Can I buy contact lenses online without a prescription?

July 29, 2016 9:57 AM

Being a stay-at-home parent of a five month old, going to the optometrist for an eye exam is a bit of an inconvenience. My vision has not changed in ten years. Are there any online sources that don't require you to have a current prescription? Bonus points if prices are comparable to Vision Direct, 1-800-contacts, etc.
posted by rivtintin to Shopping (16 answers total)

Even if there is some site that will (illegally) sell them to you, don't do this. If you're putting contacts in your eyes, you should have someone look at your eyes and how the contact lenses are doing in your eyes to make sure everything is OK. Eye health is worth the inconvenience.
posted by needs more cowbell at 10:14 AM on July 29, 2016 [7 favorites]

A friend of mine used this app to do a self-exam and successfully got a valid prescription which allowed her to buy lenses online. I have not tried it yet myself, however.
posted by something something at 10:20 AM on July 29, 2016 [2 favorites]

Just bring the baby. If they don't sleep in their carseat/stroller/wrap, someone will be thrilled to hold them for you.
posted by teremala at 10:23 AM on July 29, 2016 [8 favorites]

Gotta say that an eye exam is too important to miss. It can detect so many more issues that go beyond "just" eyesight.

Plus, anywhere that would sell you lenses without a current prescription is selling you God knows what.
posted by tel3path at 11:04 AM on July 29, 2016 [4 favorites]

Provided you already know your prescription, and it hasn't changed, absolutely. I order from aclens.com. That said, every few years I go in and get my eyes checked, just to see if things have drifted.
posted by Kreiger at 11:25 AM on July 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

Guessing you're in the USA, but if it helps I order mine from LensOn.co.uk and they work fine.

I book a contact lens appointment alongside my eye exam every two years, and they check up on my eye health then.
posted by katrielalex at 11:30 AM on July 29, 2016

I know people who have used Vision Direct with good results.
posted by bradf at 11:36 AM on July 29, 2016

Confirming that Vision Direct works well, and ships to the US. Of course there are good reasons to get an eye exam, but there are also good reasons to just order more contacts.
posted by so fucking future at 11:44 AM on July 29, 2016 [3 favorites]

When I ordered prescription sunglasses from Zenni last year, I filled out my prescription info from my 1.5 -2 year previous eye exam (which, like you, was the within tiny increment of being exactly same as the previous 6 years of eye exams, i.e. nothing has changed lately). Then I clicked "agree to terms and conditions" which included agreeing with the statement that this was a current prescription and acknowledging that I was supposed to scan and email a copy of the documentation, for them to put in their files. I should probably rush home and do that now. The glasses are great.
posted by aimedwander at 11:48 AM on July 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

Oh man, I don't know where to start about this whole business of getting a prescription. I had the same issue sometime back and went to a so called highly rated eyeglasses place, you know, the eyes on something place. It was a bloody joke. The optometrist whose certificates are displayed on the wall wasn't the one who did the exam. Their machine was old and so he actually mimicked with hand gestures what the machine has to do (I am serious, he flickered his fingers on the top left and bottom right and asked me if I could see that..it went downhill pretty fast after that). After that, he referred a specialist name because, according to him, I have some issue with my right eye. I ignored him and his advice. Kept asking me throughout the exam what my current prescription was and when I didn't tell him, his final prescription was way off. The whole damn thing cost me over $160.
I just asked him to change the prescription to what I currently had and that was the end of the story.

So don't waste your time with an eye exam at a eyeglass store-go to a real doctor. Someone who does not have an eyeglass store in the office. For the short term get it from online from abroad if possible.
posted by metajim at 11:58 AM on July 29, 2016

Best answer: I work in the regulation of medical devices (like contact lenses). The law varies by state, but you generally have to have a prescription that's been issued in the last 1 to 2 years for a vendor to legally sell you lenses online. That means vendors who are willing to sell you lenses without a current prescription might be willing to sell you counterfeit lenses. And by counterfeit, I mean lenses that might seem to work perfectly well but which haven't been manufactured in sterile, inspected facilities. With no inspection regime or record, counterfeit device and drug manufacturers very truly sell shit all the time that has undisclosed drug ingredients, contaminants, unsafe materials, and on and on. Here's a recent incident that might give you pause about ordering from unscrupulous vendors.

Seriously, just take your kid with you to the doctor. You're not the first person to do so (I have three kids, and when they were young and hard to manage I came to love offices where staff immediately swoop in and are like, oh hey you look like you could use some help, want me to hold these two while you get checked out?).
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 3:37 PM on July 29, 2016 [8 favorites]

If you were pregnant (also, if you're nursing now), you need the eye exam.
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:09 PM on July 29, 2016 [2 favorites]

You can buy contacts on eBay. Just search for something like "Acuvue 3.50" or whatever your prescription is. Just make sure you don't accidentally buy -4.50 when you wanted 4.50 or whatever.
posted by Slinga at 4:22 PM on July 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

Saveonlens.com does not require a current copy of your prescription (Canada, but ships US orders from a US location). Used them for years; no issues.

Alternately, you could look at the Asian circle lens vendors, if you want to look like a large-eyed anime character...
posted by ortoLANparty at 6:13 PM on July 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

Echoing what others are saying here, that even if you can do it, I wouldn't. Prescriptions are only legally good for two years for contacts and then you need to be seen again, and that's done for a reason. Things can change beyond vision. Please get the exam.
posted by FlyByDay at 5:39 PM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]

There are good reasons for an eye appointment, and one of them is that you need to get into the habit of not martyring yourself on the altar of stay-at-home parenting. Treat yourself!
posted by cyndigo at 8:01 PM on August 1, 2016