Mail Order Contact Lens: The Pros and Cons

Many eye care professionals have mixed feelings about patients utilizing mail order contact lens. Their main concern is with online companies not verifying prescriptions prior to dispensing lenses. Contacts are a medical device, and as such, should always be purchased with a current prescription. When patients purchase contacts online with an old prescription, it is likely they are not getting regular eye check ups to ensure the prescription is still adequate for their eye care needs. When that happens, they can actually cause more damage to their eyes than if they had not had correction at all.

Another concern is what patients do when they can't find the lens prescribed for them. For example, optic toric color contacts are difficult to find and more expensive than regular contacts. If a patient can't find them, they may be tempted to go with a less expensive contact that does not correct their astigmatism, and when that happens, there is the chance the astigmatism will worsen.

On the other hand, professionals understand a patients desire to find discount lenses and save money whenever possible. When the discounter has ethical business practices and has a prescription verification process, then the use of mail order to get contacts seems safer and more accepted by the optometrist. It provides a good system of checks and balances for ensuring that where the patient may fail in staying in a current prescription, the seller can, thereby reducing everyone's liability in the event eyes are damaged.

However, the primary responsibility for the care of the eyes still falls with the patient. As such, it is important to remember how serious the purchase of contacts is to the overall health of your eyes.