Looking for Lenses

If you’ve tried shopping for discount contact lenses online, you’ve likely been inundated with dozens of sites, each advertising the lowest prices, widest selection, and easiest interface. The truth is, it’s usually more convenient to visit your local drugstore. That way it’s easier to return the lenses for a refund if the product you choose is unsatisfactory. So why has internet shopping become so popular in recent years? Novelty is part of the explanation, as is the lure of easy credit card buying. More to the point, it seems our lives get busier every year. When faced with a choice between food or a trip to the pharmacy on one’s lunch break, it’s all too easy to vote with one’s stomach. As of 4 February 2004, the federal government requires eye doctors to make lens prescriptions available to the thirty-six million Americans who wear contacts. That way, patients can use the information to order contacts online, by phone, or by mail, as part of the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act. Legislators claim the bill will lead to savings of up to twenty percent, or three hundred and fifty million dollars a year. The law passed by an overwhelming margin in the House of Representatives, with no opposition in the Senate.

So let’s say you’ve squandered your lunch break on lunch, and now you’re forced to explore another method of contact lens shopping. What should you look for when buying contacts online?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has regulatory authority over all contact lenses sold in the U.S. If you’re an American consumer, your online purchases of contact lenses are also protected and regulated by the FDA, as are purchases made over the phone or by (snail) mail. The FDA offers the following guidelines and reminds you to exercise caution when shopping and buying. After all, it may not be wise to go cheap when buying products designed to live on your eyeball.

Getting Started

Before shopping for new lenses, make sure your prescription is current and correct. What do we mean by “current?” In this case, you should have had a check-up in the last year or two. Otherwise, even the “right” contact lenses could turn out to be wrong. That’s because your eyes may have developed problems of which even you aren’t aware. Diabetes, for example, can strike at any time, but it may be detected first through a routine eye exam. Changes in blood sugar can cause fluctuations in vision. Ergo, if the shape of your eye has changed, or if other anomalies have developed, then any lenses built for the previous, obsolete prescription will fail to correct your vision. Incidentally, the expiration date for your prescription was set, not by the FDA, but by the state in which you received it. Some states require a renewal every year; other states are more lax. Still others allow your doctor to make the decision he or she thinks is best for your particular case.

Never use an expired prescription to order contact lenses. It’s unproductive and could be hazardous to your health. Technically, it’s not illegal for an online company to sell you a prescription device as if it were an over-the-counter device. (The legal term is “misbranding.”) That’s because there are easy loopholes in the current requirements. The merchants could say, for example, that they’re going to check with your doctor, then never “get around to it.” You may also be asked to fill out a form with your own information rather than sending the merchant an official copy. State authorities are responsible for enforcing prescription requirements, but they may not always have the time to follow up on every transaction—but please, do not take this as a subtle hint to skip the prescription step! In researching the paragraph above, we found pictures of patients suffering from extreme keratitis, or infection of the cornea. Let’s just say we were so disgusted we decided against including those photos in this article. Severe cases can cause loss of vision or even blindness. Pictures of the most severe cases can cause nausea in online writers. The whole point of regular check-ups is to look for these problems before they mushroom out of control. Furthermore, contact lenses designed from out-of-date specifications can damage sensitive eye tissues. Seriously, if you’re too busy for this critical step in the process, then you’re too busy, period.

Remember, we said your prescription should be both current and correct. But what constitutes a valid prescription? That depends on the state in which you live, or more precisely, the state in which your doctor practices. Some states have not yet defined prescription requirements, but in those states the doctor is allowed to set his or her limits. Regardless, the prescription must almost always include your name, the doctor’s name, the brand name and material of contact, and a complete list of lens measurements. Those measurements must include base curve, diameter and power in order to fully define the shape of the curved lens. More stringent states may require a wearing schedule and specify daily or extended wear, along with number of refills, whether lens material substitutions are permitted, and when the prescription expires. Even if your state doesn’t require the most comprehensive information, internet merchants are free to require the information for their own records. For example, they may ask for your doctor’s contact information so they can double-check the information you’ve given them is valid.

>> Part 2: Buying Time