A warning to all those with short sight
Aug. 24th, 2005 04:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annwfynThis is just a short note coz I think there are a fair few people who wear contacts on my friends list.
Now, as some of you may not be aware, the law relating to the sale and dispensing of contact lenses apparently changed on July 1st. What this means is that if you have not had an eye test/contact lense check up within the last year, it is illegal for an optician to give you contact lenses.
What that means is, if like my best beloved, you have not had your eyes tested since 1999 and you lose a contact lense, most opticians will not give you anything. Furthermore, most opticians have a week's waiting list for contact lense related appointments. Even if you have had an eye test recently, no optician can give you contacts unless they have the go ahead from your usual optician.
Jez lost a contact lense on Sunday, and after much hunting we managed to find a nice optician who was prepared to give us a couple of daily disposables as it was an emergency. We then got in touch with his opticians in Wales to order a new contact lense, only to be told yesterday that they could not give him a new contact lense due to him having left Wales in 1999 and not having been back since. "Oh dear" said Sally. "We only have enough contact lenses to last until Friday". One long day later, spent walking around every single goddamn optician I can find, and finally resorting to a series of sob stories ("could you just let me have a single contact lense? Just so my boyfriend can drive home tonight. He lost his contact lense this morning while at work, and I can't drive") I have managed to blag another five contact lenses (from four different opticians) in order to keep him together until Wednesday when he is due to have an appointment with Dolland and Aitchison in Surrey Quays.
As an additional warning, I got new glasses today. I don't think I want to say how much they cost, but I'm shortly going to be looking a bit fragile as I recover from the surgery. At least I didn't use that kidney much anyway. I yearned for Peru where a pair of glasses cost about £70 in total!
Looking back over this, it looks a bit whiney, and it isn't meant to be. I just figured it might be worth mentioning that for those of you who do rely heavily on contact lenses and aren't up to date with an eye test - go sort! Otherwise worlds of trouble may await.
Now, as some of you may not be aware, the law relating to the sale and dispensing of contact lenses apparently changed on July 1st. What this means is that if you have not had an eye test/contact lense check up within the last year, it is illegal for an optician to give you contact lenses.
What that means is, if like my best beloved, you have not had your eyes tested since 1999 and you lose a contact lense, most opticians will not give you anything. Furthermore, most opticians have a week's waiting list for contact lense related appointments. Even if you have had an eye test recently, no optician can give you contacts unless they have the go ahead from your usual optician.
Jez lost a contact lense on Sunday, and after much hunting we managed to find a nice optician who was prepared to give us a couple of daily disposables as it was an emergency. We then got in touch with his opticians in Wales to order a new contact lense, only to be told yesterday that they could not give him a new contact lense due to him having left Wales in 1999 and not having been back since. "Oh dear" said Sally. "We only have enough contact lenses to last until Friday". One long day later, spent walking around every single goddamn optician I can find, and finally resorting to a series of sob stories ("could you just let me have a single contact lense? Just so my boyfriend can drive home tonight. He lost his contact lense this morning while at work, and I can't drive") I have managed to blag another five contact lenses (from four different opticians) in order to keep him together until Wednesday when he is due to have an appointment with Dolland and Aitchison in Surrey Quays.
As an additional warning, I got new glasses today. I don't think I want to say how much they cost, but I'm shortly going to be looking a bit fragile as I recover from the surgery. At least I didn't use that kidney much anyway. I yearned for Peru where a pair of glasses cost about £70 in total!
Looking back over this, it looks a bit whiney, and it isn't meant to be. I just figured it might be worth mentioning that for those of you who do rely heavily on contact lenses and aren't up to date with an eye test - go sort! Otherwise worlds of trouble may await.
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no subject
Date: 2005-08-25 10:34 pm (UTC)It doesn't help on short notice, but my optometrist was easily contactable (no pun intended), and as he had always done an eye exam on me in the last year, I got replacements fairly easily.
Of course, over here I've been slack, and just ordered over the internet instead...