to recal Tescos being competative, but I'll poke my own eye out before I go back to the horror that is Tescos at Beaumont Leys, which is my only local store with an optician.

Anyone got a better price? Note - I'm not interested in aftercare packages - anyone who signs up to those is barking. Just price on the check-up which allows you to go online to buy cheaper lenses.

You'll struggle to get any cheaper. Purely down to economics and politics. Eye exams are cheaper than cost price, because the Government underfunds them with the arguement that the cost is subsidised by dispensing specs. We are therefore less able to justify charging significantly more for private eye exams.

Contact lens aftercares are just as expensive to operate. Because it is purely private work, we have more control over pricing. If the practioner knows that you are going elsewhere for your Contact Lenses, they are naturally going tgo charge more to cover the chair time costs. Taking overheads into account, £35 probably just about covers everything, so anyone offering them for less is in practice going to be making a loss.

Sounds unbelievable and even daft, but true!!!