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nonhuman · Sep 10, 2007, 05:45 PM

So I'm out of contact lenses. I want to just order more, but my prescription is more than a year old and the law forces companies like 1800contacts to only sell you contacts if your prescription is less than a year old (what a great deal for optometrists). My current prescription is just fine and I really don't feel the need to spend extra money on an exam just so i can buy more contacts that are identical to the ones I already have. So I was thinking maybe I could get them in Canada or something. Does anyone know if the laws work the same way there? I could also get them in Mexico, but it's a bit farther from Boston than Canada is (though it would really only involve visiting my mom in New Mexico).

Any one have any thoughts or experience with this?

peeb · Sep 10, 2007, 05:47 PM

In the UK I think you can order them with any numbers you want. I mean, why the hell not? Land of the Free my ass.

Doofy · Sep 10, 2007, 05:47 PM

Clicky?

peeb · Sep 10, 2007, 05:48 PM

Order Contact Lenses on the Internet

nonhuman · Sep 10, 2007, 06:03 PM

Originally Posted by Doofy

Clicky?

Sweet, even with shipping they'll sell them to me for only about $20 more than 1800contacts. An eye exam would probably cost $80-$100. I'm guessing they get a lot of business from the US seeing as they have a tool on their site to convert all prices from pounds to dollars.

God save the queen!

nonhuman · Sep 10, 2007, 06:12 PM

Originally Posted by peeb

Order Contact Lenses on the Internet

This site seems to say that even US retailers will sell you contacts without verifying your information, but they all ask you for your doctor's contact information and the date of your last visit. Unless I knew that they weren't actually going to bother confirming this wouldn't work for me as my optometrist died since my last visit... (No seriously, cancer.)

peeb · Sep 10, 2007, 06:17 PM

Well, my feeling about this is that if you give them the contact details, and lie about the date, they are not going to make the call - they're just covering their asses to make you say that your prescription is current.

nonhuman · Sep 10, 2007, 06:25 PM

Hmm, could be. Oh well, better safe than sorry. This will probably be a one time thing anyway, as I'll probably want to get an exam next time I need more contacts.

Dakarʒ · Sep 10, 2007, 06:26 PM

I think my only advice would be make sure they don't come from China.

nonhuman · Sep 10, 2007, 06:28 PM

Originally Posted by Dakarʒ

I think my only advice would be make sure they don't come from China.

Don't worry. I've spent enough time in China to be more than a little afraid of putting anything from there in my eye (although I did buy a whole bunch of contact solution while I was there because it was cheap and made in the US anyway). The contacts I use are actually a British brand anyway (Frequency 55 Aspherics, in case anyone cares).

nonhuman · Sep 10, 2007, 07:12 PM

I suppose another worthwhile question would be is buying contacts from somewhere else to avoid ridiculous anti-consumer bureaucracy illegal? Or is that only when it's prescription drugs?

Doofy · Sep 10, 2007, 07:16 PM

Originally Posted by nonhuman

Sweet, even with shipping they'll sell them to me for only about $20 more than 1800contacts. An eye exam would probably cost $80-$100. I'm guessing they get a lot of business from the US seeing as they have a tool on their site to convert all prices from pounds to dollars.

God save the queen!

Sweet!

ghporter · Sep 10, 2007, 08:41 PM

As long as you're absolutely sure and completely positive there's no change in your prescription, and you still have all the data from the old one (including the diameter and curvature), then feel free. The U.S. law is intended to keep people from permanently injuring themselves with incorrect lenses (even glasses can injure you if you wear the wrong ones long enough), and to keep people from masquerading as actual optometrists (through the enforcement of laws regarding who can legally write a corrective lens prescription). So, no, you can't just wander into a store and say "I want five sets of these in this power, two in this power, and one in this power" because that would allow you to hurt yourself pretty badly. This sort of law comes, not from the warmth of the Government's heart (as if it had one), but from people goobering themselves up royally and then making a stink that someone didn't protect them from their own idiocy.

As a former wearer of contact lenses for something like 18 years, I understand running out of them. I eventually learned that Wal-Mart had better prices than anyone, and almost always had my prescription in stock. And exams were no problem for me-as long as the optometrist at my clinic felt comfortable with writing contact scrips. But I also know people who really "vertically fornicated" their eyes by wearing the wrong contacts, wearing them too long, or not being particularly hygenic when handling their lenses (all treated in the same clinic where I eventually had PRK).

Your eyes do not heal easily or well when you mess with the cornea-please don't risk permanent impairment to save some money.

nonhuman · Sep 10, 2007, 09:52 PM

My prescription hasn't changed for the past 3 years, and everything looks just as it should through my glasses (which are the same prescription as my last contacts). Plus I only need the contacts to last until I get LASIK anyway, which will probably be in about 8-10 months. I certainly don't plan on doing this forever and just sticking with the same prescription, it just seems like a waste to spend the money on the exam right now.

zerostar · Sep 11, 2007, 10:31 AM

Originally Posted by Doofy

Clicky?

Will they ship to the states? I didn't want to go all the way thorough the process and didn't see it anywhere else.

nonhuman · Sep 11, 2007, 10:34 AM

Originally Posted by zerostar

Will they ship to the states? I didn't want to go all the way thorough the process and didn't see it anywhere else.

Yeah, they do.

sleek881 · Sep 12, 2007, 08:22 AM

Eye exams are free in Australia

Chooglin' · Sep 12, 2007, 08:36 AM

You should always get an annual eye exam when wearing contacts. Contact lenses are a medical device and as such require you to be monitored by a doctor. Contact lenses might seem ordinary, but wearing them can cause some people problems in the long run. In any case, you most likely can't tell if there's a problem since you aren't able to examine your eyes as closely as a doctor can.

peeb · Sep 12, 2007, 10:04 AM

Don't run with scissors, either.

irunat2am · Sep 12, 2007, 11:07 AM

I Want Lasik Soooooooo Baddddddddddddddddd

Railroader · Sep 12, 2007, 01:38 PM

Originally Posted by sleek881

Eye exams are free in Australia

Just keep telling yourself that...